Unless you’ve been living under a sedimentary rock, then you know that “Deep Time” is opening in the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils this Saturday, June 8 at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. And it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before. The 31,000-square-foot fossil hall invites visitors to dive into Earth’s distant past to understand its connection to the present and future.

But before you head to the new exhibit, it might be interesting to learn about how the Smithsonian’s fossil collection formed and how it was initially exhibited. There’s drama. There’s adventure. There are menial administrative tasks!  

Grab some popcorn, because the age of fossil discovery starts with drama. What had once been a friendship between paleontologists Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope quickly turned into a bitter feud, now known as the “Bone Wars,” mostly over who would discover and name the most species.   

Both Marsh and Cope sought to weaken the other’s reputation. The two splashed criticism of their rival’s work across American newspapers and journals and raided dig sites. And although these antics hindered some progress in the field, by the time Cope passed away in 1897, the two named more than fifty dinosaur species from fossils.

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 2

Othniel C. Marsh, by Maull & Co. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Image no. 78-15940

Portrait of Edward Drinker Cope, 1880, by T. W. Smillie. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-006, Image no. MAH-6812

Now, dinosaurs really had the public’s attention.

Fortunately for the Smithsonian, Marsh became honorary head curator of the United States National Museum’s Department of Vertebrate Fossils in 1887, and assisted in facilitating the transfer of freight carloads of fossils to the museum from the United States Geological Survey. Upon Marsh’s death in 1899, another five railcars, consisting of eighty tons of fossils, were added to the collection. Marsh’s contributions remain Smithsonian’s largest single collection of fossils today.

Now let’s talk about the heroes tasked with sorting, cataloging, preparing, mounting, and studying these collections.

Charles W. Gilmore was hired alongside James W. Gidley to work as a preparator for the collection in 1903 under head curator George P. Merrill. Gilmore remained with the collection, eventually serving as curator of the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, until his retirement in 1945.

In fact, you can spot a few of Gilmore’s projects in “Deep Time.” With the help of assistant preparator Norman H. Boss, Gilmore mounted and displayed “Hatcher,” the popular Triceratops, in the U.S. National Museum in 1905. Today, you can find Hatcher, posing as a snack for Tyrannosaurus rex, in the new exhibit. Additionally, Gilmore, Boss, Thomas Horne, and John Barrett were behind the preparation and mounting of the Diplodocus, the 70-foot-long, sauropod dinosaur, which was first displayed in 1931. It’s hard to miss this one in “Deep Time.” Hint: Look up!

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 3

Dinosaur Skeleton Exposed in Dinosaur National Quarry in Utah, where the Diplodocus skeleton was discovered, 1923, by Earl Douglass. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 12-492, Image no. SIA2012-2788

Thomas Horne Preparing Diplodocus Specimen, 1924. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 12-492, Image no. SIA2012-2793

Complete Installation of the Diplodocus Longus in National Museum, 1931. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 12-492, Image no. SIA2012-2792

As mentioned above, skeletons of extinct animals had been on display in the United States National Museum Building since 1872, but it was not until October 15, 1911 that the first hall of fossils, sometimes referred to as the “Hall of Extinct Monsters,” opened at the United States National Museum, now Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History building. Gilmore and his team arranged the dinosaurs by splashy, large fossil displays and smaller fossil bones or fragments.

What “Deep Time” and the “Hall of Extinct Monsters” have in common is that they each have clear messages, rooted in science.

In the 1910-11 annual report, Gilmore and his colleagues emphasized evolution, at a time when the theory was much more controversial. They explained that the fossils were systematically organized “to illustrate different phases of geological history and evolution of the several reptilian groups.”

The final section of “Deep Time” explicitly makes its mission clear. With panels, interactives, videos, and more, “Deep Time” demonstrates how humans are negatively impacting today’s species and affecting Earth’s future. One quote near the end of the exhibit sums this idea up well. "The evidence is clear: We are causing rapid, unprecedented change to our planet. But there is hope—we can adapt, innovate, and collaborate to leave a positive legacy.” 

The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils opens to the public this Saturday, June 8 at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. 

For a complete history of Smithsonian’s fossil halls, explore Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Confict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian’s Fossil Halls by Diana E. Marsh. The author relied heavily on Dr. Marsh's reasearch in writing this post.

