Description: [caption id="attachment_12162" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="A participant discusses a lock of hair from a member of her family with NMAAHC staff at a Save Our African American Treasures event held in Detroit, Michigan, by Michael Barnes, Courtesy of The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture."][/caption] [caption
Description: Nearly two years ago, I first heard of a course on the conservation of Japanese paper co-organized by ICCROM, the cultural heritage arm of UNESCO, and the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (also known in Japanese as “Tobunken”). Over three weeks, the course offered a first-hand look at the traditional Japanese conservation techniques, materials, and
Description: Born in 1829 to free black parents along the border between Maryland and the District of Columbia, Solomon Galleon Brown would become, at age 23, the first black employee of the Smithsonian. Starting out as a laborer in the Exchange Office, he ultimately became the personal assistant of Spencer Baird, the second secretary of the Smithsonian. By the time of his 1904 retirement,