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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Pope Francis has moved among us, here in Washington, D.C., for a time—and one lasting result of his visit can be viewed, starting Saturday, at the Library of Congress: a breathtakingly beautiful Apostles Edition of The Saint John’s Bible, the first Bible entirely hand-made and illuminated in more than 500 years. The rare Bible was …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Exhibitions, History, Libraries, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The beloved Yankees catcher and phrase-mangler Yogi Berra is with us no more. The man who famously said “You can observe a lot by watching” amused us a lot, by speaking. And, as an 18-time All-Star who played on 10 championship World Series teams, won three MVP awards, hit 358 home runs and held the …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Baseball, Collections, Film, History, Video
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
To read a poem is a quiet joy. To read some authors’ prose is as wonderful as reading a poem. It’s just the poet, or the writer, and you. Right there, in black and white. What could be better? How about hearing it “in color” as a poet or author reads to you from his …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Capitol Hill, Collections, History, LC Web site, Poetry, Preservation, Technology, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
E.L. Doctorow, a giant of American letters who uplifted the genre of the historical novel, died yesterday at the age of 84. The author of “Ragtime,” “World’s Fair,” “Billy Bathgate,” “The March,” “Welcome to Hard Times” and “Andrew’s Brain,” among many other works of fiction, will be much missed. Doctorow was the recipient of the …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Books, Collections, Film, History, Manuscripts, National Book Festival
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Who the devil was Soapy Smith? Some would say the devil was Soapy Smith. He was a swindler, a con artist, a bunco steerer. In the 1880s and ’90s he fleeced rubes from Denver to Skagway, Alaska and at many points in-between. He was dubbed “Soapy” because an early con involved selling overpriced soap by …
Posted in: Books, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Newspapers, Photos, Poetry, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Photography was well-established by the dawn of the 20th Century–it had graduated from the tintype and daguerreotype to innovations allowing for smaller cameras and more portable exposure media. But as the 1800s became the 1900s, portrait photography carried forward a tradition of depicting people sitting stiffly, staring sternly into the camera. A handsome young immigrant …
Posted in: Books, Collections, History, Manuscripts, Photos, Poetry
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today we’re going to add a new term to your broad vocabulary: Fenian. It’s a noun that describes a member of an Irish or Irish-American brotherhood dedicated to freeing Ireland from British dominion. The name was taken from the “Fianna,” a group of kings’ guards led by the legendary Irish leader of yore, Finn MacCool. …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Civil War, Education, History, Music, Newspapers
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
It’s the day after Christmas, ho-ho-ho-hum. The presents are already open, your elbows are getting rubbed a little raw with all these relatives around, and you’re sick of holiday cookies and candy and fruitcake. It’s all too tempting to jump on the old cellphone and see what snarky things are being said on social media, …
Posted in: Collections, Education, History, News, Newspapers, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Many larger-than-life figures have served as the Librarian of Congress. As the Library once again plays host to that seminal document affirming the rule of law, Magna Carta, today we shine a spotlight on the man who was Librarian of Congress when the great charter first visited the Library – Archibald MacLeish. MacLeish, before his …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, History, LC Web site, Libraries, Manuscripts, Maps, Poetry, Washington DC