"George Washington's Tent," 79-HFC-482 Without context, "George Washington's Tent" may seem a bit odd even by the standards of government filmmaking. Three minutes of a man silently writing? (You can jump to 3:10 in if you want some action.) Further, it won't take a cinematic expert to note that this work is one long take … Continue reading A Marquee Show at Valley Forge
It’s time for us to return to one of our favorite topics—Cartoons! And not just any cartoons, but the animation produced for the United States Information Agency (USIA). You may already have joined us for our exploration of anti-Communist Mexican cartoons, animation and animatics by the “Walt Disney” of Thailand, or this psychedelic symbolic history … Continue reading Drawing Benefits: The USIA’s Space Race Message and the Animators Who Brought It to Life
The Cartographic and Architectural holdings include over 15 million items, including maps, charts, aerial photographs, architectural drawings, patents, and ship plans. In an effort to make these vast holdings more accessible to the public, we are continuously working on various digitization projects. These projects cover some of our most popular records and allow access to … Continue reading Cartographic Digitization Spotlight
The Moving Image and Sound Branch is pleased to announce that the sound recordings of RG 267: Records of the Supreme Court of the United States have been fully digitized and are available for listening and download through the National Archives Catalog. The audio recordings in Record Group 267 are organized into three series, Sound … Continue reading Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Sound Recordings of the Supreme Court of the United States Now Fully Digitized
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and in honor of this, we will be highlighting records related to the Chinse American watercolor artist, Dong Kingman. The Moving Image and Sound Branch has two beautiful color films that capture the work of Kingman and show the process of how he painted his masterpieces. … Continue reading Dong Kingman: Watercolor Master
On May 18, 2023, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will celebrate its 90th Anniversary. Though most of the records relating to the Tennessee Valley Authority reside in other departments and facilities within the National Archives, the Cartographic Branch has nine different series under the heading of RG 142: Records of the Tennessee Valley Authority, 1918-2000. … Continue reading TVA: 90 Years Old and Still Going Strong
On May 15th, 1973, NASA launched the first space station. The first three-person crew took up residence 11 days later. Over the course of roughly six months and three crews, Skylab served as a base for scientific research conducted in space. The astronauts’ schedule of experimentation and observation also included scientific demonstrations broadcast to Earth … Continue reading Skylab and NASA’s Space Classroom
111-SC-176302 - Original Caption: [Company] E. of the 442nd Infantry Regiment comprising Japanese-American lads snapped in formation in Camp Shelby, Mississippi. 5/13/43. Photographer: Pvt. Raymond D’Addario. Signal Corps Photo #165–NR1-43-95. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was activated on February 1, 1943, and was composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry, also known … Continue reading Go for Broke: The 442nd Infantry Regiment
RG 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Lunar Maps, 1961–1962 (NAID 1077479) On April 3, 2023, NASA announced that humans are soaring back to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, since the return of Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts, Americans, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, … Continue reading Mapping the Moon
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Operation Homecoming and the return of nearly 600 American prisoners of war from Vietnam. In 1973, Sheppard Air Force Base had the honor of serving as a reception point for Operation Homecoming, helping to welcome home Vietnam POWs after years of captivity.
