National Postal Worker Day

Celebrate your local letter carriers today on National Postal Worker Day.

National Postal Museum Library photo, Postal photograph: letter carriers, San Francisco, c. 1894, pph 924 "Station J."

Elizabeth Periale

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln

Allan Pinkerton, President Abraham Lincoln, and Major General John A. McClernand. This photo was taken not long after the Civil War’s first battle on northern soil in Antietam, Maryland on October 3, 1862. In his role as head of Union Intelligence Services during the war, Pinkerton foiled an assassination attempt against Lincoln. His wartime work was critical in raising Pinkerton’s profile and helping to bolster the reputation of his Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which pioneered the American private detective industry.—from Wikipedia

To celebrate the 16th president's birthday the Libraries has many items in its collections.

Here are some highlights:

Anderson Galleries, Inc., A remarkable collection of autograph letters and Lincolniana from the library of a New York gentleman, including a "Lynch" signature and all the other signers except three, a full set of the presidents, remarkably fine letters by literary men, statesmen, and soldiers, and an extraordinary collection of Lincoln letters and books, to be sold November 13 and 14, 1916 … on public exhibition from Saturday, November 4th. New York [1916].

Angle, Paul M. (Paul McClelland), "Here I have lived"; a history of Lincoln's Springfield, 1821-1865, Springfield, Ill., The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1935.

Baber, Adin, A. Lincoln with compass and chain; surveying career as seen in his notes and maps, and with an account of the Hanks family cousins, makers of fine surveying and mathematical instruments. Kansas, Ill., Priv. print. by the author, 1968.

Bates, Finis Langdon. The escape and suicide of John Wilkes Booth; or, The first true account of Lincoln's assassination, containing a complete confession by Booth many years after the crime, giving in full detail the plans, plot and intrigue of the conspirators, and the treachery of Andrew Johnson, then vice-president of the United States; / written for the correction of history by Finis L. Bates. Naperville, Ill., Atlanta, Ga. [etc.] J.L. Nichols & Company [1907].

Abraham Lincoln: from his own words and contemporary accounts, edited by Roy Edgar Appleman. Washington : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, 1942.

Elizabeth Periale

New and Notable—National Museum of American History Library

The Libraries would like to highlight some more new and diverse titles that have been added recently to the National Museum of American History Library.

Did Lincoln own slaves?: and other frequently asked questions about Abraham Lincoln. Gerald J. Prokopowicz. Vintage Books, 2009

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0719/2007020889.html

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 — Miscellanea.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
Presidents — United States — Biography — Miscellanea.
United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865.

 

 

Marcha!: Latino Chicago and the immigrant rights movementedited by Amalia Pallares and Nilda Flores-González.

University of Illinois Press, c2010.

F548.9.S75 M37 2010

Subject: 

Hispanic Americans — Illinois — Chicago.

Immigrants — Illinois — Chicago.

Immigrants — Civil rights — United States — Case studies.

Immigrants — Government policy — United States — Case studies.

Social integration — Government policy — United States — Case studies.

Social action — United States — Case studies.

Bound for Santa Fe: the road to New Mexico and the American conquest, 1806-1848Stephen G. Hyslop.

University of Oklahoma Press, c2002.

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/fy022/2001052268.html

F800 .H97 2002

Subject: 

Frontier and pioneer life — Southwest, New.

Pioneers — Santa Fe National Historic Trail — Biography.

Mexicans — Santa Fe National Historic Trail — Biography.

Indians of North America — Santa Fe National Historic Trail — History — 19th century.

Santa Fe National Historic Trail — History.

Southwest, New — Description and travel.

Southwest, New — History — To 1848.

Southwest, New — Commerce — History — 19th century.

New Mexico — History — To 1848.

United States — Territorial expansion.

Folk medicine in southern AppalachiaAnthony Cavender.

University of North Carolina Press, c2003.

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/unc041/2003010305.html
Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip043/2003010305.html

GR108.15 .C38 2003

Subject: 

Traditional medicine — Appalachian Region, Southern — History.

Traditional medicine — Appalachian Region, Southern — Formulae, receipts, prescriptions.

Medicinal plants — Appalachian Region, Southern.

Materia medica — Appalachian Region, Southern.

Uncovering labour in information revolutions, 1750-2000edited by Aad Blok and Greg Downey.

Cambridge University Press, [2003]

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/cam051/2004300517.html
Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/cam051/2004300517.html

HD6331 .U45 2003

Subject: 

Labor supply — Effect of technological innovations on — History.

Information society — Economic aspects — History.

Working class — Effect of technological innovations on.

Technological innovations — Economic aspects — History.

Information technology — History.

Working class — History.

Image016

America and the pill: a history of promise, peril, and liberationElaine Tyler May.

