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 creation and design of the Smithsonian Institution Building, commonly known as the “Castle”, is no mystery; however, the stories of some of the early individuals involved in the formation of the Smithsonian’s collection are less commonly known. We need to ask who collected the specimens and produced research on the objects that visitors now see when they enter Smithsonian
Description: In honor of the Heritage Preservation organization’s annual MayDay initiative to protect cultural heritage from disasters, the Archives will be highlighting how we deal with emergencies and how you can prepare yourself in a series of blog posts. [caption id="attachment_12763" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="This image is quite dark for a reason—in an emergency
Description: Note: I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks, so look for Link Love to start again on July 22nd! We’ve been blogging about the Civil War and the Smithsonian for the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, and others across the Smithsonian have been doing the same. Over at NPR’s Picture show blog, photography curator Shannon Perich shares some incredible animated Civil War-era
Description: Perfect fodder for animated gifs; zootropes. [via Unfunk]Send SFMOMA a text and it will respond with art! [via SFMOMA]Eerie plaster casts of people and animals in their final moments before being buried in Pompeii. [via Atlas Obscura]Weighing newborn babies wasn't "a thing" until the 20th century. [via O Say Can You See, National Museum of American History]Archives Unleashed
Description: The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has acquired the earliest known photograph of U.S. President John Quincy Adams. [via Art Fix Daily]For the last 3 decades, the Center for the Study of Political Graphics has amassed 100 years of protest art from around the world. [via AIGA]Related, how museum curators are collecting history as it happens, including those at our own
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