This post was written by Luis Rodriguez, Collections Management Specialist. In 1964 the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach created a provocative and effective ad for Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential campaign. It juxtaposed a young girl counting the petals on a daisy with the launch and detonation of a nuclear weapon, thus attacking the more hawkish…

This post was written by Tammy Kiter, Manuscript Reference Librarian. Along with sweltering heat and humidity, summer also brings with it a deep sense of nostalgia. Many of us hold fond memories of backyard barbecues, building sand castles at the beach and watching fireflies light up the trees at night. This time of year also…

This post was written by Catherine Stephens, Enhanced Conservation Work Experience Assistant, Summer 2016. In Colonial America, broadsides were one of the fastest ways to spread news, rally support for a political cause, or to advertise for popular products and entertainments. These unassuming paper notices were printed in large quantities and were displayed publicly or…

This post was written by Matthew Murphy, Head of Cataloging and Metadata. Throughout our lives, at some point or another, we will all bear witness to a historical event. Often by accident or happenstance, we end up being part of something that echoes through the ages. Many of us keep record of our experiences, often…

Americans have spilled quite a lot of ink discussing the Declaration of Independence’s five words “all Men are created equal.” As with any historical text, their meaning in eighteenth century America is important to avoid drawing anachronistic conclusions. In particular, many would point out that many contemporaries commonly wouldn’t have regarded African Americans as commensurate with “all Men.” This underscores slavery’s denial of…

This post was written by Mariam Touba, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections What to do if you are a leader of a political party and you fear that your party’s presumptive nominee for the presidency thoroughly lacks the temperament for the office? If he is erratic, animated by “disgusting egotism,” “distempered jealousy,” and “ungovernable indiscretion”?…

This blog post was written by Marybeth Kavanagh, Reference Archivist for Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections. “A supply of pure and wholesome water is an object so essential to the health and prosperity of a city, that it should form one of the leading features of the public improvements which characterize its growth”- F.B. Tower, civil…

This post was written by cataloger Miranda Schwartz. An unusual item in the American Historical Manuscript Collection is a hand-printed, or pen-printed, newspaper by Vermont farmer James Johns (1797-1874). Born in Huntington, Vermont, Johns received little formal education but from the age of 13 on he wrote—and wrote and wrote—not stopping until his death at…

This post was written by Joseph Ditta, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections. In her 1945 book Old Dutch Houses of Brooklyn Maud Esther Dilliard (1888-1977) recorded the stories of “all the ancient dwellings” which were then in existence around the borough so “that their early owners, the founders of Kings County, [would] not be forgotten in the…