Related Collections

• United States National Museum, Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1889-1957, Record Unit 156, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Related Resources 

• David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
• Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, History, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• “Charles W. Gilmore-The Forgotten Dinosaur Hunter,” by Hans-Dieter Sues and Diana Marsh, National Museum of Natural History
• “This Means War! A History of the Bone Wars,” by Clare Flemming, Biodiversity Heritage Library Blog
• “The Doctor Is In, a #DeepTime Series. Episode 1,” Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, YouTube Channel

Smithsonian Magazine profiles Jay Matternes, one of the National Museum of Natural History’s pioneers of paleoart. [via Smithsonian]

Play a replica of George Washington’s harpsichord, courtesy of a new digital interactive! [via Mount Vernon] 

Beesearchers (bee researchers) have concluded that bees can learn to read numbers. [via Gizmodo]

A self-described archives “tourist” has written a guide to scheduling visits to special collections. [via Darius Kazemi]

The New York Times discusses an exhibition of Native women’s art that will come to the Renwick Gallery next year. [via New York Times]

Animal behaviorists now know what outdoor cats do all day! [via Science]

The BFI National Archive has digitized footage of the first solar eclipse known to be recorded on film. [via Space]

At one of three opening night parties at the Renwick Gallery in January 1972, Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley gave a toast. “The building itself is a monument to the craftsman of yesterday. We hope to make the exhibits very stylish shows of the arts people make for themselves even in this technological age.” 

And the opening parties were very stylish, indeed. However, many of the photographs do not necessarily provide good examples of the best ways to explore our museums today. 

Since this time of the year (mid-March to late-July) is when Smithsonian museums are bustling with visitors, we thought showing off photographs from the Renwick Gallery's opening events alongside helpful tips might be a fun way to help visitors navigate through museums this season. But before you call the collections care police, please note that smoking in museums and other rules were quite different in 1972.

1. Please refrain from smoking in museums, including e-cigarettes. 

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 2

Guests at the opening reception of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Albert J. Robinson. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc, 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1947.

Guests sit and chat at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Albert J. Robinson. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1949.

2. Please don’t touch the collections (unless the signage invites you to, of course!). 

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 2

Renwick Administrator Lloyd E. Herman examines the work of Wendell Castle at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Image no. 72-1961-06

Guests examine the woodworking section at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1960

3. Please keep any beverages far away from the objects. Most Smithsonian museums do permit bottled water!

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 3

A group of women sit together at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1957

Guests view artworks on display at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1957

A group stands together at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1957

4. Please do pose for photographs in the museum where photography is encouraged. We also love when visitors tag our museum accounts or use our hashtags on social media. This shot should get a #RenwickGallery for sure.

5. Please consider packing as lightly as you are able. The following museums require visitors to walk through metal detectors: National Air and Space Museum and its Udvar-Hazy Center, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Postal Museum, and the National Museum of the American Indian. 

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 3

A woman poses for a photograph at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1959

Guests at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1959

Guests at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1959

6. Please do engage in thoughtful and respectful conversations with those in your group. Hearing visitors discuss exhibits or objects is music to our ears.

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 2

Guests sit and talk at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1956

Guests talk at the opening of the Renwick Gallery, 1972, by Dick Mowry. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Contact sheet no. 72-1960

7. Avoid the crowds by arriving early on weekends and later in the day during the week. It's also best to start on the top floors of the museums and work your way down.

8. And this one might go without saying, but please don't hide in our plants.

For more helpful tips and guidelines, head to the Smithsonian's website.

Related Resources

• Smithsonian American Art Museum History, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• Museum History, Smithsonian American Art Museum

The careers of Henry Nehling and his son Arlo, pictured together at a 1927 botany conference at Cornell University, epitomize the academic and applied sides of biology. Henry Nehrling (1853-1929) had begun his scientific career as an ornithologist, and became one of the founders of the American Ornithological Society in 1883. By the end of his career, he was one of the most celebrated horticulturists in the United States, and had established major gardening operations in Florida. Nehrling collected hundreds of plants around the world, which found their way into American gardens, and hybridized over 1700 varieties of caladiums. In 1928, noted botanist David Grandison Fairchild (1869-1954), representing the Council of the American Genetic Association, presented Nehrling with the Frank N. Meyer Memorial Medal for his distinguished field work and explorations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Foreign Plant and Seed Introduction. It was fitting that the award was given at the annual convention of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. Henry's son Arno Herbert Nehrling (1886-1974) eventually left his academic post as Professor of Floriculture at Cornell University, and became director of exhibits at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Upon his death, the Boston Globe celebrated Arno as "Mr. Flower Show," for the wildly successful spring exhibitions he had managed for over 30 years. 

