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Archive: October 2016 (14 Posts)

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Page from the Past: War of the Worlds

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following was written by Audrey Fischer for the July/August 2016 Library of Congress Magazine, LCM.) The story is legendary in the annals of broadcasting history. On the evening of Sunday, Oct. 30, 1938, a young Orson Welles directed and narrated a radio adaption of H.G. Wells’ novel, “The War of the Worlds” for his …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Food for Thought: Presidents, Premiers at Press Club Luncheons

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

For decades at the National Press Club, America got acquainted with the men and women who made history: presidents and premiers, rising stars and old heroes, allies and enemies, establishment figures and revolutionaries – all hoping to explain themselves, over lunch, to the public. “I am not afraid of any questions for one reason: I …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

World War I: “Kim,” the Life Saver

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest blog post by Mark Diminution, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, and Elizabeth Gettins, Library of Congress digital library specialist.) There are the occasional stories that one hears about a book saving a life due to an informational or even spiritual message, but how many people can claim a …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A New Look at America’s Insurgents and the King They Left Behind

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

King George III of England: wasn’t he the one effectively told by the feisty New World colonists to “Nix the tax, Rex?” When they turned Boston Harbor into the world’s largest teapot, it was to get the attention of a government back home in England headed by George III, a monarch they would eventually disown. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pics of the Week: Opening the Door

Posted by: Erin Allen

Last Monday, the Library of Congress welcomed thousands of visitors into its Main Reading Room for the twice-yearly open house. New this year was an open house a few miles down the road at the Library’s Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Preservation, where the free tour tickets quickly “sold out” on Eventbrite in advance of the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Rare Book of the Month: “The Raven” and Mr. Halloween Himself

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest blog post written by Elizabeth Gettins, Library of Congress digital library specialist.) Halloween is upon us and what better time to recount some of the classic gothic stories by American writers? Henry James’ ghostly tale “The Turn of the Screw” (1898) and Washington Irving’s headless horseman from “The Legend of …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Very Superstitious

Posted by: Erin Allen

To say I’m not very superstitious is like saying the sky isn’t blue. I can probably attribute it (very lovingly) to my mother. I can recall on a few occasions being halfway down the road when a black cat crossed in front of our car and my mom immediately turned around to go back the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (1927-2016)

Posted by: Erin Allen

The following cross-post is written by Cait Miller and originally appeared on the In the Muse blog. The following post is co-written with Musical Instruments Curator Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford. Early yesterday morning the world learned of the death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, crowned in 1946 and known as the world’s longest-reigning monarch. Born in …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

World War I: Irving Greenwald’s WWI Diary

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by VHP Reference Specialist Megan Harris, reprinted from the Folklife Today blog.) One look at Irving Greenwald’s diary is all it takes to bring to mind the old adage “good things come in small packages.” This World War I diary, written by Pfc. Irving Greenwald, was donated to the Veterans …