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Author: Liz O'Brien

Once There Were Billions: 100 Year Anniversary of the death Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon

Liz O'Brien
August 28, 2014
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Martha, the last passenger pigeon.
Martha, the last passenger pigeon.

This post is written by Helen James, Curator-in-Charge, Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History. Ask Helen a question during our Twitterchat on Tuesday, September 2nd!

Martha, the last passenger pigeon, is back on public display for the first time since 1999, this time in an exhibition titled Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America that opened in the Smithsonian Libraries Exhibition Gallery of the National Museum of Natural History on June 24. Martha died on September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo; she was immediately frozen into a 300-pound block of ice and shipped by fast train to the Smithsonian in Washington. There her body was carefully preserved as a taxidermy mount and an anatomical specimen. She had been recognized in the last years of her life as the only surviving individual of a species that was the most abundant bird in North America only decades earlier. In death, she has become one of the Smithsonian’s most treasured specimens. Martha’s story was a wake-up call for our nation regarding its unregulated harvesting of natural resources and contributed to the development of our modern conservation ethic and laws protecting wildlife.

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Spotlight: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library

Liz O'Brien
August 13, 2014
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The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden was established in 1974 as a beacon of the art of our time. This year, the museum is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a series of exhibitions and projects drawn from and inspired by our expansive library collection including Salvatore Scarpitta: Traveler Days of Endless Time, and Speculative Forms, featuring installations that re-examine key moments and figures in modern and contemporary art. Since its inception, the museum’s library has provided critical service to the staff and the public. Librarians ensure the availability of books and files on artists in the museum collection, exhibitions, and programs. Researchers, curators, conservators, and the public rely on the Library to supply the most current resources.

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The Fall of a Mighty Empire: The Passenger Pigeon

Liz O'Brien
July 21, 2014
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The story of the last Passenger Pigeon and the disappearance of the Great Auk, Carolina Parakeet, and Heath Hen reveal the fragile connections between species and their environment. To help tell their story, the Smithsonian Libraries, Biodiversity Heritage Library, and the National Museum of Natural History have curated a joint exhibit entitled Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America which opened June 24 in the National Museum of Natural History. 

Two hundred years ago, the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was the most abundant bird species in North America. A population numbering in the billions, as much as 40% of all land birds on the continent shared the same genome as Martha. Migrating flocks were so large that they literally blocked out the sky, stretching up to a mile wide and 300 miles long and taking 14 hours to pass a single point. Flocks were so densely packed that a single shot could bring down dozens of birds. The beat of up to 3.5 billion pairs of wings literally created its own cold front below, and those unaccustomed to the marvel feared the end of the world was upon them.

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Biodiversity Heritage Library Adds Two Members

Liz O'Brien
July 16, 2014
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bhllogoThe Biodiversity Heritage Library, headquartered at the Smithsonian Libraries, welcomes the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, Ill.) and Washington University (St. Louis, Mo.) as new partners. These two institutions will contribute to the digitization of historical science literature in the BHL collections. All material will be online, free, and available to the public.

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Modern Extinction: Heath Hen

Liz O'Brien
July 14, 2014
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The story of the last Passenger Pigeon and the disappearance of the Great Auk, Carolina Parakeet, and Heath Hen reveal the fragile connections between species and their environment. To help tell their story, the Smithsonian Libraries, Biodiversity Heritage Library, and the National Museum of Natural History have curated a joint exhibit entitled Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America which opened June 24 in the National Museum of Natural History. 

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Adopt Hand blocked wall papers!

Liz O'Brien
July 7, 2014
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Zuber et Cie, founded in 1797 by Jean Zuber, is one of the most important manufacturers of hand blocked and scenic wallpapers. In 1804, Zuber produced one of the earliest scenics called “Vue de Suisses,” and they continue to be known for the quality of their wood block printing. This rare catalogue documents Zuber’s work that reflects American tastes in the late 1920s. A few of the samples also directly relate to wallpapers in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Wallcoverings Department collection. To adopt Hand blocked wall papers, visit our website or call 202.633.2241. zuberspread copy

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