Every now and then when looking through a box of photographs in our holdings, a new potential "thread" of information will present itself that sparks curiosity for further research on a particular keyword. Sometimes it's a subject or topic directly relating to the reference request I am working on, and sometimes it is completely random. Recently, the word "Breakfast" popped into my head and immediately following was the thought: I wonder what we have on that!
Participants of the March on Washington, D.C. Local ID: 306-SSM-4C-35-4 August 28, 2023, is the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as the March on Washington. More than 200,000 people took part in the demonstration held on the National Mall to advocate for Black Americans' civil and economic … Continue reading 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington
This week is International Assistance Dog Week (August 6-12) which was established to raise awareness and honor the incredible work that assistance dogs do to help individuals with disability related limitations. It was also created to recognize the trainers, puppy raisers, and handlers that have devoted their time and expertise to these dogs to ensure … Continue reading These Dogs Deserve a Round Of A-Paws!
"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
