[metaslider id=9195] Before Black History Month wraps up for this year we should remember that 2015 is the 50th anniversary of two seminal events. It's the 50th anniversary of the three Selma to Montgomery marches that were part of the Selma Voting Rights Movement which led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. It's also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X. First a photo salute to Black History Month from the vast archives at Corbis followed by a few selections from our inventory. Enjoy! Signed by the President The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack...
What Darwin Saw: Sketchbooks from the voyage of the HMS Beagle added to Cambridge Digital Library
Charles Darwin considered it to be one of the most formative journeys of his life. His diary and scientific journal of his time aboard the HMS Beagle, now best known as The Voyage of the Beagle, was a bestseller. It was also on this voyage that the first seeds of his masterwork, Origin of Species, were planted. Now thanks to Cambridge University the entire sketchbooks of Conrad Martens, a shipmate of Darwin's on the HMS Beagle, are available online. Martens made the drawings between the summer of 1833 and the early months of 1835. They "vividly bring to life one of the most famous...
Happy New Calendar! A Sampling of Calendars at the DPLA
Now that we have our new calendar in place to help track the year ahead let's have a look back at some of the thousands of calendars available for your perusal at the Digital Public Library of America, DPLA. Derived from the Latin word kalendae, which was the name of the first day of every month, there are as many varieties of calendars as there are days of the month. From a 12th century Book of Hours to a 16th century perpetual calendar to a Native American calendar on buckskin to a handwritten calendar by Lee Harvey Oswald there is no shortage of creative...
And a happy new year…Holiday Cards by Poets
Postcard by Alice Notley. Photograph: Courtesy of Raymond Danowski Poetry Library, MARBL, Emory University As the 2104 holiday season wraps up let's finish the year with a look at how some of our most beloved poets shared the holiday love. Winter Wedding: Holiday Cards by Poets currently on view at Poet's House features over 40 works by poets who included creative correspondence as a component of their offerings. "Holiday cards, valentines, birthday greetings, rare booklets, and more from some of the last century’s most beloved poets, including Langston Hughes, Alice Notley, Ted Berrigan, Seamus Heaney, and Sylvia Plath. Ranging...
Wilde News: Newly discovered items, books from his library and more
Oscar Wilde as an undergradute A couple of recent Oscar Wilde related happenings instigated this look into the holdings available through the DPLA. First there is a new program produced by KCET, the nation's largest independent public television station, which highlights the unparalleled Oscar Wilde collection that resides at The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles. Then we found out that The Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The National Library of the Netherlands, has discovered in its holdings five books from Wilde's own library. And if that is not enough Wilde goodness The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia has an upcoming exhibition on Wilde featuring several...