This summer marked the second time that interns working at the Library of Congress identified and inventoried hundreds of items representing American creativity found in the Library's copyright deposits. In August, Library employees had the opportunity to view a special display of selected items that the interns unearthed during the 10-week project. Dating as far back as the late 19th century, the discoveries exemplified the best of the nation's literary, artistic, musical and audiovisual ingenuity.
Left, intern Emily Giglierano shows treasures from the Library's drama collections to Librarian of Congress James Billington; right, Jeong Lee and Susan McCarrell play popular music from the collections, including songs related to the 9/11 attacks. - Charles Gibbons and Judith Catherine Nierman
"We've had a rare treasure hunt this summer," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, thanking the curators and interns for their participation in the program. "You young people are the greatest treasures—our explorers, adventurers, discoverers—who uncovered all these pieces of America's past."
"The copyright deposits, now totaling 32 million items, are the richest partially tapped gold mine of American creativity," he continued. "It is a tribute to Congress, who put the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress, that all this has been saved."
Twenty-five college students from across the United States processed portions of the Library's nonbook collections that came through the copyright registration process and identified a treasure trove of unique gems by working closely with Library staff and curators in the Copyright Office; Prints and Photographs Division; Manuscript Division; Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division; Music Division; Rare Book and Special Collections Division; Special Materials Cataloging Division; and Geography and Map Division.
Unearthed was an 1870 theater poster (pictured at left) copyrighted by Edwin Booth, proprietor of Booth's Theatre in New York and brother of President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth; a blueprint of a White House expansion in 1900, as proposed by then first lady Caroline Harrison and featuring a conservatory, a courtyard and an illuminated fountain; an 1867 Sanborn Insurance Map of Boston; a 1972 television interview with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie; and an orchestral score for the 1968 film "Planet of the Apes" by award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith.
Left, a theater poster from Booth's Theatre; right, two views of tobacco from days gone by include a "Little Eddie" tobacco label from 1872, encouraging smoking among the very young; and a graphic chart from 1901, illustrating the harmful effects of tobacco use. - Rogers Drug and Chemical Co.
The hunt revealed a rather unusual account of the country's past, including tobacco advertisements from the 1870s encouraging underage smoking. Conversely, a 1901 anti-smoking chart from the Rogers Drug and Chemical Co. illustrated the harmful effects of a nicotine habit, otherwise debunking the myth that the anti-smoking movement was a modern invention.
"You just don't think these things would happen during that time period," said intern Leslie Schuyler.
A series of photographs taken in 1894 by Veazie Wilson feature actress Esther Lyons as "The Klondike Girl" on an expedition to the Yukon. According to the interns' research, Lyons was touring the East and Midwest during that time and may not have been on the trip. The same photographs, without Lyons pictured, appeared in other publications later that decade, leading the interns to conclude that her image may have been superimposed on Wilson's photographs.
Showcasing American literary talent are typescripts from some of the nation's most notable authors and playwrights. A rare, nearly complete version of Cole Porter's 1916 debut Broadway musical, "See America First," was reunited with its five missing pages due to the efforts of this year's students. A 1933 first draft of Ayn Rand's only successful play, "Penthouse Legend," features her handwritten notes and autograph. The play later debuted on Broadway as "Night of January 16th." The Manuscript Division holds a rich collection of Ayn Rand manuscripts and drafts of her fiction and nonfiction, all of which were donated by generous patrons.
Hall-of-Fame pitcher Cy Young in a photo from 1905 - L. Van Oeyen
Items reflective of American pop culture include printed music and sound recordings from the movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," Paris Hilton's reality television show "The Simple Life," country and rock musicians Gretchen Wilson and the Allman Brothers, various Hispanic American artists and novelty artists such as Ray Stevens.
Capturing America's favorite pastime are 1905 photographs of such baseball legends as Cy Young in mid-throw and Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie recovering from a leg injury, along with team photographs of the Cubs and White Sox.
"This summer was hard work," said intern Erin Van Clay. "But every time we opened a new box, it was a new mystery. Wow!"
The Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program is a joint project of the U.S. Copyright Office, Library Services, the Office of Workforce Diversity, Human Resources Services and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. The program, which is an extension of the Library's Junior Fellows Program, is made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Jefferson Patterson, a member of the James Madison Council (the Library's private-sector advisory group).
