Top of page
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
Few things say "Christmas" quite like George Frideric Handel’s 18th-century oratorio “Messiah” — the thrilling power of its “Hallelujah” chorus has given audiences goosebumps for 283 years and counting. The Library holds some dazzling early printings, including a complete orchestral score bound in sumptuous red leather, brilliantly gilded.
Posted in: Christmas, LCM, Music, Performing Arts
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
Stephen Sondheim put together "Send in the Clowns," his most famous song, in about 24 hours during rehearsals of "A Little Night Music." His lyric and music sheets chart the song's quick progression.
Posted in: LCM, Manuscripts, Music, Performing Arts, Songwriters, Theater
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
The Battle of Sierra Blanca was a 1787 fight between Comanche and Apache forces in New Mexico, as Spanish colonists convinced the Comanches to go to war against Apache raiding parties. An unnamed warrior drew a pictograph depicting the battle action and gave it to a Spanish officer. Today, it’s a rare chronicle of Native history, held in the Library’s collections.
Posted in: Maps, Native Americans
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
When Abraham Lincoln appointed Ainsworth Spofford as Librarian of Congress in 1864, he changed U.S. history. Over the next 32 years, Spofford transformed a small library just for members of congress into a national institution, got the funding for the magnificent Jefferson Building and set it on a course to become the world's largest library.
Posted in: Congress, LCM, Libraries, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
During the Revolutionary War, George Washington approved an audacious plan to kidnap King George's third son, Prince William, then in New York, and hold him hostage -- with all the greatest respect. The attempt was never made, for which the future King William IV was grateful when he later learned of the plot.
Posted in: Alexander Hamilton, American Revolution, Congress, Exhibitions, George Washington, LCM, Manuscripts, U.S. Presidents