inneroptics:  Joseph Ducreux’s 18thcentury “Le Discret,” the subject cautions

inneroptics:

 Joseph Ducreux’s 18thcentury “Le Discret,” the subject cautions the viewer to be discreet.  Or has the subject – Ducreux himself – transgressed and wants you to keep his secret?

Charles Attenborgh, 1770-1866

One of the AWC’s unsung heroes, Charles Attenborgh was one of the founding members of the Association of Magical Librarians and an early proponent of the public libraries that are now enjoyed by the magical public of all Seven Districts. Attenborgh was himself a Muggleborn Mage of no small distinction - having graduated from the Salem Institute at the age of 17, Attenborgh attended the then youthful Muggle institute of the University of Pennsylvania where he grew enamored of the school’s founder, the Muggle polymath Benjamin Franklin.

It is believed by magical historians that Attenborgh was deeply affected by Franklin’s death the year following his admission into the University, and took to his philosophies of public service with gusto. Upon graduation, Attenborgh returned to the Salem Institute where he established and organized the then ramshackle excuse for a school library - utilizing wand, index card, and occasionally whip, he created a cataloging system that took into account the many complexities and unique concerns with running a magical library, and became the norm for magical librarians across the entirety of the AWC.

In 1842, Attenborgh successfully garnered enough support to petition the Counsel of Northeastern States to open a public-lending library in Philadelphia. The Library was a huge hit with the public, and Attenborgh found a strong advocate in James Smithsonian, the founder of the Smithsonian Institute for Magical Knowledge (SIMK). A half-blood himself who wanted to leave his philanthropic touch on the AWC, Smithsonian used his wealth and influence in Congress to make the libraries a permanent sub-department of the SIMK, complete with federal funding.

Now there are 14 public libraries spread across the AWC, not counting the 7 libraries held by each school and the one forbidden archive held directly by the SIMK. Attenborgh passed away in 1866, where he died heroically defending a library located in Atlanta, Georgia, which had been caught in the cross fire of the opposing forces. The library survived, but Attenborgh did not. His statute guards the Atlanta branch to this day, and his portrait hangs in the library of the Salem Institute, where it is famed for assuming what was considered Attenborgh’s favorite pose in life.