Summer Road Trip 2019: Memphis and New Orleans

On to.... Memphis! After much fun visiting “Pinckney Castle” in Charleston, South Carolina, it's time we hit the road again! Along with everyone else, apparently. But really, what road trip is complete without some sort of traffic fiasco? It's all part of the cross country touring experience, as you can see in the image 30-N-5523! … Continue reading Summer Road Trip 2019: Memphis and New Orleans

Spotlight: Last Minute Holiday Gifts!

Co-Authored by Beth Fortson and Corbin Apkin. You wake up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and realize that you have forgotten to get a gift for your sister's brand new "He's Totally The One" boyfriend. You get a text from your old college roommate two days before your New Years Party … Continue reading Spotlight: Last Minute Holiday Gifts!

Spotlight: Hero Dogs

They are our sidekicks, our friends, our trusted companions. Protecting us from harm when alerting us to that ferocious looking Girl Scout coming up the front walk. Protecting us from true harm while on sentry duty, alert for movements of enemy forces in the night. Dogs are our guardians and our goofballs, and they loyally … Continue reading Spotlight: Hero Dogs

Spotlight: Wedded In Service

This post was written in collaboration with Beth Fortson. "I'd feel like a quitter if I left the service now." - Wren Josephine Mary Kennelly This Valentine's Day, the Still Picture Branch would like to share a photo story from the series 26-G. This series is the subject of one of our ongoing digitization projects … Continue reading Spotlight: Wedded In Service

Spotlight: Dogs in Airbrush

Airbrushing was an early method of retouching and coloring photographs which can be traced back as far as the late 1800s. It is a unique process which creates a beautiful matte effect, causing images to look as though they are caught somewhere between photograph and painting. While the technology is still employed today, in the … Continue reading Spotlight: Dogs in Airbrush

The Digitization of 18-AA

This summer, the Still Picture Branch and the Digitization Lab completed the digitization of the series 18-AA, "Airscapes" of American and Foreign Areas, 1917 - 1964. This series is exceptionally interesting. It includes aerial views of landscapes, towns, and cities in the United States as well as many foreign countries. The images, taken in the … Continue reading The Digitization of 18-AA

The Digitization of 26-LG

Many different factors are considered when selecting a series for digitization. Records that are particularly fragile or have high intrinsic value might be digitized to help preserve the originals by reducing the amount of physical handling each item receives. Records that are of high historical value might be digitized for posterity in order to ensure … Continue reading The Digitization of 26-LG

Operation Watchtower: The Guadalcanal Campaign

Co-Authored by Kelsey Noel and Corbin Apkin.   This August marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Watchtower, otherwise known as the Guadalcanal Campaign. Operation Watchtower was a series of engagements between the Allied forces (comprised heavily of U.S. Marines) and the Japanese military. The campaign began on August 7th, 1942 with the first amphibious landings … Continue reading Operation Watchtower: The Guadalcanal Campaign

Spotlight: Flag Day

The flag of the United States of America was adopted 240 years ago on June 14, 1777. Throughout our nation's history our flag has taken on many forms, growing with the country it so proudly represents. It has also taken on many affectionate monikers - the American Flag; the Stars and Stripes; Old Glory; the … Continue reading Spotlight: Flag Day

Spotlight: Tinseled Trivia

Co-authored by Beth Fortson, with assistance from Audrey Amidon and Corbin Apkin. Happy Holidays from the Unwritten Record blog team! For this holiday season we've put together some of our best Christmas tree themed special media. From RG-95 we bring you a 1968 film, The Cultured Christmas Tree. From RG-16 we bring you a series of images of … Continue reading Spotlight: Tinseled Trivia