The Cook family had a similarly linked scientific heritage. As a U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist, Orator Fuller Cook, Jr. (1867-1949) also participated in the great plant collecting activities of the early twentieth century. Cook traveled throughout the world to find new plant species, primarily cotton, rubber, and palms. His wife, Alice Carter Cook (1868-1943), whom Orator had met during their college years at Syracuse University, received the first Ph.D. in botany granted to any woman in the United States in 1888. Alice taught for a few years, went on to earn a second degree in botany at Cornell in 1892, and married Orator the following year. Their son, Robert Carter Cook (1898-1991), followed a less traditional path, with little formal schooling until he attended George Washington University (without graduating). Robert's reputation in the field of genetics grew during the 1920s. In 1922 he was appointed editor of the Journal of Heredity and executive officer of the American Genetic Association; in 1932, he became head of the Population Reference Bureau in Washington and maintained that association for thirty more years. 

Although only two Nobel laureates to date have been mother and daughter (physicist Marie Curie won the prize twice and her daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, received her own award in 1935), the British physicists William Henry Bragg (1862-1942) and William Lawrence Bragg (1890-1971) were only the first of several father-son Nobel recipients. In 1915, the Braggs jointly received the Nobel prize for their work in x-ray crystallography at the University of Cambridge. William Henry Bragg was knighted in 1920 and became Director of the Royal Institution in 1923. William Lawrence Bragg had been a Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, when the award-winning research was done and, after several decades at other institutions, he returned to the university in 1938 to become director of the Cavendish Laboratory. William Laurence Bragg was knighted in 1941, and succeeded his father as head of the Royal Institution, serving in that role from 1954 to 1971.

Related Resources

• "A Father, as Son, and a Nobel Prize," by Hillary Brady, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• The Kampong, botanical garden on site of winter home of David Grandison Fairchild, website
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, website
• Nehrling Gardens, website
• Guide to the Orator F. Cook Papers 1889-1898, University of Chicago Library
• Nobel Prize in Physics FAQs, The Nobel Prize website

Today, June 14, is the last day to help choose the names for two Potomac River dolphins! [via DCist] 

The Smithsonian Sidedoor podcast covers the “Bone Wars” waged between two 19th-century paleontologists. [via Smithsonian]

Explore hundreds of thousands of pages from colonial North American manuscripts, newly digitized by Harvard Library! [via infoDOCKET]

Archaeologists recently discovered “annular bread-like objects”—ancient Cheerios—at a Bronze Age site. [via Newsweek]

The New York Timesdiscusses a plane-based observatory that can identify and map endangered coral reefs from the air. [via NYT Science]

A video profile of the Tenement Museum explores the objects in its permanent collection. [via Museum Assocation of New York]

As part of the “Deep Time Special Report,” geologists explain how to date fossils. [via Smithsonian]

In this new segment, I.D. This!, we’ll be taking a look at a digital print that’s exhibiting some odd properties. By taking the time to identify the materials that comprise the print, we'll be able to better preserve it by choosing appropriate housing materials, handling protocols, and long-term storage conditions. The prints we'll be looking at are from a newly accessioned collection from our Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and document the exhibition “Beyond Baseball: The Life of Roberto Clemente,” which traveled from 2007 to 2012.

What is the base substrate material?

The base substrate, or the material that holds the media of an object, appears to be your common computer printer paper. It’s of average thickness (about 20 lb.) and white in color.

What is the media?

This object can be considered "printed;" in that, media has been applied to the surface of the paper in a printed manner, such as from a computer printer. Under magnification, we can see a distinct pattern of dots that indicate this in an inkjet print.

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 2

Micrograph (120x) of the surface of a dye phase-change inkjet print, June 14, 2019, photo courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber

Micrograph (120x) of the surface of a dye phase-change inkjet print, June 14, 2019, photo courtesy of Alison Reppert Gerber

This type of pattern is distinctive of FM screening, or frequency modulation, and is based on a mostly random distribution of halftone dots. The dots themselves never change size, just the frequency of the distribution. As for pigment vs. dye identification, this can be tricky. This print is actually dye, but the appearance is almost pigment-like due to the sharp edges of the dots. However, the dots themselves appear mostly translucent with no graininess. This distinctive appearance is due to the fact that this object was printed on a solid ink inkjet printer, which can also be known as a phase-change inkjet.

