A 1936 exchange of letters about the prickly porcupine preserves both a contemporary scientific debate and the wit and wisdom of a young Utah girl with a beloved pet.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives continually strives to add more collection information to its website. This is a periodic post highlighting new acquisitions and individual collection items.

U.S. Capitol building as seen from the tower of the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, with Baltimore and Potomac railroad station and tracks in view, circa 1880, SIA RU000095, SA-197.

To celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month, the Smithsonian Institution Archives presents photographs of dentists and dental researchers.

At the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, visitors view a papier mache replica of a Triceratops skeleton made by Frederic Lucas, assistant curator in the Section of Vertebrate Fossils at the United States National Museum, 1901.

Buildings and grounds at Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, featuring "Mystic Maze" and ferris wheel, 1895.

Organ built by John Brown Organ Co. on exhibit at Cotton States Exposition, Atlanta, 1895.

Advancing peace requires a strong, wide, and active network.

Bear skin on exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915.

The historical legacy of amatuer photographer Julian Papin Scott (1877-1961) is far greater than was acknowledged at the time, because of both who he photographed and how he set up the images.