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Posted by: Amber Paranick
Still searching for that last-minute present? Use Chronicling America for tips/suggestions. Dolls are so last season. If you want to win points this year, give a teddy bear instead. For those with discriminating taste… Or, how about the gift that keeps on giving? (Be careful what you wish for…) Treats like chocolates are easy …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
Posted by: Heather Thomas
By the late 19th century, children in the U.S. had begun mailing their Christmas lists in letters to Santa, but the Post Office regarded these letters as undeliverable. Around the same time, newspapers began encouraging children to send their ‘Dear Santa’ letters to them to be published, recognizing the emotional impact the letters would have on their readers.
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Newspapers
Posted by: Malea Walker
Christmas carols have been sung for hundreds of years, first as hymns in churches and then performed all around town. Have you ever sung a carol in front of your neighbor’s door? In the early 1800s, hymns, including many songs for Christmas, were published in books that were readily available to the lay person outside …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
The massive collection, World War History: Newspaper Clippings, 1914 to 1926, is now fully digitized and freely available on the Library of Congress website. The 79,621 pages are packed with war-related front pages, illustrated feature articles, editorial cartoons, and more. You can search by keywords, browse the content chronologically, and download pages. Coverage begins on June …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, World War I
Posted by: Malea Walker
Newspapers frequently publish recipes, including old favorites, winners of competitions, or new twists on classic meals. In Chronicling America you can find plenty of traditional, or not so traditional, recipes for this coming holiday. Take a look at some of these old recipes from our online newspapers. Are you brave enough to try them this …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Recipes
Posted by: Heather Thomas
On the last day of his life, millionaire Jim Fisk was embroiled in attempted blackmail, ongoing legal battles, and a contentious love triangle, all involving his mistress and his one-time closest friend. Little did he know that the drama would climax with his murder. Jim Fisk was the Gilded Age robber baron personified. He gained …
Posted in: Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
This Veterans Day is the 100th anniversary of the Armistice ending World War I. It is a particularly fitting time for us to focus on newspapers of the era, which provided the day-to-day news of the war. Not only was there no television, commercial radio had yet to be established.
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, World War I
Posted by: Malea Walker
When Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her novel Frankenstein 200 years ago, she could not have imagined the liberties that would be taken with her characters in the future. Published in 1818, Frankenstein was a success and became so popular that the character of Frankenstein’s monster became a well-known image even in the 1800s. “Everybody, or nearly …
Posted in: Comic Books, Digitized Newspapers, Halloween
Posted by: Amber Paranick
The Brooklyn Bridge opens as the longest suspension bridge in the world and is regarded by some as the eighth “wonder of the world.” The “forerunner of the giants” still stands and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. When architect John A. Roebling first proposed building a bridge to span the …
Posted in: Comic Books, Digitized Newspapers, Newspaper Comic Strips