McCANLESS, Christel Ludewig 1939-

PERSONAL: Born November 20, 1939, in Peenemünde, Germany; naturalized U.S. citizen; daughter of Hermann R. R. (a missile and space engineer) and Emmy (a homemaker; maiden name, Jaglitz) Ludewig; married George F. McCanless, Jr., July 11, 1963; children: Katherine W. Education: University of Montevallo, B.A., 1961; University of North Carolina, M.S.L.S., 1966. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming, sailing, travel, colored-pencil drawings.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—3218 Panorama Dr. SE, Huntsville, AL 35801-1110. E-mail—christel@hiwaay.net.

CAREER: University of Alabama in Huntsville, library director, 1963-68, bookstore consultant, 1968-76; Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, Huntsville, consultant, 1975-78; Huntsville Times, consultant, 1985-89; Alabama Library Exchange, Huntsville, consultant, 1991-99; Huntsville Museum of Art, consultant, 1999-2000. Member of board of directors, Burrit Museum and Park and Friends of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library; member of Fabergé Arts Foundation and WLRH-Radio.

MEMBER: Art Librarians Association of North America, Alabama Library Association, Alabama Museum Association, Huntsville Literary Association (member of board of directors), Monte Sano Civic Association (member of board of directors), Beta Phi Mu, Mu Alpha Theta.

AWARDS, HONORS: Library Volunteer Award, Huntsville Museum of Art, 1999.

WRITINGS:

Fabergé and His Works: An Annotated Bibliography of the First Century of His Art, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 1994.

(With Will Lowes) Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2001.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Lowes and McCanless Index to Fabergé at Auction, 1934-2000, with Will Lowes, a database.

SIDELIGHTS: Christel Ludewig McCanless told CA: "I became interested in the art of Fabergé in the late 1960s when I read Robert K. Massie's book, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Morton Shulman's book, Anyone Can Make a Million. Massie's book gives the historical details of tsarist Russia in which the decorative art of the Russian court jeweler to the tsars, Peter Carl Fabergé, flourished. Shulman's book discussed how one 'can make a million' in collecting art objects. As a practicing librarian, I began collecting pieces of paper; that is, books and journals, which mentioned Fabergé and his art.

"In the early 1990s a friend suggested I organize my boxes of paper. On a dare I submitted a proposal to three publishers, and the first one, Scarecrow Press, was interested in my manuscript for publication within three months. But to compile an annotated bibliography from scratch took three years. A tremendous network of fellow Fabergé enthusiasts developed, and to this day I depend heavily on these folks to alert me to new discoveries in this exciting art history venue.

"After the publication of my bibliography, Will Lowes of Adelaide, Australia, contacted me and soon a collaborative effort began. The one-volume encyclopedia Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia is our first joint effort. Because we are in two different continents in the world and in different time zones (Will is sixteen-and-a-half hours ahead of me), all our work is done by e-mail, fax machine, FedEx, and infrequently via phone and snail mail. Because of computers it has been possible to do this kind of long-distance scholarship within the last five years. One special treat from this joint venture has been that Will and I have met twice in the United States and have traveled with a Fabergé scholar to modern St. Petersburg, once the Mecca of tsarist Russia, Fabergé, and his 500 artisans.

"Our current project is a descriptive database of over 18,500 Fabergé objects which have been in the auctions worldwide between 1934 and the present. It can be searched by the name of the decorative object, date of the auction, work master, inscriptions, historical data, et cetera.

"The rewards of this writing project have been a deeper understanding and appreciation of the decorative arts, travel to museums and libraries worldwide, and exciting friends."