← Museum QuarterEFTSONA · ARTS & EXPRESSIONView collections ↓

Artistic reconstruction of a historic language and story museum hall

MUSEUM OF LANGUAGE & STORY

How does a story survive being told?

Explore 18 exhibits on writing, storytelling, and living language. Read each object’s context, methods, limits, and further sources.

Images are artistic reconstructions of representative objects and settings. They are not photographs of accessioned Eftsona objects or authentic historical documents.

GALLERY 01 · Marks, manuscripts & circulation

Written & Printed

Writing records a voice, but each material and copy changes what survives.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

LS · 001Inscribed clay tabletWriting surface model LS · 002Illuminated manuscriptHandwritten book model LS · 003Movable type pagePrinting process model LS · 004Dictionary entryLexicography model LS · 005Signed letterCorrespondence model LS · 006Oral history recordingRecorded testimony model

EXHIBIT LS · 001 / 018

Inscribed clay tablet

A mark becomes a durable record.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Writing surface model
Period represented: Ancient era
Typical setting: Scribal workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Clay tablets preserve signs impressed before firing or drying. Script, language, and administrative context must be distinguished.

How to investigate it

Compare sign forms, findspot, duplicates, and translation notes.

What the display cannot establish

An isolated fragment cannot identify every writer or reader.

Look closer: Which signs repeat?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

1 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 002 / 018

Illuminated manuscript

A page is made by many hands.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Handwritten book model
Period represented: Medieval era
Typical setting: Scriptorium
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Writing, decoration, binding, and later annotations can represent separate stages and makers.

How to investigate it

Examine pigments, ruling, handwriting, provenance, and repairs.

What the display cannot establish

An open folio cannot show the entire book or its original use.

Look closer: Where was a correction inserted?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

2 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 003 / 018

Movable type page

Reusable letters multiply a text.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Printing process model
Period represented: Early modern onward
Typical setting: Print shop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Type setting, inking, paper, edition, and distribution influence which words reach readers.

How to investigate it

Compare impressions, errata, type, and dated editions.

What the display cannot establish

Similar printed pages need not be from the same setting.

Look closer: Which line was reset?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

3 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 004 / 018

Dictionary entry

A definition is a choice made in time.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Lexicography model
Period represented: Early modern onward
Typical setting: Reference library
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Editors select headwords, examples, meanings, and spelling conventions. Spoken use may change before a printed edition catches up.

How to investigate it

Compare dated editions and attestations across communities.

What the display cannot establish

One dictionary cannot contain every speaker’s usage.

Look closer: Who supplied the examples?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

4 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 005 / 018

Signed letter

A private message can become public evidence.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Correspondence model
Period represented: Historical to modern
Typical setting: Archive
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Handwriting, address, paper, dates, and custody help place a letter in a correspondence. Gaps in a collection matter.

How to investigate it

Compare envelope, reply, chronology, and accession record.

What the display cannot establish

A signature alone cannot prove every claim in a letter.

Look closer: What is missing between exchanges?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

5 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 006 / 018

Oral history recording

The recording keeps a voice and a moment.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Recorded testimony model
Period represented: Twentieth century onward
Typical setting: Interview archive
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

An interviewer’s questions, consent, language, editing, and transcription affect what later listeners encounter.

How to investigate it

Listen to full audio alongside transcript and collection notes.

What the display cannot establish

A recollection is a perspective, not a complete event record.

Look closer: What question preceded the answer?

Further reading: Library of Congress · American Life Histories ↗

6 of 18

GALLERY 02 · Telling, drafting & audiences

Stories in Motion

A story changes as it moves between tellers, pages, and readers.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

LS · 007Folktale variantsOral narrative model LS · 008Storytelling circlePerformance setting model LS · 009Revised play scriptDramatic text model LS · 010Novel draftAuthor manuscript model LS · 011Serial newspaper storyPeriodical fiction model LS · 012Picture book sequenceIllustrated narrative model

EXHIBIT LS · 007 / 018

Folktale variants

Stories travel through retelling.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Oral narrative model
Period represented: Historical to modern
Typical setting: Community gathering
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

A tale may share motifs across places while each telling belongs to a specific performer and occasion.

How to investigate it

Compare recorded versions, tellers, dates, and translation.

What the display cannot establish

No one collected version can be named the universal original.

Look closer: Which detail varies?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Folktales and Oral Storytelling ↗

7 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 008 / 018

Storytelling circle

A story is shaped by listeners.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Performance setting model
Period represented: Historical to modern
Typical setting: Community hall
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Pacing, gesture, audience response, and setting can make two tellings of similar words different events.

How to investigate it

Compare field recordings, audience context, and teller accounts.

What the display cannot establish

A photograph cannot preserve timing or interaction.

