Victorian Garden in the South Yard with James R. Buckler, October 15, 1976, photograph by Richard Ferrar. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 31, Folder 22, Image no. SIA_000095_B31_F22_003.

Collection Highlights: New Additions to the Archives Website

See new collection highlights posted to the Smithsonian Institution Archives website.
January 12, 2021, by Tammy Peters

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. Staff are continuing very productive work, despite being in extended telework mode.

A photo slide of a man sitting at a desk.

1,953 New Historical Images from Record Unit 95

Record Unit 95 is a collection of photographs documenting a wide range of photographic images that capture Smithsonian history. The 1,953 new images document the Victorian garden south of the Castle in the 1970s, the Castle renovation in the 1960s, numerous portraits of nineteenth-century prominent figures, and our own Archives when it was located in the Castle! Most of these images are in the public domain. And, there is more to come from this collection that we hope to post in the near future.

View of a man standing in front of the Victorian Garden.

24 Revised or New Finding Aids Online, including:

  • Accession 19-224 - National Museum of Natural History, Department of Entomology, Curatorial Correspondence, 1928, 1933-1934, 1946, 1956-2017. This accession consists of correspondence documenting the research of Diptera (flies), specimen identification and loans, and professional activities of F. Christian Thompson.  Some materials predate 1963, when the department was the Division of Insects.  Materials include correspondence, notes, drawings, memoranda, agreements, proposals, brochures, floor plans, news clippings, publications, proposals, reports, and photographs. Some materials are in electronic format.

Two men sit at a table together. One is looking at the other and grinning. Rocks appear to be on the

  • Accession 19-219 - Smithsonian Institution Visitor Information and Associates' Reception Center, Volunteer Program Records, circa 1967-2005. This accession consists of records documenting resources and tools for training docents at the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as the Castle. Topics cover the Institution's history including: founding donor James Smithson, the Enid A. Haupt Garden, tours, and the architecture and design of the facility.  Materials include correspondence, brochures, books, newsletters, memoranda, news clippings, photographs, floor plans, drawings, and publications.
  • Portrait of Henry Van Ness Boynton standing in a suit.

15 Finding Aids with New Links to Digitized Material, including:

  • Record Unit 264 -Smithsonian-Peace Corps Environmental Program, Records, 1970-1979. In 1970 the Smithsonian Institution contracted with the Peace Corps to assist it in establishing an international environmental program, the Smithsonian Institution-Peace Corps Environmental Program (SI-PCEP). The program helped the Peace Corps to develop conservation, biological, and ecological projects in natural resource fields with principal focus on wildlife conservation and national park development. Through the Office of Environmental Sciences (later the Office of International and Environmental Programs), SI-PCEP recruited and placed qualified Peace Corps volunteers with advanced degrees or specialized skills, assisted in establishing training programs, and provided information and technical and scientific support to volunteers in the field. In May 1975, direction of the program was transferred to the Assistant Secretary for Science. The program was terminated in September 1978.

View of an office space.

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