Civil War Maps from the Army Corps of Engineers Now Digitized

Civil War era and related maps from the Army Corps of Engineers have been digitized and are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. The records are part of the Civil Works Map File series from Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. The records make up … Continue reading Civil War Maps from the Army Corps of Engineers Now Digitized

“Listen, my friends”: Digitizing the 1968 Richard Nixon Campaign Speeches

Today's post was written by Allie Mackenzie Roberts. Roberts is an Audiovisual Preservation Specialist at the Richard Nixon Library. Richard Nixon successfully ran for the presidency in 1968 during a very tumultuous time in American history that included the Vietnam War and its protests, North Korea capturing a Naval vessel, the assassinations of Martin Luther … Continue reading “Listen, my friends”: Digitizing the 1968 Richard Nixon Campaign Speeches

Subject Finding Aid Project (Update)

Hello my fellow Unwritten Recordians, I’m back with an update from the Still Picture Branch regarding progress on the Subject Finding Aid Project!  As of my last post in June, we had one batch of descriptions live in the National Archives Catalog, with a second one on the way.  As of today, the second AND … Continue reading Subject Finding Aid Project (Update)

Subject Finding Aid Project

While the pandemic significantly altered our day-to-day responsibilities in the Still Picture Branch, our team adapted to the challenges presented by the work-from-home environment and bolstered our Research and Reference capabilities by increasing access to our holdings, digitally and on-site.  One of the projects we’ve undertaken to help in this endeavor is the description and … Continue reading Subject Finding Aid Project

Special Media Catalog Updates

While our research rooms have been closed to the public, the Special Media Division has made many significant additions and updates to our online catalog. Highlights include: Cartographic Branch Construction and Design Drawings of Guns, Related Machinery and Parts, 1862-1921, 1862 - 1921 (NAID 569429). (8880 item descriptions) Williams Numbers Maps , 1928 - 1957 … Continue reading Special Media Catalog Updates

Mug Books: An Unusual Avenue of Genealogical Inquiry

Today's post was written by Claire Kluskens, Genealogy/Census Subject Matter Expert and Digital Projects Archivist at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Photographs are highly sought-after by many family historians, especially when such precious artifacts are lost due to relocating, estrangement, natural disaster, or simple neglect. They serve not only as a visual aid to … Continue reading Mug Books: An Unusual Avenue of Genealogical Inquiry

Using Wikimedia Commons to Locate Higher Resolution Scans

As digitization standards have evolved throughout the years, NARA has worked to keep up with best practices. However, despite our efforts to stay ahead of the curve, there are still photographs in our Catalog that were digitized many years ago and don't necessarily meet the requirements to be considered "high resolution." Specifically, researchers are likely … Continue reading Using Wikimedia Commons to Locate Higher Resolution Scans

The Nuremberg Trials, 75 Years Later

The International Military Tribunal, more commonly known at the Nuremberg trials, began this week 75 years ago in Nuremberg, Germany. The trials were a series of military tribunals held to convict major Nazi German leaders on charges of crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit each of these crimes. It … Continue reading The Nuremberg Trials, 75 Years Later

Images of the Week: Vote, Voting, Voted!

Tuesday, November 3, 2020 marks the 59th quadrennial presidential election. In honor of the upcoming election, the Unwritten Record has selected photographs and posters that document the voting process in the United States and abroad. All photographs included within this post are available in the National Archives Catalog.               … Continue reading Images of the Week: Vote, Voting, Voted!

Searchable Stock Shots: 306-LSS Films Now Online!

A couple of years back, the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Lab started seeing an uptick in researcher reference requests for one specific series of films: 306-LSS, a group of more than 400 black and white reels of stock footage that ended up in the hands of the United States Information Agency (USIA). As the … Continue reading Searchable Stock Shots: 306-LSS Films Now Online!