Look closer: When does a listener respond?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Folktales and Oral Storytelling ↗

8 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 009 / 018

Revised play script

A script is tested through performance.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Dramatic text model
Period represented: Modern era
Typical setting: Rehearsal room
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Cues, cuts, stage directions, and cast notes reveal collaboration and revision.

How to investigate it

Compare drafts, production records, and performance reviews.

What the display cannot establish

A printed script cannot recreate a specific performance.

Look closer: Which scene was cut?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

9 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 010 / 018

Novel draft

A finished book hides earlier choices.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Author manuscript model
Period represented: Nineteenth century onward
Typical setting: Writing desk
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Drafts, deletions, and rearranged chapters can show how a work developed. Editorial and publishing decisions also shape it.

How to investigate it

Compare dated drafts, proofs, correspondence, and editions.

What the display cannot establish

A surviving draft may not be the first version.

Look closer: What changed in the opening?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

10 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 011 / 018

Serial newspaper story

Installments make waiting part of reading.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Periodical fiction model
Period represented: Nineteenth century onward
Typical setting: Newspaper reading room
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Publication schedule, page placement, illustration, and later book editions alter the experience.

How to investigate it

Compare successive issues, advertisements, and collected edition.

What the display cannot establish

A bound volume cannot recreate the original weekly context.

Look closer: Where did one installment end?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

11 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 012 / 018

Picture book sequence

Images carry parts of a story words omit.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Illustrated narrative model
Period represented: Modern era
Typical setting: Children’s library
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Page turns, scale, color, and spoken reading connect images and text for different audiences.

How to investigate it

Compare sketches, pagination, final print, and read-aloud use.

What the display cannot establish

One spread cannot show the rhythm of the full book.

Look closer: What is revealed after turning?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

12 of 18

GALLERY 03 · Speech, access, translation & care

Living Voices

Language lives among speakers; archives capture only part of that life.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

LS · 013Speech recordingPhonetics model LS · 014Signed conversationVisual language model LS · 015Language field notebookDocumentation model LS · 016Translated poem draftsTranslation process model LS · 017Archive catalog cardPreservation record model LS · 018Interactive story terminalDigital narrative model

EXHIBIT LS · 013 / 018

Speech recording

Speech leaves measurable traces.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Phonetics model
Period represented: Twentieth century onward
Typical setting: Language laboratory
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Recording conditions and speaker context influence the sounds represented by waveforms and spectrograms.

How to investigate it

Listen with metadata, compare speakers and repeat recordings.

What the display cannot establish

A sound trace cannot reveal full intent or identity.

Look closer: What changed with the microphone?

Further reading: Library of Congress · American Life Histories ↗

13 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 014 / 018

Signed conversation

Language can move through hands and space.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Visual language model
Period represented: Modern era
Typical setting: Community conversation
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Signed languages have their own grammars and community histories; facial expression and timing convey meaning.

How to investigate it

Use full video, community interpretation, and consent records.

What the display cannot establish

A still pose cannot represent a complete signed sentence.

Look closer: What meaning comes from movement?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

14 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 015 / 018

Language field notebook

Documentation depends on speakers and relationships.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Documentation model
Period represented: Twentieth century onward
Typical setting: Field research archive
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Elicited words, stories, pronunciation, consent, and community priorities shape a field record.

How to investigate it

Compare notebooks with recordings and speaker-led descriptions.

What the display cannot establish

A wordlist is not the entirety of a language.

Look closer: Who decided what to record?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Folktales and Oral Storytelling ↗

15 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 016 / 018

Translated poem drafts

Meaning, sound, and form must be negotiated.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Translation process model
Period represented: Historical to modern
Typical setting: Translator’s desk
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Draft translations show choices about rhythm, metaphor, cultural reference, and intended audience.

How to investigate it

Read versions alongside original with informed language speakers.

What the display cannot establish

A translation does not reproduce every feature of the original.

Look closer: What did the translator preserve?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

16 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 017 / 018

Archive catalog card

A catalog helps a story be found.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Preservation record model
Period represented: Twentieth century onward
Typical setting: Manuscript archive
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Description, names, restrictions, provenance, and preservation condition influence discovery and access.

How to investigate it

Compare catalog entry, finding aid, collection policy, and object.

What the display cannot establish

A catalog summary cannot replace the full record.

Look closer: Whose name appears as creator?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Manuscript Collections ↗

17 of 18

EXHIBIT LS · 018 / 018

Interactive story terminal

A reader’s route can alter sequence.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Digital narrative model
Period represented: Late twentieth century onward
Typical setting: Media gallery
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Software, interface, branching, sound, and hardware are part of a digital story’s experience.

How to investigate it

Document paths, versions, dependencies, and reader interaction.

What the display cannot establish

A screenshot cannot show every branch or future compatibility.

Look closer: Which choice changed the ending?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Preserving Electronic Literature ↗

18 of 18