Archival collections often have variety of printed material and ephemera such as pamphlets, broadsides, books, and maps. Periodically, these offer unexpected perspective on an aspect of history, as is the case with a smallish, three-dimensional 1872 relief map titled Map of the White Mountains N.H. nestled in the papers of Lincoln’s assistant secretary of the navy, Gustavus Vasa Fox. As its name…

The fact that Russian World War I soldiers remained prisoners of war well after the November 1918 Armistice is one of the more obscure aspects of the war’s history. But with civil war raging in Russia, concerns arose over repatriating soldiers that might return to reinforce the Bolsheviks. This meant large number of Russian soldiers remained in…

Sometimes when catalogers examine a book, we find that parts of its structure use recycled materials from other books. These materials are often invisible, hidden away under outer coverings of paper or leather, and revealed only when an item is damaged or taken apart for conservation. But sometimes, the entire outer cover itself is made from…

This post was written by Ted O’Reilly, Head of the Manuscript Department. Within the Historical Society’s holdings is a series of remarkable scrapbooks kept by Charles H. Sherrill, a New York lawyer, later American ambassador to Argentina and Turkey, and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The scrapbooks begin not long after his graduation…

This post is by Samantha Walsh, Reference Assistant in the Department of Prints, Photographs & Architectural Collections The first mention of Daylight Saving Time was made by Benjamin Franklin, in a 1784 letter to the editor of the Journal de Paris. While many attribute today’s practice of turning the clocks forward and back to Franklin, it…

In 1931, the California State Park Commission presented this engrossed certificate in gratitude to Save the Redwoods League founders  Henry Fairfield Osborn, Madison Grant and John C. Merriam. From all appearances, it’s an attractive reminder of the achievements of the early conservation movement. What is less apparent is a darker link between the three founders…

Post written by Mariam Touba This spring we have heard much that commemorates the disaster that befell the ocean liner Titanic, but it is not the only mournful anniversary of the destruction of a beautiful, efficient and luxurious way to cross the Atlantic. Seventy-five years ago, on May 6, 1937, the airship Hindenburg caught fire…

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…