Description: When James Smithson claimed in his will that “the best blood of England” ran through his veins, he was referring primarily to his family connection to the medieval Hungerfords.1 The Hungerfords were royal companions and powerful politicians in their heyday, and this good fortune managed to endure for centuries before dwindling away. Their family estates, passed down in some
Description: A daily photo highlight from Smithsonian collections. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Renwick Administrator Lloyd E. Herman (1972-1986), wearing a cummerbund made of leftover drapery material from the Grand Salon, examining woodworks of craftsman Wendell Castle at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, January 27, 1972, by Unknown photographer,