Original and reproduced prints of Issac Mendes Belisario (1794- 1849) who was an engraver, painter and lithographer.
Isaac Mendes Belisario was a Jamaican-Born Jewish artist whose parents and grandparents were involved in the slave trade. He was brought up in London by his mother, where he trained to an artist (painting). Belisario was born into a family of fabled wealth. At the time of his birth in Kingston, Jamaica, his maternal grandfather, Alexandre Lindo was the island's pre-eminent Jewish merchant. He became an accomplished artist and samples of his work can be found at the Institute of Jamaica.
Belisario's unique sketches of Jonkonnu characters, bequeathed to Jamaica's cultural archives and contemporary performance arts, carry with them a depth of meaning far more significant than appears on the surface. The "Actor-Boy" sketch has served as costume design departure for dance works by the internationally-acclaimed National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) of Jamaica. The sketch also serves as a symbol for the annual Actor Boy Drama Awards to outstanding performers in Jamaican theatre today. It has, along with other sketches, served to illustrate published studies on the history of Jamaican dress and festival arts in Jamaica (Nettleford, 2007).
Sources
Ranston, Jackie. Belisario: Sketches of character : A historical biography of Jamaican artist.
Kingston: The Mill Press Limited, 2008.
Location: WI&SC - Call # N6611.B44 R36 2008
Belisario, I.M. Sketches of character in illustration of the habits, occupation and customs of the negro population in the island of Jamaica. 1838.
Location: WI&SC - Call # X F1874.B45
The Belisario prints from the Institute of Jamaica collection (Copies of the original prints published by the Institute of Jamaica.
Location: Map Cabinet [Prints]
Letters from Margaret and Mary-Ann Cowper in Jamaica to their cousin Eliza McQueen Mackay at Savannah, Georgia, 1800-1816.
After the American Revolution, during the last half of the 18th century, a number of Loyalist families settled in the West Indies. Jamaica's proximity to the American mainland and the commercial and family ties that linked Anglo-Saxon settlers of both countries facilitated the diaspora. Records accumulated as migrants continued to correspond with family and friends. This may account for the presence of small collections of family correspondence and plantation records in the United States. In some cases families apparently returned to the United States with their personal papers. This may have been the case with the US-based location of the Cowper Letters (1800-1816) in the MacKay-McQueen_Cowper papers in Georgia Historical Society (No. N.A.208) and the MacKay-Stiles and Cowper papers in nt he University of North Carolina (No. N.A. 753). These collections comprise letters by Mary-Ann and Margaret Cowper, who had relocated to Jamaica post-revolution, to their relatives - the McQueen familyof Georgia and South Carolina, and to robert McKay of Savannah, Goergia. [Sources of Jamaica History, 1655-1838, Vol. 1].
Location: Manuscript Cabinet C, Drawer 3.
CARIBBEAN LEADERS COLLECTION
The UWI Library at Mona has conceptualized a Caribbean Leaders Collection which will collect the papers, books and memorabilia of Caribbean leaders who have successfully led, inspired or influenced the area which they operated.
CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION
A) Individuals
Indiividuals to be considered include but not limited to former heads of government and other outstanding leaders in Jamaican, Caribbean political, civic, business, cultural and religious life. this would include former Prime Ministers and government ministers; ambassadors to international organizations such as the United Nations; ambassadors to diplomatic missions and consulates overseas; and leaders of national and regional organizations such as Caricom persons involved in the arts, academia.
B) Organizations
Churches, political organizations, businesses, economic interest groups, community groups, voluntary associations, professional associations, and other collective enterprises all produce records which document their purpose, policies, and activities. Individuals who have headed such organizations or their family may hold the records of such businesses or organizations , and this material maybe included.
To date the Caribbean Leaders Collection has processed two collections consisting of administrative papers, books, photographs, audio-visual material, amd memorabilia.
The Edward Seaga Collection of The Most Honourable Edward Seaga who served as Jamaica's Prime Minister 1980-1989.
The Angela King Collection of the late diplomat who served the United Nations 1966-2004 working on matters relating to human rights and social development,. Angela King was a founding member of the UN's Group on Equal Rights for Women (GERWUN); chaired the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW); and headed the UN Observer Mission in South Africa (UNOMSA), 1992-1994, as apartheid was dismantled. She was appointed Assistant Secretary- General for Gender Issues in 1997, remaining in that post until she retired in 2004.
Materials from both Collections can be located in the Library's catalogue. Select material from Edward Collection have been digitalized and linked to records in the OPAC.
Tereza Richards
7th December, 2009
Coverage:
Angela King's Collection:
Unpublished papers and articles on:
Women/peace/ security;
Transcript of Angela King's book chapter and related documents;
Women's issues;
Speeches 2004-2006.
Coverage:
Edward Seaga Collection
Files range from Official Visits to Agro21
NIBJ
Constitution Commission
Constitution reform
Bilateral relations and ethanol
Politics and government
Public administration.
