There are two major parts to this introduction that really resonate with me.
The first being the practice of writing on or altering objects to document its history. Apparently this has been done before and I find it incredibly fascinating. The example of the Qianlong emperor who had an interest in history and would actually engrave his own poetry about the bi ring onto the object itself speaks a lot about the documentation of history in the past.
Although the concept of physically marking up an artifact nowadays seems sacrilegious, back then it was likely thought of as a useful tool. Simply writing about an object (on a piece of parchment, for example) does not ensure the object and parchment will stay together for the rest of the object’s “immortal” life, so marking the object itself is the only infallible technique. In the true spirit of this book, what is so telling of the culture and the time through the emperor’s practice is his uncontested ability to do so. This implies that at the time, the emperor’s word was truth, even if he himself acknowledges a lack of complete knowledge about the bi by expressing his thoughts through a poem.
MacGregor writes, “thinking about the past or about a distant world through things is always about poetic re-creation.” This is something that I have seen as a theme for our class. Just as DeWaal does in The Hare With Amber Eyes and as we have been doing with our own personal objects, there is always this hint of speculation that comes with creating an object’s history, no matter what extent of scholarly (or nonscholarly) research is put into discovering the timeline of an object.
The second notion that really stuck with me from this text is the idea of a museum as a tool for creating a better understanding of the world. It is something so basic, yet I have never thought of it that way before. Essentially, a museum is a glorified collection, allowing its patrons to expand their knowledge via objects and accompanied texts. This is the best example of what MacGregor’s “ideal history” should be. Through this project centered around the objects at the British Museum, there is the ultimate exchange of knowledge: the museum acts as the central base showcasing their collection to the public while the experts that would best understand the object meanings can flock from all over to help create a more complete history for these objects.
As we start to piece together New Paltz’s history through objects, I think we should consider ourselves curators. We want our collection of objects to be relevant and come from a variety of contexts. It should also be accessible to not only people in the community, but perhaps others who might be familiar with an object’s original history, before it became part of New Paltz’s history. Then, once the collection and its meanings are assembled, we can hopefully help ourselves and others have a better understanding of New Paltz and its history.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
To approach this in regards to modern trends, the value of writing in objects is exactly why I get frustrated when “marked up” books decrease in selling value! I’ve always had teachers tell me not to deface my books and for a long time I agreed with them that a book was ruined when it had ink blots all over the pages. Yet I believe it was actually Professor Mulready who taught me that books’ value should increase after people have written in them because it encourages the communication of ideas between individuals! Plus, imagine how much more interesting those books will be to people in the future.
Yes, it’s true! Rare books today are considered to be much more valuable if they have writing in them. Unfortunately, in the 18th and 19th centuries it was common for book collectors and librarians to erase or scratch out “marginalia” as it’s called.
I like Stephanie’s point that books can be a site of communication. When I was in graduate school I was always excited to find a book in the library that had been marked up by a professor whose handwriting I recognized–it was like getting to read over his or her shoulder!