Season's Greetings
A common theme in our collections is the blurred line between professional and personal correspondence. Relationships that start out as work collaborations evolve into friendships that last lifetimes. Many times, it is shown through a warm salutation or a final paragraph giving updates on one's family. Since it is the holiday season, we've pulled out some Christmas cards that illustrate those personal connections.
Some show off the sender's artistic talents, as with George Sprague Myers' original work depicting the Pines of Parana. Myers, an ichthyologist and herpetologist, had just returned to the States after serving as a special professor of Ichthyology at the Museu Nacional in Rio de Jeneiro. Doris Holmes Blake, an entomologist with the USDA, drew a Christmas tree lit by fireflies and surrounded by admiring creatures.
Other examples use photography to send holiday wishes. William Harris Ashmead sent out a photo of himself with his collections.
The S. Dillon Ripley (eighth Smithsonian Secretary) family (above) went to great lengths to mimic the first Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry's family portrait (see below).
Personally, I like photographer Fremont Davis' idea.
Cheers from the Smithsonian Archives, and have a great holiday season!
Comments (9) – Leave a comment
Wonderful warm cheers to you and all archivists, Tammy! And sending the link to friends is a great way to say "Season's Greetings and Happy New Year!" - Marcel
Dear Tammy, What A splendid way to send holiday greetings! I was sort of shocked to recall that I knew Myers, Blake, and Ripley, but then reassured by the fact that I didn't know Joseph Henry, who was just a few years before my time. I had never seen the Ripley family photo - what a hoot! Congratulations, and best wishes to you wonderful Archives people.
Hello-
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I hope that this helps!
Best,
Catherine
We are developing a history publication for the First United Methodist Church in Newnan, Georgia. I've copied several of your pages,but would apprefciate any direction, special event (Christmas, Easter, etc), formats you can suggest.
Thank you, Alice Gladden
Alice: You might try just entering holiday names into the Smithsonian's larger collections search to find images, etc. It can be found at: http://collections.si.edu/search/ That's probably the best option.
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