What is it called?

How we apply nomenclature is dependent on our purpose. Curators identify things differently than conservators, registrars, and education staff do. Here are some examples of how one staff member may define this object versus another staff member.

• Conservation: Dye phase-change inkjet print on uncoated bond paper
• Collection Management: Inkjet print
• Exhibition: Digital dye inkjet print on paper

How should it be stored and handled?

The dye media means that this inkjet print will be very sensitive to water. While the wax may provide some stability to moisture, it would still be at risk in a water emergency. The wax also makes this print very sensitive to high temperature environments. Have you ever put a crayon outside on a summer day? You probably witnessed it melting into an impossible-to-clean-up mess. This also helps us to explain why our print is exhibiting some weird qualities.

From the front, the print looks fairly stable. The color quality is average, with some minor fading. However, once you flip the page over, you can clearly see that something has gone awry; there is a mirror image of the front in mostly magenta hues. We can assume that this collection was, at some point, stored in a warm and possible damp environment that caused the wax to melt and the dye to bleed.

As for storage and handling, this type of print should ideally be stored in frozen conditions (<32°F) with relative humidity levels between 30-55%. Gloves, preferably nitrile, should be worn when handling inkjet prints to reduce the transfer of oils from hands. You will also want to take to avoid touching the image area to reduce the risk of surface abrasions.

Related Resources

• The Atlas of Water Damage on Inkjet-Printed Fine Art, By Megan Connor and Daniel Burge, The Image Permanence Institute
• "Preserve It While You Use It: Collections Care in Action," by William Bennett, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• The DP3 Project: Digital Print Preservation Portal, The Image Permanence Institute

The Archives recently acquired a new microfilm machine/reader!  This is very exciting news for us, and for our patrons, as many of the early records of the Smithsonian were microfilmed decades ago, in an effort to preserve the original documents.  The new microfilm reader is “state of the art” (does anyone still use this phrase?); it permits the user to scan items of interest as a PDF which may then be attached to an email and delivered electronically.  The machine also has numerous features for adjusting contrast and brightness, magnifying text, cropping or zooming in on a specific part of a document, and more.

Perhaps you have never used microfilm or microfiche, and are curious how it became a widely utilized media during the twentieth century. The history and development of microfilm coincides with the history of photography, in particular, the creation of the daguerreotype in 1839. 

John Benjamin Dancer, an English optician, instrument maker, and inventor, began tinkering with daguerreotypes immediately after their introduction in an effort to reduce the original media into a more practical size.  His experiments were successful in reducing an image at a ratio of 160 to 1, creating the first piece of microfilm.  The new process could also be reversed, enlarging an entire or select portion of an image. Although Dancer created the microfilm process, he did not patent it. René Dagron, the French photographer and inventor, was granted the first patent for microfilm in 1859. 

While photography, also a nineteenth century invention, was enthusiastically embraced by the public, microfilm went relatively unnoticed. 

The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 included an entire building to showcase photography; there was but a small display devoted microfilm. It was received by many as a curiosity, a format without a viable purpose requiring special equipment to read or view. 

The Eastman Kodak Company’s Recordak system, a series of automatic, continuous cameras used to capture images on 16mm and 35mm film introduced in the early 1930’s, and the implementation of cellulose acetate film, made the microfilm process more cost effective and less dangerous. Nitrate film, which is unstable and highly flammable, was the medium prior to the introduction of cellulose acetate film. 

With the technology now refined and accessible, Recordak undertook one of the first large-scale projects in 1935—microfilming back issues of The New York Times.

It thus became evident that microfilm was an excellent method of preserving newsprint, which deteriorated rapidly, and consumed a considerable amount of library storage space.  The American Library Association endorsed microfilm as a method of preserving and accessing information during its annual meeting in May 1936.  Soon thereafter, in 1938, Harvard University initiated its Foreign Newspaper Project, and Eugene Power founded University Microfilms, Inc. (UMI) and began microfilming Ph.D. dissertations.

Many libraries/archives, including the Smithsonian, embraced microfilm/microfiche as a space saving measure. A standard archival document box measures approximately .5 cubic feet and will typically hold 500–700 documents, whereas one reel of 35mm microfilm, measuring 4” x 4” x 1.5,” will hold nearly the same volume of paper materials. 

