Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="269" caption="First Lady of the Land, First Lady of the Air, by John Roosevelt, c. 1936, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Archives Center"][/caption] One of the things I love about working at the Smithsonian is spending my days typing keywords into our search engines and seeing what kind of images will
Description: Alphonso Lorenzo Jones joined the Smithsonian in 1924 as a mechanic. He retired 41 years later as the chief of the Institution’s duplicating office.
Description: The Smithsonian’s scientists and naturalists were, and still are, constantly on the move. When they weren’t in the field, they were in the museum studying collected specimens, writing papers, and getting ready for the next series of trips. Dr. Waldo LaSalle Schmitt (1887-1977) was no exception.Logistics is a special skill, an essential one when traveling on scientific
Description: It has officially been 426 days since the Smithsonian Institution (including the Archives) first closed its doors. Many may be wondering….how does an archivist, especially one who deals directly with photographs or photographic negatives, continue to work from home for over a year? Well, my friends, I will give you a brief glimpse into some of the work I have been able to
Description: The term “personal equation” came into use in the 19th century as scientists found that observers have inherent biases: some anticipate events, and some report events after they have occurred. Recognition of the problem led to a spate of personal equation instruments: some measured biases of this sort, and some reduced the effect of personal errors. Most of these
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