Description: Since 2009, Janice Stagnitto Ellis has been the senior paper and book conservator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Between 1992 and 1999, Ellis worked as a senior book conservator at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. In her current role at the Museum, Ellis supervises the day-to-day operations of the Paper Conservation Lab. She is responsible for the
Description: Link Love: a weekly post with links to interesting videos and stories about archival issues, technology and culture, and Washington D.C. and American history.
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.
Description: [caption id="" align="alignright" width="198" caption="Screenshot from music video "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson, Shows use of anti-gravity leaning patent, Courtesy of Wikipedia."][/caption] Umm, this definitely wins the award for my most favorite new discovery in an archive. How did Michael Jackson do that off the hook lean in his dance in “Smooth Criminal”? Apparently
Description: Readers of The Bigger Picture will be familiar with the Hungerford Deed, a 1787 property contract dividing a lucrative land inheritance between the mother and aunt of the Smithsonian’s founding donor, James Smithson. Over the last three years I have been able to take a deep dive into the content of the Deed and strengthen our understanding of Smithson’s choice to leave his
Description: We are pleased to announce a new mobile experience produced by the Archives, Castle of Curiosities. The Smithsonian's first building, the Castle, opened its doors in 1855. While the Norman architectural style evoked "learned university," it was bordered by fetid canals and rather isolated from the rest of Washington D.C. Check out an app about iconic stories in the history of