PreviousPauseNext

1 of 6

Original microfilm slide of a May 21, 1879 letter from Charles Valentine Riley, Entomologist, offering his services to the Smithsonian, RU 28, Reel 6, Page 2600

Original microfilm slide of a May 21, 1879 letter from Charles Valentine Riley, Entomologist, offering his services to the Smithsonian, RU 28, Reel 6, Page 2600

A “clean” version of the letter was enlarged and straightened, with manual adjustments made to contrast and brightness, using the new microfilm machine.

A “clean” version of the letter was enlarged and straightened, with manual adjustments made to contrast and brightness, using the new microfilm machine.

Original microfilm slide of a January 11, 1882 letter from Secretary Spencer Baird, appointing C.V. Riley as “Honorary Curator of Entomology,” nearly three years later! For the record, Baird did text a reply to Riley in June 1879; however, Riley did not recognize Baird’s number, and deleted the text without reading it! RU112, Volume L6, Reel 6, Page 115

A “clean” version of the letter was enlarged and straightened, with manual adjustments made to contrast and brightness, using the new microfilm machine.

We also microfilmed collections as a level of preservation to limit the circulation of aging, original materials, or to capture documents before the originals deteriorated further.  The majority of early Smithsonian Institution records (ca. 1846 - 1900), including correspondence of Secretaries Joseph Henry and Spencer Baird, Assistant Secretaries’ records, accession/donor records, and museum division records, are available to researchers only on microfilm. 

Digital technologies (cameras, image scanners, storage devices, etc.) have made microfilm/microfiche essentially obsolete.  It is far easier, quicker, and cost effective to digitally scan or photograph materials in-house.  Furthermore, there are high speed scanners that can digitize entire reels of existing microfilm in a matter of minutes.  What, then, is to become of all the microfilm/microfiche currently on the shelves of libraries and archives? 

Fortunately, microfilm is very robust media.  It has a life expectancy of at least 500 years if stored properly, and does not require software updates, an annual subscription, or future costs, other than potential maintenance to the microfilm reader.  Our new machine sits adjacent to a microfilm reader/printer that has been with us since the 1970’s.  Although the old machine looks and is indeed dated, it continues to function well enough, most of the time.  I still use it on occasion for quick searches, simply because it is analog (just like me) and takes only seconds to power up. 

The new machine, as fly as it is, must be connected to a PC, has to go through its startup procedure, and almost certainly will require a software update at some point.  However, considering the quality of the digital images it produces, numerous options for enhancing the frame(s) of interest, and the accessibility it provides to the hundreds of microfilm reels among our holdings, the new microfilm machine is a much needed and welcomed addition to the archives.  And that makes us excited! Enough to raise our tea cups, and cheer (in our library voices, of course).

Related Resources

• "Microfilm Lasts Half a Millennium," by Craig Saper, The Atlantic, July 22, 2018
• "The Strange History of Microdilm, Which Will Be With Us For Centuries," by Ernie Smith, Atlas Obscura, June 20, 2016
• "Microfilm-A Brief History," Southern Regional Library Facility, University of California
• "Microfilm," Dead Media Archives, Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University 

Joy Harjo is the first Native American to be appointed U.S. Poet Laureate. [via Library of Congress]

GW Libraries has recently digitized photographs from 1970s WMATA construction projects. [via Greater Greater Washington] 

The Capitol Visitor Center has rolled out Capitol Materials Carts! [via US Capitol]

A new exhibit at the George Washington University Museum shares failed designs for D.C. monuments. [via Washingtonian] 

The Getty gives an update on an archaeological conservation project based at the ancient town of Herculaneum. [via Getty Conservation Institute] 

CNN has published a civil rights history road trip guide! [via African Burial Ground NM] 

Scientists have come closer to figuring out why dogs are so cute. [via New York Times]

Vicarious research is one of the great joys of the reference desk at the Smithsonian Institution Archives. From our front-row (well, only-row) seat outside the reading room, we catch tantalizing glimpses of our patrons’ manifold research topics.

The reference team fields around 6,000 queries per year. Ask us what people have been researching recently, and you’ll get into some of the enlightening, weird, and fascinating details of our collections. Here is a sample of the diverse topics SIA’s researchers have been exploring for the past few months!

