Like many kids – and lots of adults – I love playing board games. I’ve spent many an hour rolling dice and moving around a board in a race against my opponents to either the finish line or to some other goal, like accumulating the most wealth or properties. But I have not yet tried …
As I made my way to work in temperatures hovering near zero degrees Fahrenheit, it was hard to think of anything except staying warm. Millions of Americans were bundled up like me, experiencing this week’s shock of unusual Arctic cold. Once I thawed out and could start to think of other things, I recalled this …
The gentleman with the long pipe and the colorful garments (right) points to a document. What is it? Take a closer look (below). It does not appear to be a letter or excerpt from a text. Some letters are recognizable as part of the Roman alphabet: I can see an A, an H, a J, …
If every collection in the Prints and Photographs Division is an apple tree, full of tantalizing visual treats, then all of our holdings combined make for a vast orchard, ripe with possibility. My extended food metaphor is no accident, as we are launching a new monthly series here at Picture This entitled Feast Your Eyes. …
The summer road trip is a rite of passage for many Americans. And the ultimate road trip is the coast-to-coast journey. Today’s driver has many tools to make the trip easier: GPS systems, road maps, and miles of interstate highway. Between 24 hour gas stations, fast food and cell phones, we are never far from …
Ask any American to identify the Washington Monument or the U.S. Capitol, and it is likely they could. But would they recognize – or be surprised by – those structures as they looked in the first century of the nation’s capital? A newly expanded reference aid provides glimpses of the city as it evolved: Washington, …
The following is a guest post by Gay Colyer, Digital Library Specialist, Prints & Photographs Division. While reviewing Civil War photographs of the Union’s Mississippi River Fleet (LOT 4183), I came across a type of ship that I hadn’t seen before. I’ve long admired the efficient design of the single or double turreted ironclads. In …
Everyone who knows me knows I love snow. If there is even the slightest chance for a snowfall here in the D.C. area, I am always glued to the weather forecast. I study the Doppler radar, scrutinize the predictions, and listen with bated breath to every watch, warning and advisory. It looks like my ever-dwindling …
Every December, the Geminid Meteor Shower fills the evening sky with shooting stars (meteors). The first step to enjoying the shower, which will peak the evening of December 13 and into the morning of the 14th, is to locate the constellation of Gemini in the night sky, as the meteors will appear to radiate from …