Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Archives

Walter Pach, Street in Mexico,

Smithsonian Voices

How a Once-Hidden Cache of Art and Archives Expands the Narratives of Mexican Modernism

The works and writings of American artist and art critic Walter Pach are newly available to scholars and the resource is rich with history

Written in ornate cursive by a general’s aide and signed by Maj. F.W. Emery on behalf of Granger, “General Orders No. 3” had long been hidden in a book of formal orders housed at the archives.

Cool Finds

National Archives Locates Handwritten Juneteenth Order

On June 19, 1865, the decree informed the people of Texas that enslaved individuals were now free

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero displays historical objects recovered from the Arlington National Cemetery time capsule.

Arlington National Cemetery Opens Its 105-Year-Old Time Capsule

The trove of artifacts, hidden in a cornerstone in 1915, is now available to explore online

New fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with writing visible.

Text Found on Supposedly Blank Dead Sea Scroll Fragments

Invisible to the naked eye, researchers revealed lines of ancient script in new photographs

Though much has changed since 1918, the sentiments shared in writings from this earlier pandemic are likely to resonate with modern readers.

Covid-19

What We Can Learn From 1918 Influenza Diaries

These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one’s thoughts amid a pandemic

A stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is one of many artworks available for your perusal.

Virtual Travel

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks, browse interactive maps and more

U.S. Army Pvt. John McGrath survived the bullet that scarred this letter he penned during the liberation of Italy.

The Unprecedented Effort to Preserve a Million Letters Written by U.S. Soldiers During Wartime

A tragedy at home led one intrepid historian to find and catalog precious correspondence for future generations to study

The Evidence Room represents thousands of pages of testimony that was assembled by Robert Jan van Pelt, an architectural historian and the main expert witness in a British lawsuit brought by a Holocaust denier.

Using Art to Talk About the Holocaust in ‘The Evidence Room’

Museum staff discuss the reception of a difficult work that showed the vivid and painful documentation of a Nazi death camp

The company's publications (including Black World, EbonyJet) reached a wide audience with photo-driven narratives and interviews.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Weighs In on Legendary Photo Archive of African-American Life

In historic moment, foundations and museums came together to rescue black history. “This is an optimistic tale,” says Bunch

Trove of English Court Records Reveal Stories of Murder, Witchcraft, Cheese Theft

Archivists are cataloging documents from the Assizes court in the Isle of Ely, which tried serious crimes

Otto Frank pictured holding a copy of "The Diary of Anne Frank"

Letters Written by Anne Frank’s Father, Otto, Will Be Digitized to Mark Diarist’s 90th Birthday

The notes stem from a 1970s pen pal correspondence between Otto and a young artist named Ryan Cooper

Watch Rare Footage of a Smiling, Sunglass-Wearing Queen Victoria

The remarkably clear 1900 film was found in the MoMA archives

Wainright watches over Livingstone's body on the trip back to Britain.

Cool Finds

Diary of Livingstone’s Intrepid African Attendant Jacob Wainwright Digitized

He traveled with the Scottish missionary and explorer searching for the source of the Nile, and he’s responsible for bringing his remains to Britain

Pope Pius XII's archives will be unsealed next year

The Vatican Will Unseal the Archives of Pius XII, the Controversial Holocaust-Era Pope

Some have accused the pope of remaining silent in the face of Nazi persecution, while others say he quietly worked to rescue Jews

Louis de Jong, founder of Dutch Institute for War Documentation, examining documents on the Holocaust.

These Pioneers Created the First Reliable Record of the Holocaust

A new exhibition at the Wiener Library profiles the earliest men and women who gathered firsthand survivor accounts, ensuring their testimony would live on

The gift’s promise lies not just in its scale and Lichtenstein’s outsize place in 20th-century art, but in the fact that much of the materials will be searchable together online.

The Stories of Poets, Artists and Cartoon Characters Are All Waiting to Be Discovered in Roy Lichtenstein’s Personal Papers

The Pop artist’s archives, recently donated to the Smithsonian, are soon to be digitized

Gary Brannan, archivist, and Professor Sarah Rees Jones examine one of the archbishops' registers.

A Medieval Nun Wanted to Escape Her Convent—so She Faked Her Death

This story and others have come to light during a project to translate and digitize a series of texts about archbishops in York, England

Enrique Linares: "Zambra Gitana at the Roma Neighborhood in Granada." Postcard, Spain, 1910. RomArchive: fla_00026.

New Archive Reclaims the Narrative of the Roma

RomArchive includes more than 5,000 objects that highlight the creativity and self-agency of the often-maligned group

Market of Eminou Square and New Mosque Yeni Cami, with store signs in Ottoman Turkish, Armenian, Greek and French, 1884–1900, Sébah & Joaillier.

The Getty Digitizes More Than 6,000 Photos From the Ottoman Era

The images date to the 19th and 20th centuries, the waning days of the once-powerful empire

Woodside Mansion, home to the Rochester Historical Society since 1941

Rochester’s 150-Year-Old Historical Society Hit Hard by Lack of Funding

The institution, which houses such precious relics as clothing worn by Susan B. Anthony, has furloughed its staff and suspended its programming

Page 6 of 12