Over the past three months, researcher projects have delved into:

• Animals donated to the National Zoo by President Coolidge
• Phylogeny of herbaceous bamboos
• The growth of the Juneteenth holiday
• Art shows held by the National League of American Pen Women
• Rattlesnake species described by Robert Kennicott
• Stereoviews of the Castle
• Mussels collected during a 1908 survey of the Iowa River

Permissions for upcoming publications using our photos or documents include:

• Portrait of astrophysicist Cecilia Helena Payne Gaposchkin for the upcoming book Women in their Elements: Selected Women’s Contributions to the Periodic System
• Photo of six-year-old Philip K.B. Lundeberg holding a toy boat for the Mariners’ Museum’s upcoming exhibition “Toys Ahoy! A Maritime Childhood”
• 1843 rebus-filled letter from A. Goldsborough Bruff to F. Markor of the National Institute for Kenneth M. Price’s upcoming book Whitman in Washington: Becoming the National Poet in the Federal City
• Portrait of physiologist Yandell Henderson for the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s upcoming traveling exhibition, “This Lead is Killing Us: Citizens Fight Lead Poisoning in Their Communities”
• Photo of primatologist Richard Lynch Garner for Susan M. Stein’s upcoming book On Distant Service: The Life of the First U.S. Foreign Service Officer to be Assassinated

Chip off the old Ladd:

In early May, the SIA reading room played host to eleven grandchildren and great-grandchildren of 20th-century geologist Harry S. Ladd. The Ladd family explored six boxes—twocollections’ worth—of Harry’s correspondence, field notes, and photographs spanning his career at the U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History. Through the efforts of SIA’s digital media coordinator, Kira Sobers, the Ladds were also the first researchers to screen their grandfather's newly-digitized 16mm film, Prince of Tonga.

Related Resources

• "Hot Topix in Archival Research, Winter 2019," by Deborah Shapiro, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• "Hot Topix in Archival Research, Fall 2018," by Deborah Shapiro, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• "Hot Topix in Archival Research, Summer 2018," by Deborah Shapiro, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• "Hot Topix in Archival Research, Spring 2018," by Deborah Shapiro, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives

Today marks the 190^th anniversary of the death of Smithsonian founding donor James Smithson in 1829. Though we have touched on topics related to his death in the past, today’s blog will detail Smithson’s posthumous journey to the United States.

In the late nineteenth century, Smithsonian’s Board of Regents consistently took actions to preserve Smithson’s resting place in Genoa, Italy, where he died at age 64. In 1880, the group authorized the U.S. Consul in Italy to care for the monument at Smithson’s gravesite, and Secretary Langley added further funding in 1891. A few years later, the Board arranged for three plaques to be created in Smithson’s honor to be placed at his grave, the Protestant chapel in Genoa, and Pembroke College at Oxford, Smithson’s alma mater.

If the Board had prioritized such respect for Smithson’s memory in the past, why, then, was news about the destruction of his gravesite met with such a lukewarm response? In 1901, when the British Consul in Italy informed the Smithsonian that the cemetery where Smithson was buried needed to be relocated, the Board did not consider the matter a priority. 

Fortunately, Board member Alexander Graham Bell (yes that one!) took the lead and set out on a mission to bring Smithson to his final resting place in Washington, D.C.

On Christmas Day 1903, Bell and his wife, Mabel Bell, arrived in Genoa. Following days of negotiations and securing permits, the exhumation of James Smithson finally began on December 31 at 11 o’clock in the morning. The group found that Smithson’s coffin had crumbled, but his skeleton was well preserved.

For days, Smithson’s casket remained in the mortuary chapel at the cemetery, guarded day and night by gardener Giovanni Battista Firpo.  On January 2, 1904, Bell, U.S. Consul William Henry Bishop, and other witnesses placed an American flag, the seal of the consulate of the United States, and a wreath of leaves from Smithson’s gravesite over his casket before sealing the wooden coffin shut.

At the ceremony, Bell spoke, “It is with feelings of deep emotion that I undertake the transportation of the remains of James Smithson from the cemetery where they have so long reposed to their last resting place in the United States.”   

Following the small service, the group transferred Smithson’s remains to the Princess Irene, which set sail from Genoa on January 7. Upon arrival in New York on January 20, the coffin was transferred to the U.S.S. Dolphin, which escorted the Princess Irene to Washington, D.C.

After this whole journey, Bell wanted to ensure Smithson received a grand homecoming, for it was the “proper thing to do.” That’s where President Theodore Roosevelt came in.

