Description: In celebration of Preservation Week, we’ll take a look at a recently created custom housing for a fragile fabric-covered box found within Accession 18-009.
Description: Barbeque. Doughboy. Free trade. Pumple-nose. Smugglers. Cortan. Crockadore. Chopsticks. William Dampier, the 17th century explorer turned privateer/pirate, is credited with introducing these words, and more than 1,000 others, into the English vernacular. He was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe three times, and created the first detailed record of Australian Flora
Description: At the Archives we get to see hundreds and hundreds (technically ~3 million if we wanted) images and photographs. We sometimes lose focus (ahh, get it) of all the amazing people behind the lens.National Photograph Month at the Archives
Description: In conservation it can be easy to overlook the content of an item and just get on with the treatment. Here is a case where overlooking the content was simply not possible.
Description: Today on The Bigger Picture, we are highlighting the anniversary of the 1927 Conference on the Future of the Smithsonian which brought together people from across the country – scientists, academics, politicians, and private citizens – to advise on the future role of the Smithsonian. For this, we bring you a piece from Smithsonian Archives Program Assistant Lisa Fthenakis,
Description: The Smithsonian Institution Archives Reference Team handles an average of around 6,000 queries per year, and if you us what people have been researching at the Archives recently, you'll get some pretty interesting responses. Although not comprehensive, here's a snapshot of the diverse range of information encompassed by the history of the world's largest museum complex!
Description: This month, the Smithsonian Institution Archives, along with many other archives across the Smithsonian and around the nation, will be celebrating American Archives Month. The purpose of this celebration is "to raise awareness about the value of archives and archivists." We write a lot about what an archivist does on this blog, but, for those of you who don't know and are
Description: Today, James Smithson’s bequest to found the Smithsonian is considered a wonderful event, but in 1835 when it was announced, many Americans responded negatively. Why did they look his gift horse in the mouth?
Description: In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Museum Computer Network, this first blog explores the early interactions of MCN with the Smithsonian.