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Category: Pic of the Week

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Myriopticon, A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post is coauthored by Nathan Dorn, rare book curator, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist. Our latest video comes to you from the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. To help us commemorate the Appomattox Campaign that took place 152 years ago and concluded on April 9, 1865 with Robert E. Lee’s …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

A Walking Tour of St. Elizabeths Hospital

Posted by: Robert Brammer

In May, I  took a walking tour of the western campus of St. Elizabeths (there is no apostrophe) hospital in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The tour was hosted by the D.C. Preservation League. The hospital is situated high above the city, providing the panoramic view you see pictured below. Dorothea Dix, an advocate for the mentally ill …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Pic of the Week – The Digital Commons at the D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Branch Library

Posted by: Robert Brammer

We enjoy bringing you photos of the unique libraries, ancient and modern, that we encounter during our travels. In celebration of this year’s National Library Week theme, “lives change @ your library,”  we bring you photos of a unique library close to home. Since the inception of the personal computer and the rise of the internet, public …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Stereoview of the Madison Building Closed Stacks

Posted by: Robert Brammer

The Law Library of Congress is the largest law library in the world, and much of its vast collection is housed in the Madison Building’s sub-basement stacks. Whenever a patron requests an item that does not have “RR” at the end of the call number, our expert staff combs through our vast collection of over 2.5 million volumes to locate the item …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

“I’ll be damned if I don’t do it!”: The Failed Assassination Attempt on President Andrew Jackson

Posted by: Robert Brammer

On January 30, 1835, an unemployed painter by the name of Richard Lawrence made the first attempt on the life of a sitting U.S. President. That damp, misty day, President Andrew Jackson had traveled to the Capitol Building to attend a Congressional funeral in the House Wing. As the President exited the funeral, he approached …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

“His Soul is Marching On!” – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post was co-authored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, Legal Reference Specialists. December 2nd marked the 154th anniversary of the execution of John Brown, an act which transformed John Brown into a martyr for the abolitionist movement and further inflamed the sectional tensions that would ignite the Civil War.  We previously featured the Jefferson …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

Henry Clay’s Law License – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Robert Brammer

We previously featured Senator Henry Clay’s law office as our picture of the week. Today, we bring you an image of his law license. I was fortunate to take a tour of Henry Clay’s estate, Ashland, and noticed his law license hanging on the wall.  Ashland was kind enough to send me the high resolution scan of the license that you see pictured below. After …

Ornate red and ivory wall decoration, with plaque and symbols

The Jefferson County, West Virginia Historic Courthouse – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Robert Brammer

The Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town, West Virginia was the second courthouse constructed in Charles Town, replacing a more modest structure that dated back to 1803. Built in 1836 on land donated by George Washington’s brother, Charles Washington, the courthouse is still in use today. Charles Town was the site of a trial that altered the course of our nation’s history. In …