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Posted by: Courtney Pomeroy
In 2015, when Pope Francis became the fourth pope to visit the U.S., he blessed a modern masterpiece of a Bible that was then donated in his honor to the Library. As the world mourns the pontiff, we wanted to share this beautiful artifact and remember that special moment. The pope’s time in the U.S. …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Exhibitions, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
A family Bible in Washington, looted by a British soldier during the War of 1812 and kept in his family for generations, was eventually returned to the nation more than a century later. It is now preserved by the Library, an artifact of two nations of war and then in peace.
Posted in: American Revolution, LCM, Rare Book and Special Collections, Washington DC
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Edgar Allan Poe died 175 years ago today, on Oct. 7, 1849. Here, we revisit the first publication of his poetic masterpiece, "The Raven" and the tragic circumstances (his dying young wife) that led to him writing it.
Posted in: LCM, Newspapers, Poetry, Rare Book and Special Collections, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Printed in Cambridge between 1660 and 1663, the Eliot Indian Bible today represents a landmark in printing history: It was translated into the Wampanoag language of the region’s Algonquin tribes and was the first Bible printed in North America in any language. In recent decades, the Wampanoag nation has used the Eliot Bible as a tool to help resurrect its ancestral language. The Library preserves a 1685 copy.
Posted in: LCM, Native Americans, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
In 1812, Massachusetts Gov. Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a bill he didn't like, one the reordered some political districts into particularly odd shapes to favor one party. One contorted district looked like a huge salamander -- and the term "Gerrymander" was born. A political cartoon enshrined it into U.S. history.
Posted in: Congress, Geography and Maps Division, Newspapers, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
In the late 1400s, Maestro Martino, a chef from Como, in Lombardy, created the first Italian cookbook, “Libro de arte coquinaria,” or “The Art of Cooking.” It is one of the featured exhibits in the Library's newly opened David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery.
Posted in: Drink, LCM, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated -- a gathering of the ordinary and everyday -- have long been one of the Library's most fascinating holdings. They, along with Lincoln's work on the Gettysburg Address, are featured in "Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” the inaugural exhibit of the Library's new Treasures Gallery, opening June 13.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, LCM, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
This June, the Library will open “Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” an exhibition that explores the ways cultures preserve memory and shows off some of the Library's most valuable holdings. The exhibition is the first in the Library’s new David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Collections, Comics, Geography and Maps Division, LCM, Library Work and Employees, Music, Performing Arts, Rare Book and Special Collections, Thomas Jefferson Building
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Edith Book of Hours is a tiny 14th-century masterpiece of Gothic illumination. It's less than 3 inches tall and 2 inches wide, yet has more than 300 pages and is filled with gorgeous illustrations, still vibrantly colorful after more than 700 years.
Posted in: Books, LCM, Rare Book and Special Collections