With Halloween just around the corner, it seems like an excellent time to highlight some of the creepier Utility Patent Drawings lurking in the holdings of the National Archives. These come from Record Group 241. Enjoy! For more creepy patents, check out Corbin Apkin's Halloween Patent post from last year!
In honor of Home Movie Day, we’re featuring the home movies of Henry Ford. Home Movie Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the importance of home movies and encourage their preservation. This year’s Home Movie Day is Saturday, October 20th, but your local event may be held at any time throughout the … Continue reading Home Movie Day 2018: Henry Ford’s Home Movies
For the past couple of months, I’ve been processing a collection related to the architecture, infrastructure, and construction of buildings in the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service. While sifting through pictures of Toilet Structures and Visitor’s Centers has been surprisingly entertaining, I took particular interest in a photo that had no particular … Continue reading Smoke(y) Signals
On August 26, 1966 an image graced the front page of the New York Times under the headline, “How the Earth Looks from the Moon.” The image was of such low quality that the grey sphere which all of mankind calls home was barely recognizable. Nevertheless, the photograph was remarkable. For the first time, humans … Continue reading Shooting the Moon: Photos of the Lunar Surface and Beyond
From the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building, the next time you are out and about exploring Washington, D.C. and taking in as many memorials, monuments, and museums as you can, I have a suggestion for your sightseeing list. Although located next to a familiar residence on Pennsylvania Avenue, I doubt the spot I am … Continue reading An “Illuminating Post”: Silent Stars Support the Third and Fourth Liberty Loan Campaigns
This Saturday, September 8th, marks the 52nd anniversary of the debut of the “Star Trek” series on television. For over two hundred years, ships called Enterprise have been helping us “Boldly Go”. From vessels that sailed the Great Lakes of the United States in the War of 1812 to the most decorated ship of World … Continue reading What’s In a Name? American Vessels Called Enterprise
They are our sidekicks, our friends, our trusted companions. Protecting us from harm when alerting us to that ferocious looking Girl Scout coming up the front walk. Protecting us from true harm while on sentry duty, alert for movements of enemy forces in the night. Dogs are our guardians and our goofballs, and they loyally … Continue reading Spotlight: Hero Dogs
This post was compiled by Harry Kidd. Harry is a volunteer at the National Archives working on textual and photographic digitization projects. Harry is a former Navy photographer himself and came across this story while researching military photographers. During WWII the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations interviewed over 600 servicemen from all … Continue reading Hy Rothman – Searching for Nazis on the Greenland Patrol
Sometimes, the most extraordinary maps can be “hiding” in plain sight, passed by, overlooked because they are a bit plain on the surface. However, once you know the real story behind the map, it can take on a whole different meaning and look completely new and exciting. One such map that fits this description can … Continue reading Hiding in Plain Sight: The FDR Interstate Highway Map
Washington, D.C. is no stranger to protests. Most are one-day affairs, consisting of a march or rally with some speakers and a musical guest or two. A handful, though, have been more long term, with protestors spending days or weeks camped out in our nation’s capital to fight for their cause. Two of the most … Continue reading Protest Camps in D.C.: The Poor People’s Campaign and the Bonus Army Marchers
