Hello All!

    Hello, my name is Gabriella Smith and I am a 4th year Museum Studies major with an immersion in Legal Studies. I am from Gasport, NY, and during my time at RIT, I have truly fallen in love with museums and archives and the process behind them. I have been involved with many types of archive and museum work as a student and had an opportunity to catalog a collection at my local hospital in 2022. My undergraduate thesis will focus on creating a family archive, specifically the collection of my late grandfather Jerrold B. Smith. 

       When I was younger I found a random plastic bag filled with authentic Ray-Bans and didn't understand their significance as to why my family had them. Over the past few years that mystery to me has been slowly solved, they were from my grandfather, Jerrold. Jerrold was a student of the School of American Craftsman at RIT in the early 60s and a professor of the program in the 70s. Before he died in 1986, Jerrold was a true craftsman, constantly trying new things and experimenting with jewelry and glasses. He had an impressive career at Bausch & Lomb as one of the eye-glass designers, with his memory immortalized in the rendition of the Wayfarer glasses, called the Drifter. 

1987 Ray-Ban Drifter sunglasses advertisement

    My thesis will focus on the three parts of Jerrold's life: the Student, the Craftsman, and the Drifter, by creating an archive that will protect his story and history. I will document my process behind creating an archive and why it is important specifically to Jerrold's collection. Throughout this year I will be cataloging the collection, digitizing many of the objects, collecting oral histories from family members, and also rehousing them into new containers for storage. I will also be creating an exhibit to display some of Jerrold's work and his story. All of these pieces will tie together in my thesis regarding the archiving of the collection. 

    If you have any questions about my project, you can reach me at ggs5178@rit.edu. :)

Catherine Smith-Cole holding a photograph of Jerrold B. Smith and his co-workers at Bausch & Lomb. Image taken during Catherine Smith-Cole's Oral History Interview.