Category Archives: Holidays
The Tale of the Wandering Washington, No. 2
This post was written by Mariam Touba, Reference Librarian. Last year at this time, we commemorated George Washington’s birthday by following a wooden statue of the general and President in its convoluted journey from city monument to private hands to mythologizing. It would not be the only sculpture to share such a fate, and this [...]
Louis Prang, Father of the American Christmas Card
This post was written by Marybeth Kavanagh, Print Room Reference Librarian. It’s widely accepted that the first Christmas card was printed in London in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a holiday card that he could send to his friends. But it was Boston-based printer Louis Prang who introduced [...]
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
It sounds like an easy question, right? Well, Thomas Jefferson certainly wrote it — in terms of authorship. But do you know whose hand it was that literally produced the famous handwritten copy? If you’re not sure, don’t worry, historians aren’t completely certain either. That said, there is consensus that it was “probably” Timothy Matlack, of [...]
Friggatriskaidekaphobes Need Not Apply
Written by Joseph Ditta, Reference Librarian Thirteenth Annual Report of the Thirteen Club, 1895 (cover) Happy Friday the Thirteenth! Are you cowering under the covers, hoping to escape the horrible tragedies that are doomed to hit you should you set foot out of bed? If you answered yes, we are sorry to say your friggatriskaidekaphobia [...]
Carriers’ Addresses: The Holiday Gratuity, With a Little Flair
Written by Mariam Touba, Reference Librarian It still happens at this time of year, a holiday greeting is slipped under the door from a service provider offering good wishes and a subtle hint to be remembered with an end-of-the-year gratuity. The practice is an old one, but was, in the 18th and 19th centuries, carried [...]
Veterans Day: Remembering World War I
At 5 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the United States and its allies concluded an armistice with Germany. Later that morning, at 11 a.m. French time, World War I hostilities came to an end after one concluding salvo. In America, the day became known as Armistice Day until Congress substituted “Veterans” in 1954 to expand [...]
Early Vampire Celebrations
It appears that New Yorker’s love for vampires began before the rise of gothic rockers or even the publication of Bram Stoker’s book Dracula in 1897. The N-YHS library collection includes invitations and programs for dinner parties from 1892-1893 called a “Death Watch” sponsored by an organization entitled “Order of the Vampires” or sometimes simply called [...]
