To celebrate the launch of our 175th-anniversary online exhibition, Smithson to Smithsonian, we’ll explore the life and legacy of founder James Smithson with a panel of experts on July 27th
An 1896 trade catalog in our National Museum of American History Library explains how the Davis Sewing Machine Company pivoted to bike sales at the turn of the 20th century
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary year. We dig into our records at Smithsonian Institution Archives to trace the center's origins and highlight some of its early leaders in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
The history of Violet Dandridge’s investment in her work as a scientific illustrator and a suffragist, told in her own words, helps us construct a more complete picture of what it meant to many women to pursue careers and basic rights in the early twentieth century.
"Iconographic Encyclopaedia of Science, Literature, and Art" was translated and updated by Spencer Baird, a man who would become the Smithsonian's second Secretary. Much like our very own Institution, it covered topics from art to zoology. Today, a new digital edition helps brings its knowledge to 21st-century viewers.
For National Library Week, explore the tools of a vintage library circulation desk. In 1918, they might not have had computers to circulate and track library books, but their paper-based systems were well-thought out. Listening carefully and you can almost hear the "ca-thunk" of the due date stamp!
This mid-19th century advertising circular proposes a new idea for doing laundry. What it lacks in detailed description, it makes up for with powerful testimonials.
Sisters Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt founded the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, which would later become Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. These Gilded Age sisters traveled extensively, documenting their journeys in a series of journals. Recently digitized, a few of the diaries are now available for you to read and transcribe from home.
Fannie Farmer joined the staff of the Boston Cooking School shortly after graduating. Just 2 years later, she became its principal. Her "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" is a classic, combining recipes and simplified science. Plus, a whole chapter on pies
Grass expert Dr. Cleofé E. Calderón worked with the Smithsonian for most of her career. She collected species, published descriptions of rare and unusual plants, and led workshops that helped shape the field of bamboo taxonomy. She also rediscovered a rare grass species not seen by scientists for nearly a century.
"Sports suits" and "suspender skirts" might not be the focus of New York Fashion Week but we're enjoying the vintage charm found in a Smithsonian Trade Literature Collection from the early 20th century
Pulling from digitized collections, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives has just released ten free, downloadable coloring pages as part of the Color Our Collections campaign. Whether you want to bring polychromatic glory to old black-and-white photos or scribble in vintage fashion plates, you’ll find a little something for everyone in this new packet.
Join Smithsonian Libraries and Archives for a special program on February 15th. We'll explore lesser-known histories of women at the Smithsonian and discuss current issues with leading women in STEAM.
Form meets function with these decorative storage options found in a Lazier Brothers trade catalog from the 19th century. Discover the possibilities of interior decorating with cloverleaf stands, corner whatnots, and more.
