Description: Each Smithsonian Institution Archives collection has a life story. That narrative, much like the biography of a person, can explain how a collection's photographs, letters, and documents relate to each other. Closer inspection may also reveal hidden connections to other archival materials and can help in identifying photographers and writers. This new blog series will turn a
Description: On January 24, 1925, for the first time in over a century, a total solar eclipse would be visible across the northern part of the United States. How scientists used a dirigible to observe the phenomenon.
Description: In the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Exhibits, Margaret Jane Russell Roller (1888-1973) had begun to specialize in fabricating lifelike wax models of food and animals.
Description: A 1936 exchange of letters about the prickly porcupine preserves both a contemporary scientific debate and the wit and wisdom of a young Utah girl with a beloved pet.
Description: In 1925, seven George Washington University students volunteered to stay awake for sixty hours, and drove, danced, sang, and swam in an effort to remain alert.