Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Americana

In the 1970s, Joe transformed into Atomic Man, a bionic bruiser whose fearlessness extended to cobras.

Macho in Miniature

For nearly 40 years, G.I. Joe has been on America’s front lines in toy boxes from coast to coast

None

Old House, New Home

For 200 years in Ipswich, it sheltered all manner of Americans; now it informs and delights them

None

Hell’s Bells

The 19th-century trolley bell may have ding-ding-dinged, but the factory bell clanged the workday

None

Washington Slept Here

A look at the first president’s “best bed” leads to a recollection of the real man and his exemplary life

None

The Circus Is Coming!

None

House Trailers Have Come a Long Way, Baby

The earliest models looked like horse trailers but today’s mobile home is basically a house and the typical “trailer park” resembles a subdivision

None

The History of the Doughnut

A look back at the men, women and machines that made America’s favorite treat possible

None

John Brown’s Picture

A long-lost daguerrotype, made by a black artist in 1847, has lately come to rest at the Smithsonian

In Thomas Read's painting, Sheridan and his steed race toward Cedar Creek.

The Civil War

Union Colonel Phil Sheridan’s Valiant Horse

A young war-horse helped Phil Sheridan win the day in the Shenandoah Valley and, made famous by a poem, helped Abraham Lincoln win re-election

None

The Object at Hand

There was a time when a cane was the exclamation point to a gentleman’s attire, but canes have also been put to a remarkable range of uses

Page 6 of 6