November 11 marks the 100th anniversary of the conclusion of World War I. Fighting came to a close in Europe on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 when Germany signed an armistice with the Allied forces. At the war's conclusion, over 70,000 American soldiers lay scatted in graves … Continue reading Newly Digitized Series : Initial Burial Plats for World War I American Soldiers
This post was written in collaboration with Kevin Quinn, Sarah Lepianka, and Katherine Stinson - Archives Technicians in the Still Photos Branch. The 1918 Influenza Pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu, was one of the deadliest events in human history. While fighting between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers raged on in Europe, … Continue reading The 1918 Influenza Pandemic (Photos)
Many different factors are considered when selecting a series for digitization. Records that are particularly fragile or have high intrinsic value might be digitized to help preserve the originals by reducing the amount of physical handling each item receives. Records that are of high historical value might be digitized for posterity in order to ensure … Continue reading The Digitization of 26-LG
April 6 marks the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I, as well as the culmination of a massive digitization project from the National Archives. Through a generous donation made by an anonymous donor, the National Archives was able to digitize over 110,000 photographs and nearly 300 reels of film related to … Continue reading Accessing World War I Photos in the Digital Age
This post was written with Heidi Holmstrom. In the past year, staff in the motion picture preservation lab handled millions of feet of film. Films might come to us for inspection and repair, photochemical duplication, or digitization. To follow up last year’s list, we’ve identified a handful of films that were digitized in 2016 and … Continue reading Favorite Film Finds of 2016
This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab. We rely on film and photographs to tell stories every day – from the latest blockbuster, our favorite television series, videos we take and stream, to the cherished photos in our homes. But, sometimes what we see isn’t … Continue reading Forensic Film Archiving: Who Raised the Flag on Iwo Jima?
Harold Russell is an anomaly in film history. When Russell was cast in the classic film, The Best Years of Our Lives, he had practically no acting experience. Despite being the only person to win two Academy Awards for the same performance, Russell had no desire to be an actor. Moreover, Russell’s rise to stardom came in … Continue reading Diary of a Sergeant
Today's post is by Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the National Archives' Motion Picture Preservation Lab. In honor of Veterans Day, we are proud to share the National Archives' digital restoration of John Huston’s Let There Be Light (Local Identifier: 111-M-1241), the groundbreaking film about the treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of … Continue reading The Preservation and Restoration of John Huston’s “Let There Be Light”
This week I’m posting several examples of posters from the series Paper Show Exhibition Poster Sets, ca. 1974 – ca. 1994 (306-PSP). These posters were created by the United States Information Agency for exhibits they referred to as "Paper Shows", which were pieced together using multiple posters to create a multi-panel display. The entire series … Continue reading Images of the Week: USIA Paper Shows
This week I'm posting photographs from the Bureau of Public Roads and its successor the Federal Highway Administration. These images relate to the Washington, D.C. area and are just a few examples of what can be found in the series Historical Photograph Files, 1896-1963 (30-N) and General Photograph Files, 1954-1984 (406-G), which both contain photos … Continue reading Images of the Week: Washington, DC Roads
