Description: In 1956, Helena M. Weiss received a letter asking for information about “how to capture them, also how to raise them… what to put them in, also what to feed them.” Interestingly, the letter-writer neglected to specify what he or she meant by “them,” leaving Weiss only to guess what exactly the inquiry was referring to. From 1948 to 1956, Weiss was Chief of the Office of
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: How Smithsonian entomologist Harrison Dyar's field notes, now available on the Smithsonian Transcription Center, are improving present-day research done by Smithsonian Resident Research Associate Dr. Jorge Santiago-Blay.
Description: The research behind Michelle Obama's statement that the White House was built partly by slaves. [via Smithsonian Magazine]The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is hiring a beer historian, but it does require you to do more than just drink beer. [via Washington City Paper][WARNING NSFW] 20 bawdy art history tweets for modern times! [via deMilked]19th century
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="405" caption="U.S. Troops Surrounded by Holiday Mail During WWII, by unidentified photographer, c. 1944, National Postal Museum"][/caption] It’s no wonder that this photo of soldiers sorting holiday mail is such a favorite on the Commons. It clearly tugs on the heart strings of those who know (or try to imagine) what it would be like
Description: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives recently welcomed Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty as our inaugural director. Join us as we get to know the new leader of our organization!
Description: Archived correspondence between Joseph Hirshhorn and modern artists Willem de Kooning, Alexander Calder, and Marc Chagall bring light to the means in which we communicate artist to collector relationships in the digital era.
Description: As we mentioned earlier this week, today is AskArchivists Day on Twitter. Starting at 9 am EST, and until 5 pm EST today, Smithsonian expert archivists, will be answering all of your questions about archivists, archiving, and archival collections.Come on over to the Smithsonian Twitter feed, and ask a question by adding @Smithsonian and the hashtag #AskArchivists to your