Basic Books, c2010.

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1012/2009046957-d.html

HQ766.5.U5 M39 2010

Subject: 

Birth control — United States — History.

Oral contraceptives — Social aspects — United States — History.

Women — United States — Social conditions — 20th century.

Image018 (1)

Record makers and breakers: voices of the independent rock 'n' roll pioneersJohn Broven.

University of Illinois Press, c2009.

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0821/2008027204.html

ML405 .B76 2009

Subject: 

Sound recording executives and producers — United States — Biography.

Sound recording industry — United States — History.

Image022The Cambridge companion to the musicaledited by William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird.

Cambridge University Press, c2008.

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0808/2007053042-d.html

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0808/2007053042-t.html

ML2054 .C35 2008

Subject: 

Musicals — History and criticism.

Musical theater — History.

Image023 (2)The 1772 Philadelphia furniture price book: a facsimilewith an introduction and guide by Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, c2005.

NK2438.P5 A16 2005

Subject: 

Furniture — Pennsylvania — Philadelphia — History — 18th century — Catalogs.

Image025The long route to the invention of the telescopeRolf Willach.

American Philosophical Society, 2008.

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0825/2008035637.html

QB88 .W53 2008

Subject: 

Telescopes — History.

Lenses — History.

Eyeglasses — History.

Image029 (2)

America's wetland: an environmental and cultural history of tidewater Virginia and North CarolinaRoy T. Sawyer.

University of Virginia Press, 2010.

QH105.V8 S27 2010

Contents: 

Ice-age enclave — Relict fauna — Water's environmental facets — Period of European colonization — Agricultural history — Sturgeon, herring, and other fisheries — Antebellum golden age : transportation canals — African American experience — Armed conflict : a recurring theme — Intracoastal waterways : war canals — Forests then and now — Droughts and forest fires — From peat mining to wildlife refuges — Lost heritage : last river highway — Urbanization and depopulation.

Subject: 

Wetland ecology — Virginia — Atlantic Coast.

Wetland ecology — North Carolina — Atlantic Coast.

Drainage — Environmental aspects — Virginia — Atlantic Coast.

Drainage — Environmental aspects — North Carolina — Atlantic Coast.

Climatic changes — Virginia — Atlantic Coast.

Climatic changes — North Carolina — Atlantic Coast.

Atlantic Coast (Va.) — Environmental conditions.

Atlantic Coast (N.C.) — Environmental conditions.

Image031 (1)

Examining Tuskegee: the infamous syphilis study and its legacySusan M. Reverby.

University of North Carolina Press, c2009.

R853.H8 R48 2009

Contents: 

Introduction : race, medical uncertainty, and American culture — Historical contingencies : Tuskegee Institute, the Public Health Service, and syphilis — Planned, plotted, & official : the study begins — Almost undone : the study continues — What makes it stop? — Testimony : the public story in the 1970s — What happened to the men & their families? — Why & wherefore : the Public Health Service doctors — Triage & "powerful sympathizing" : Eugene H. Dibble, Jr — The best care : Eunice Verdell Rivers Laurie — Bioethics, history, & the study as gospel — The court of imagination — The political spectacle of blame & apology — Epilogue : the difficulties of treating racism with "Tuskegee".

Subject: 

Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

Human experimentation in medicine — Alabama — Macon County — History.

Syphilis — Research — Alabama — Macon County — History.

Image035 (2)

Hunting and fishing in the new South: black labor and white leisure after the Civil WarScott E. Giltner.

Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.

Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0829/2008007845-d.html

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0812/2008007845.html

SK43 .G55 2008

Subject: 

Hunting — Social aspects — Southern States — History — 19th century.

Hunting — Social aspects — Southern States — History — 20th century.

Fishing — Social aspects — Southern States — History — 19th century.

Fishing — Social aspects — Southern States — History — 20th century.

Men, White — Southern States — Social conditions.

Hunters — Southern States — History.

African American men — Southern States — Social conditions.

Hunting guides — Southern States — History.

Southern States — Race relations.

Southern States — History — 1865-1951.

Image037

From BetaMax to Blockbuster: video stores and the invention of movies on videoJoshua M. Greenberg.

MIT Press, c2008.

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0717/2007018942.html

TK6655.V5 G74 2008

Subject: 

Videocassette recorders.

Video recordings industry — History.

Image039 (1)

Appetite for America: how visionary businessman Fred Harvey built a railroad hospitality empire that civilized the Wild West. Stephen Fried.

