New Year’s Resolutions 101: Examples and Suggestions from Old Patents

Every year, around this time, many people’s minds turn towards New Year’s Resolutions.  Things like saving more money, learning a new skill, and better self-care are timeless classics when it comes to resolutions.  So, we here in the Cartographic Branch would like to offer up some patents related to resolution keeping, just in case you … Continue reading New Year’s Resolutions 101: Examples and Suggestions from Old Patents

Cartographic Digitization Spotlight

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

TVA: 90 Years Old and Still Going Strong

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

Mapping the Moon

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

Patents Causing a Buzz!

Spring has sprung and the bees are a buzzin’! Beekeeping and bee hives have a long and interesting history. People have been collecting honey for thousands of years - starting out by simply foraging from wild hives. However, the first recorded instance of beekeeping was the ancient Egyptians. They created hives from hollowed out trees … Continue reading Patents Causing a Buzz!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Holidays From the Cartographic Branch!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Holidays from the Cartographic Branch! In the spirit of Christmas, with the help of RG 241: Utility Patents, we would like to offer up some guidance and general ideas surrounding Christmas trees and things to do this holiday season! Whether you are more into putting up and decorating the tree, wrapping … Continue reading Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Holidays From the Cartographic Branch!

Patent Drawings from Beyond the Grave

With Halloween just around the corner (at last!), I thought our readers would enjoy a little something spooky to get in the spirit.. or perhaps to get in touch with the spirit. Automatic writing, or psychography, as a means of communicating with the spirit world has been in use for almost a thousand years. However, … Continue reading Patent Drawings from Beyond the Grave

World War II Records Digitized

World War II records from the Adjutant General’s Office of the War Department (Record Group 407) have been digitized and are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. This series consists of maps and charts, overlays, city plans, aerial photographs, photomaps, pencil sketches, and architectural drawings relating to the European, Mediterranean, and … Continue reading World War II Records Digitized

RG 117: Drawings for the National WWII Memorial Design Competition

May 29th, 2022 marks the 18th anniversary of the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, and in honor of the anniversary, the Cartographic Branch would like to highlight a particular set of records relating to the very conceptualization of the monument itself. These records, found in RG 117: Drawings for the … Continue reading RG 117: Drawings for the National WWII Memorial Design Competition

Lincoln Memorial Link Roundup

All this month, the National Park Service is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the completion and dedication of the Lincoln Memorial. Here at the National Archives, we hold literally thousands of records related to the iconic landmark, including several thousand that are digitized and available in the online Catalog.  Photograph of the Abraham Lincoln Statue … Continue reading Lincoln Memorial Link Roundup