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Archive: 2010 (5 Posts)

cover says Travelers Official Railway Guide

Planes, Trains but not Automobiles

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

In the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Steve Martin’s character is desperately trying to get home for Thanksgiving. While working at the Library of Congress, I have answered many questions which might have interested Steve Martin’s character, from how people traveled, to how much a trip cost, to how long a certain trip was …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

“…Should I meet with gold or spices in great quantity…”

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

The Columbus Day holiday is a good opportunity to post on the topic of trade.  After all, wasn’t finding another trade route to the Orient one of the main purposes of the expedition in 1492?  Since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the land route had become difficult and dangerous.  The Portuguese were working on …