In honor of President’s Day and George Washington’s birthday, we’re featuring the Pictorial life of George Washington. Although published in 1848, it’s available today in its entirety in our Digital Library. This illustrated biography traces Washington’s life from birth through his first years as president. The engravings depict many of Washington’s heroic moments in battle, in addition to his early childhood and family life.
Category: Holidays and Special Occasions
Valentine’s Day is a mere 24 hours away. Still in need of a gift for your sweetheart? Consider celebrating that someone special by adopting a book in their honor or memory. Every adoption includes a physical and online bookplate. Gifts go toward acquiring and conserving our rare books, so you leave a legacy of love for generations to come.
Rhubarb, that harbinger of spring for many, is honored in the United States on January 23rd with National Rhubarb Day. Having let National Rhubarb Vodka Day (first Saturday in December) pass without note, I wanted to bake a pie in preparation. Thanks to the generosity of a neighbor and his bountiful garden last spring and summer, I had plenty set by. Rhubarb does freeze well. Inspired by the scholars transcribing, as well as cooking with and blogging about, culinary manuscripts dating from 1600 to 1800 in the University of Pennsylvania collections (recently profiled in The Washington Post), I turned to the Smithsonian Libraries for my commemorative effort.
“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution”. Speech given at the National Cathedral, March 31st, 1968.
Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year from the heart of the Smithsonian! We hope the video below expresses the great regard we hold for each of you, the people we serve.
All I want for Christmas (really) is an amaryllis in full bloom. It is lovely to see poinsettias, beautiful products of the Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse in Suitland, Maryland, placed about the museums, but there is something special about the amaryllis as a seasonal plant. Poinsettias have become too traditional, too expected, too (well) durable.
From all of us at the Smithsonian Libraries! Our branches will be closed on Thursday, November 27th, 2014, though Smithsonian museums remain open. We hope you enjoy your holiday!