Description: Spencer F. Baird and George Brown Goode used their diverse, and sometimes quirky, contacts from the U.S. Fish Commission to fill exhibit cabinets in the U.S. National Museum.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_9592,size=200,left]Did you know the Smithsonian was an early adopter of the telephone? In June of 1878, a system of electronic bells and telephones was installed throughout the Smithsonian Castle. The system connected several workrooms and offices to provide instant communications within the building. At that time, there were only 187 telephone lines
Description: The postcards in this gallery are from observatories associated with the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory established in 1890 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the Smithsonian’s research centers. Together with the Harvard College Observatory, it forms the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.The Mt. Wilson Observatory opened in the early