Bantam Books, c2010

TX910.5.H34 F75 2010

Contents: 

Part One: Fred discovers America (and vice versa), 1853-1901 — Pot Walloper — The last train stop in America — A gentleman among the Bleeding Kansans — Railroad warrior — Opportunistic sponge — Savage and unnatural feeding — They'll try anything — Suited to the most exigent or epicurean taste — Cowboy victualer — Viva Las Vegas — We are in the wilds, we are not of them — Harvey girls — Like a house afire — Acute Americanitis — Transcontinental Fred — Biting the hand — The biggest catered lunch in American history — Let the boys do it — Rough ridden — The clutches of the grim monster — Part Two: Exceeding the Standard, 1901-1948 — A little journey in the wilderness — The Fred Harvey Indian Department — Tenth Legion — On the very brink of the dizzy gulf — Trainiacs — Kansas City Stars — National parking — Daring young Freddy and his flying machines — Soroptimistas — The roar of the twenties — Santa fated — A wonderful live toy to play with — Poised for takeoff — Ford Harvey has a cold — Freddy spreads his wings — Pay no attention to that crashing sound — Loaves and fishes — Heir raising — Great expectations — Tailspin — Kitty blinks — Private Pringle to the rescue — The spies at La Fonda — Big Hollywood ending — Epilogue — Appendix I: The grand tour of Fred Harvey's America — Appendix II: Meals by Fred Harvey — Apppendix III: Fred was here: a master list of Fred Harvey locations — Acknowledgments & Outshouts — Freditor's notes & sources — Bibliography — Index.

Subject: 

Harvey, Fred.

Fred Harvey (Firm)

Restaurateurs — United States — Biography.

Cooking, American.

Railroads — West (U.S.) — History.

Chris Cottrill

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Birthday

FDR2 Hundreds of books have been written about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States and the only person elected to the presidency four times. The Libraries has close to two hundred books on the subject of FDR with seemingly every facet of his presidency analyzed, criticized, and investigated. Others focus on his biography and two books held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library (AA/PG Library) focus on the two “bookends” of his life.

Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt 1882-1905 by Geoffrey C. Ward investigates the Roosevelt and Delano families and the life of FDR before his successful run for the New York state senate in 1910. Born on this day in 1882, Franklin Roosevelt was the son of James Roosevelt, a wealthy gentleman, and Sara Delano. Raised and educated in an affluent and secluded environment, Roosevelt eventually went to a boarding school in Massachusetts and then entered Harvard in 1900. While at Harvard he began courting his distant cousin (and Theodore Roosevelt’s niece) Eleanor Roosevelt. They married in 1905 and Roosevelt began practicing law in New York City until in 1910 when he ran for the state senate setting him on his political career. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Dying President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945 by Robert H. Ferrell examines the other “bookend” of FDR’s life – his last year. The author examines records and other evidence to determine that during his last campaign for president in 1944 Roosevelt likely knew he was suffering from cardiovascular disease and would likely not live to complete his final term. The book also examines the measures taken to keep FDR’s illness hidden from the American public.  When Roosevelt died of a massive stroke on April 12, 1945 on the cusp of the Allies’ victory in World War II, his death was so unexpected by the public that the nation was convulsed with overwhelming grief. Whether his failing health ultimately influenced the decisions made by the president in his final year as the author posits is debatable, but what is assured is that Roosevelt remains one of the most esteemed figures of the twentieth century.

FDR1 The high regard for FDR is reflected by the completion of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial as part of the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Washington, DC in 1997. The memorial was designed by Lawrence Halprin and arranged in four “rooms” or as the designer called them “chapters,” meant to evoke the four terms of Roosevelt’s presidency. Art work by several different artists are inset or placed around the walls with water running through each of the areas. The process of designing and creating the memorial is detailed by Halprin in The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial held by the AA/PG Library. Most of the books on Franklin D. Roosevelt are held at the AA/PG Library or the National Museum of American History Library, but as a reflection of the wide range of interest in and influence of this president, works can be found in many other branches of the Smithsonian Libraries including the National Museum of American Indian Library and the National Postal Museum Library. All can be found in the online catalog.

Doug Litts

Corn’s A -Poppin’

The Livingston Seed Company, Livingston's Seeds 1899 Annual, 1899, Back Cover. From the Libraries; digital collection, Seed Catalogs.

October is National Popcorn Popping Month.

Popcorn was first discovered thousands of years ago by the Native Americans in the United States. One of the oldest forms of corn, evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico. The English who came to America in the 16th and 17th centuries learned about popcorn from the Native Americans.—Wikipedia

Whether you pop yopur corn in a pan on the stove, or use an air popper, or wait to buy yours at the movie theater, popcorn is always a welcome treat.

During the Great Depression popcorn was comparatively cheap at 5-10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for some struggling farmers. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, causing Americans to eat three times more popcorn than they had before.—Wikipedia

Elizabeth Periale

Chinese Popcorn Hammer