Graduation season is upon us! Some students have already graduated. Others are just about to graduate. Ever wonder if academic regalia looked any different in the past? Let’s take a look at caps, gowns, and hoods in a Cotrell & Leonard trade catalog from the early twentieth century.
Author: Alexia MacClain
It’s easy to take a book for granted and not think about the machines and time it took to make the book, especially in the nineteenth century. The Trade Literature Collection includes catalogs for bookbinding and printing machinery. Some of those machines are shown in this 1892 Montague & Fuller trade catalog.
April 10-16 is National Library Week! In honor of the event, we invite you to explore some of the tools of the trade, circa 1894.
Running out of space for your books? More books than space to shelve them? In the late nineteenth century, the Yost Circular Case Co. had just the thing for you. A revolving circular bookcase which allowed for the storage of more books in less space! This circa 1894 trade catalog entitled Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of the Yost Consolidated Revolving Circular Book Cases describes the Yost Consolidated Revolving Circular Bookcase. This bookcase could be used in homes, offices, or public libraries.
This post was written by Emily Daniel and Rebecca Durgin, graduate students in the Smithsonian-Mason History of Decorative Arts Masters Program. Emily and Rebecca are also Graduate Research Assistants at the National Museum of American History Library.
After the apparent last snow of the season (hopefully!), Spring is finally coming to Washington, D.C. Brides-to-be always flock to the District this time of year with the promise of cherry blossom engagement photos. In addition, brides can look back at historic inspirations found in the National Museum of American History Library’s Trade Literature Collection.
Recently while browsing the Trade Literature Collection, I came across the Wanamaker Diary from 1910. It instantly caught my eye because I remember going to the Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia as a child with my grandmother. Those shopping trips, which included a ride on the trolley, always felt like an adventure.
After recently experiencing two feet of snow and really cold temperatures, I found myself wishing for the much warmer temperatures of summer. Because there are so many subjects represented in the Trade Literature Collection, it didn’t take long before I found catalogs advertising sports equipment. And that made me think of much warmer weather to come in just a few, short months.
Now that it’s cold outside, this is the perfect time to think of warmer temperatures and perhaps a vacation. The Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History Library includes a lot of railway-related catalogs but not all of them are about equipment and supplies. Some are directed towards the tourist, like this nineteenth century catalog by Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Indian River Railway.