Still from US ARMY ARTISTS, 111-LC-55581 ABOUT THE FILM Working in the Special Media Division at the National Archives, we are used to seeing images of war captured by moving images and still photos. However, the US military also uses more traditional forms of artwork to document their operations and daily lives. All military branches … Continue reading The Art of War
Unfortunately, the subject of the film in the title has nothing to do with actual donuts and a whole lot to do with the kind pictured below, the circular aiming sight of a jet fighter, referred to as a "doughnut" in pilot vernacular. Specifically, the film documents the United States Air Force and Navy findings … Continue reading Throw a Nickel on the Grass and Have a Doughnut
Today’s post is by Laurie Austin. Laurie is an audiovisual archivist at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library. In 2022, we take for granted that the president can communicate directly with the American people whenever necessary through a White House speech. The media landscape now provides a staggering array of ways to view such a … Continue reading President Truman’s Media Milestone: The First Televised Speech from the White House
79-HFC-383x1 Every fall, the brown bears of Katmai National Park embark upon one of the greatest food binges in the natural world. Entering a state of hyperphagia (hypereating), they pack on up to four pounds a day as they prepare to hibernate over the winter. Some bears weigh over 1000 pounds by the end of … Continue reading Fat Bear Week 1978
The end of summer will soon be upon us, but before that comes let’s take a look back at another sunny summer day in Washington, D.C. some 88 years ago. Title image from the film "Dawn Strikes the Capitol Dome". (Local Identifier: 69.48, NAID: 12362) This summer day was captured in a short film called … Continue reading A Summers Day in the Nation’s Capitol: Dawn Strikes the Capitol Dome (1936)
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is well known for preserving the first written records of our nation. People come from around the world to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. But what about the first government films? The oldest known government-produced film in our holdings is First Army Aeroplane … Continue reading The Wright Military Flyer Soars on Celluloid: Uncovering the Story of Our Oldest Government Film
While space is famously described as “the final frontier,” it only narrowly beats out the oceans of our own planet. Nearly three-quarters of the Earth is made up of ocean, yet only a small portion has been explored or mapped. In the 1960s, a group of Navy divers, led by Dr. George F. Bond, attempted … Continue reading Earth’s Last Frontier: Moving Images of the Navy’s SEALAB Project
Universal Newsreel Opening Credits /Logo Nearly 4,000 Universal Newsreel Release descriptions have been added to the National Archives Catalog, the result of a unique, multi-year collaborative effort by NARA staff of the Moving Image and Sound Branch and Citizen Archivist Phil Stewart. The project’s goal was to systematically transcribe the content of the twice-weekly synopsis, … Continue reading Universal Newsreel Release Descriptions Now Live in the National Archives Catalog
Sidney Lust's Drive In Theatre, U.S. Route 1, Beltsville, Maryland (NAID: 169136694) It’s summertime and that means that it is drive-in movie season! In their heyday, there were thousands of drive-in theaters across the United States. Some of these drive-ins could accommodate over a thousand vehicles at a time, so you can imagine the kind … Continue reading See Movies from Your Car! (If You Can Beat the Traffic)
The 2022 National History Day contests resulted in many fascinating projects covering topics ranging from labor and environmental debates to U.S.-China Ping Pong Diplomacy. Now it is time to begin looking ahead to 2023! The 2023 NHD contest theme is Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas and on page 35 of the 2023 NHD Theme … Continue reading The Film Frontier: Using Films and Videos in Your National History Day Project
