Press "Enter" to skip to content

Month: November 2015

November twenty-six, nineteen hundred sixty-three.

 

November twenty-six, nineteen hundred sixty-three, poem
November twenty-six, nineteen hundred sixty-three, poem

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr. on November 22, 1963, ultimately ushered in a decade of turmoil and distress in the United States. The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement for African Americans were two of many struggles facing the American people in the 1960s.

Spotlight on Native American Artists

EL Photo
Photo of Edmonia Lewis from the National Portrait Gallery. NPG.94.95.

Native Americans have had a tremendous impact in numerous arenas of American life. This is particularly true in the visual arts. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month we’re highlighting artists of American Indian descent who have had a significant presence in the American Art and Portrait Gallery (AA/PG) Library’s collections.

A Watch Almanac Takes Us Back in Time

One of the fun things about working with the Trade Literature Collection is that you never know what you might come across. There are hundreds of thousands of catalogs in the collection. The catalogs cover many, many subjects–food, clothing, toys, machine tools, boilers, lighting, medical supplies, and much more. But every so often, one catalog in particular might catch your eye. This time, it was a trade catalog by National Elgin Watch Co.

The Fix: Saving The Marine Atlas

When Smithsonian Libraries’ material is placed on exhibition, all selected objects are reviewed for display. In some cases, conservation treatment is required in order to make it possible for a book to be opened and pages turned without damaging the structure. Other factors such as conditions for temperature, relative humidity, and light levels in the exhibition gallery are reviewed before allowing items to be exhibited for any length of time. The Dibner Library’s large and important volume of John William Norie’s Marine atlas is the centerpiece of an upcoming exhibition at the National Museum of American History – and was subject to the required conservation review.

 

New “Fantastic Worlds” shirts available!

You have the opportunity to own an awesome piece of imagery from Fantastic Worlds: Science and Fiction 1780-1910 and support Smithsonian Libraries exhibition programming! Now until December 7th, you can order this limited edition graphic tee through TFund. It features signature imagery from the exhibition: a so-called “man bat” from Leopold Galluzzo’s Altre scoverte fatte nella luna dal Sigr. Herschel , 1836. Click here now to buy!