March 30 marked the 144th anniversary of the signing of the treaty under which the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. During the 125 years leading up to this event, a number of European powers (notably Russia, Spain, France and Great Britain), and later the United States, sponsored exploring expeditions to the area which we now know as Alaska.
Category: Special Collections
For National “Joe” Day, the Libraries would like to feature some digital collections from its Joseph F. Cullman 3rd, Library of Natural History.
A recent addition to the Libraries’ Galaxy of Images are two images from Darwin’s manuscript papers, from the Dibner Library, including Holograph manuscript, page 242, from Darwin’s On the origin of species.
Mark Catesby, a little-known English naturalist, spent 12 years exploring Britain’s colonies in south-eastern North America in the early decades of the 18th century. The book that he published afterwards in London, The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (1729-1747), was the first fully illustrated work on the flora and fauna of any part of our continent. In two large folio volumes, he included 220 full-page, hand-colored illustrations of hundreds of species of trees, flowers, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals, most of them the first view Europeans had of North-American plants and animals.
We are pleased to announce that the Galaxy of Images is the featured collection in this month’s D-LIB Magazine. D-LIB is an online journal of digital library research. Its informative articles are made freely available by funding from the Corporation for National Research Initiatives and other sponsors.
You hopefully aren't still reeling from the the recent spring forward and can now be happy that it is really, truly Spring. John Wright, Flower grower's guide, vol. 1-6, 1898, Hyacinths-Crocus-Snowdrops and more »
The second Sunday in March is Buzzard Day. The Libraries’ Galaxy of Images makes it easy to celebrate, wth two wonderful plates by Mark Catesby and François-Nicolas Martinet featuring buzzards.