Hang in there, kid. 2020 is almost over.
Here’s hoping we all swing through the next few weeks with the ease of a variegated spider monkey. This example is one of 22 illustrations by John Gerrard Keulemans in “A hand-book to the primates” (1894). The book, written by Dr. Henry O. Forbes, can be found in @biodivlibrary : https://s.si.edu/2LBjOeD .
An excellent way to celebrate National Monkey Day, or just a dreary Monday 🐒!
Mockingbirds battle a snake in this especially action-packed illustration from John Audubon’s The birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories
We’re excited to announce a BIG change — we’re now Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. We’ve merged with Smithsonian Institution Archives to better serve the growing needs of the global research, curatorial, library, archival and academic communities.
We’ll continue to share the same great library and information science content that you’re used to but with the added bonus of more archival stories. Smithsonian Institution Archives includes 44,000 cubic feet of archival materials chronicling the growth and development of the Smithsonian throughout its history.
Learn more about our new partnership: s.si.edu/3n1Q9ZS
✒️Need some analog inspiration for National Letter Writing Day? Galileo wrote this letter in 1635 to mathematician and natural philosopher Nicolaus Claude Fabri de Preiresc.
The topic? An intriguing new water clock design and Galileo’s house arrest. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/3gmINxA
Printed in two volumes, North American Indian Costumes (1564-1950), features illustrations by the noted Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe (Mazuha Hokshina).
Howe is perhaps best known for his 1940s New Deal era Works Progress Administration (WPA) murals. The plates in this book were printed in the pochoir manner, which emphasizes Howe’s clean lines and bright colors. Many of the original paintings are held by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian .
Featured here are Howe’s depictions of “Arapaho 1875″ and “Kiowa Mother 1930″
Paintings of Antarctic scenes by George Marston from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s book
The heart of the Antarctic
(1909) portraying a sunrise (top) and Aurora Australis aka the Southern Lights (bottom).
![From Ulisse Aldrovandi’s Vlyssis Aldrovandi philosophi ac medici Bononiensis historiam […] v.3 (1673): An illustration of a pelican feeding its young with its own blood, an old European belief about pelican behavior with no basis in reality. You may...](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218122045im_/https://64.media.tumblr.com/d47f957b712903ed10f69554bc898317/c5ac67eebda70954-79/s500x750/fd16f71862d2482259f19ed736cb0e6362ae0b7a.jpg)
From Ulisse Aldrovandi’s
Vlyssis Aldrovandi philosophi ac medici Bononiensis historiam […] v.3 (1673): An illustration of a pelican feeding its young with its own blood, an old European belief about pelican behavior with no basis in reality. You may also note that the pelican in the illustration has a small sharp beak instead of the long beak and throat pouch that typifies real-world pelicans.
Indians at Work was a publication of the Office of Indian Affairs (later Bureau of Indian Affairs) that showcased the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Indian Division. The corps was developed as part of the New Deal effort to counter the effects of the Great Depression by creating public works projects to create employment opportunities.
Pictured here from the August 1940 issue are Louise Curley, Navajo, photographed for the issue’s cover at her loom, and Tonita Pena, a painter born in San Ildefonso Pueblo.
Indians at Work is available in our Digital Library from its inception in 1933 to when it ceased publication in 1945: https://s.si.edu/2jgiQ5t
Learn more about the CCC with @usnatarchives: https://s.si.edu/2RC01ta
Benjamin Banneker was born on this day in 1731. He was the first known African American scientist, mathematician and newspaper publisher. He also helped map out the city of Washington DC in 1791.
His 1792 almanac, in our Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, records moon phases, holidays, as well as political endorsements and thoughts on slavery. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/2DwJEZG
![The Day of the Dead (November 1-2) honors the memory of loved ones who have passed, through a reunion between the living and the dead.
Gran Baile de Calaveras, un Libro Túnel" [The Dancing Skeletons Tunnel Book] (2006), by Joan Sommers in our Cooper...](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218122045im_/https://64.media.tumblr.com/b841719748cf113395fc028a68aa9094/0fb1f657f30ff462-a6/s500x750/73f2c7767d4d830a4b72a3793c3e69ec703f19ba.jpg)
The Day of the Dead (November 1-2) honors the memory of loved ones who have passed, through a reunion between the living and the dead.
Gran Baile de Calaveras, un Libro Túnel" [The Dancing Skeletons Tunnel Book] (2006), by Joan Sommers in our Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library, celebrates the holiday in five different panels. When viewed from the front, they offer a festive scene. Learn more on the @cooperhewitt blog.
An illustration of a child’s dream from The ladies’ floral cabinet v.3:no.33 (1874).
Full text here.
Need a little light reading material this week? Try our 1899 edition of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, available in our Digital Library. The classic tale chronicles Count Dracula’s move from Transylvania to England, thwarted by Professor Van Helsing.
Our copy was inscribed to former owner B. B. Comegys by the author himself.
