Description: In 1956, Helena M. Weiss received a letter asking for information about “how to capture them, also how to raise them… what to put them in, also what to feed them.” Interestingly, the letter-writer neglected to specify what he or she meant by “them,” leaving Weiss only to guess what exactly the inquiry was referring to. From 1948 to 1956, Weiss was Chief of the Office of
Description: If you are someone who likes to view our collections, you may have noticed what looks like a slight cosmetic change in our collections pages. Honestly, even if you use our site heavily, you may have missed it. A side-by-side would show all that really changed was a new title bar, a few new buttons on the viewer, and another new button down at the bottom right next to the
Description: Throughout the next months, the Smithsonian Institution Archives will feature posts related to the Smithsonian and the Civil War in honor of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the First Battle of Manassas raged just thirty miles southwest of Washington DC and the Smithsonian Institution Building that housed Secretary Joseph Henry and his family.
Description: A brief narrative on Jean Louis Berlandier, a French naturalist, and one of the first scientists to observe, collect , and document the natural history specimens of southeastern Texas and northeastern Mexico.