Editor of National Geographic, and Bell’s son-in-law, Gilbert Grosvenor went over the heads of Smithsonian’s Board of Regents and requested support for a reception directly from President Roosevelt.

On January 25, 1904, the Marine band greeted the travelers with a rendition of “Nearer My God to Thee,” and the United States Calvary escorted the group from the Navy Yard. The coffin was draped with American and British flags. Finally, when the procession arrived at the Smithsonian Institution Building, or the “Castle,” Bell symbolically delivered Smithson’s remains to the Smithsonian Institution.

Today’s visitors to the Smithsonian are now able to pay their respects to the Institution’s founding donor by visiting his crypt in the Castle.

Related Collections:  

• James Smithson’s Last Will and Testament, October 23, 1826, Smithsonian Institution Achives 

Related Resources:

• “Fun Facts: The Surprises You Find When Writing Wikipedia With the Archives,” by Sarah Stierch, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives 
• “James Smithson, c. 1765–1829,” by Mitch Toda, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• “Mr. Smithson Goes to Washington And the Search for a Proper Memorial,” Smithsonian Architectural History & Historic Preservation Division, Smithsonian
• “From Smithson to Smithsonian,” Smithsonian Institution Archives

This weekend’s truncated Smithsonian Folklife Festival will feature the musical culture of Washington, DC! [via WAMU]

The Smithsonian Channel’s new app challenges Earth-dwelling users to land on the moon. [via Smithsonian]

The Smithsonian Transcription Center now supports digitized audio collections! [via SI Transcription Center]

The New York Times discusses the historic houses that have begun to tell the stories of the enslaved people who lived and worked there. [via New York Times]

The Museums in Strange Places podcast interviews two staff members of the SI Traveling Exhibition Service program Museum on Main Street. [via Museum on Main Street]

Browse “Educated and Enslaved,” the Library of Congress's new digital exhibition on Omar Ibn Said. [via Library of Congress]

Elephant seals have become Antarctic researchers! [via Ocean Portal]

Professional conferences offer excellent opportunities for archivists and others to learn about what colleagues are doing at other cultural heritage organizations, archives, libraries, and museums. Many who follow the archival profession are familiar with the Society of American Archivists, which hosts an annual conference attended by thousands. Librarians also have an annual gathering sponsored by the American Library Association and were recently in Washington, D.C.

Smaller professional organizations based by region offer great conferences as well in smaller locations. These groups include, but are not limited to, the Midwest Archives Conference, the Society of California Archivists, and the Society of Georgia Archivists. When professionals come together to share new projects and tools, similar challenges, and ideas for collaboration at the various workshops and sessions, the field expands. Archivists are always learning.

MARAC or the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference has two conference events per year. The group has more than 1,000 members from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

The spring conference, themed “Working Archives: A Labor of Love,” was in Morgantown, West Virginia. Attendees and presenters included representation from volunteer archivists to small college special collections to the Library of Congress.

Some sessions covered planning a digital preservation program, dealing with digital storage and technology issues, and creating community-based archives. Building on the theme, some presentations focused on stories of overlooked populations and “hidden” collections. Presenters shared the successes and challenges of reprocessing/revisiting collections that were not adequately described in the past, mixed in with other collections, or lacked finding aids. Another session focused on how people outside the archives can help describe collections they are familiar with. In three separate projects, members of a civic organization, journalists, and industrial glassworkers were able to contribute to the knowledge of the records.

The West Virginia University Libraries hosted an evening reception and attendees were able to view an expansive collection of local, state, and regional history at the West Virginia and Regional History Center. The center also has an impressive collection of rare books, including William Shakespeare's Four Folios and the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493. One treasure on view that evening was a medieval gradual from a monastery in Seville, circa 1425.

Knowledge sharing also went beyond the conference, as these regional conferences can sometimes make it easier for archivists to spread the word about the rich resources available to the public. Some colleagues and I had the opportunity to explain to a curious guest at the conference hotel about the purpose of archives and special collections. Her eyes lit up as she talked about how she is working on her family genealogy and has a lot of research to do after learning about some additional resources from the group. I, too, felt the same way returning to the office with some items to follow up on from some new colleagues I met at the conference.

Related Resources

• "Highlights from the 2018 Society of American Archivists Conference," by Kira M. Sobers, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• "Society of American Archivists Conference Recap," by Tammy L. Peters, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives
• "Some Archival Career Advice," by Jennifer Wright, The Bigger Picture, Smithsonian Institution Archives