The turn of the twentieth century was a period of innovation, when advances in printing and color lithography coincided with a new golden age in the performance of magic and illusion. This convergence resulted in the most stunning, color-saturated advertisements in the history of magic. [Read more…] about The Golden Age of Magic Posters
Digital Collections
Seeing stars in the Blaeu World Map
A fascinating project to preserve and display the iconic 1648 Dutch world map is now underway. In previous blog posts, we revealed the history of the Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula (Blaeu World Map) and the family of cartographers, globe makers, printers, and publishers who created it. We also have discussed the science and conservation taking place to prepare the Texas-sized 371-year-old map (learn more about the map) for public display. [Read more…] about Seeing stars in the Blaeu World Map
How a famed astronomer paved the way for the Blaeu World Map
A Q & A with Dr. Bruce Hunt about the Blaeu World Map
In recent blog posts, we examined the science behind the Blaeu World Map and took a deep dive into the conservation in progress to prepare the massive 371-year-old map for public display. [Read more…] about How a famed astronomer paved the way for the Blaeu World Map
New digital resources launch online for study of human rights
Thousands of digitized records reflecting major historical events of the 20th century related to PEN International, a global writers’ organization, are available online beginning this month. [Read more…] about New digital resources launch online for study of human rights
200 years later, Walt Whitman’s legacy continues to grow
Walt Whitman was born on this day in 1819, and amid a panoply of planned festivities, his bicentennial has renewed popular interest in Whitman’s legacy. What has Whitman left us in our twenty-first century? Whatever he has bequeathed to us culturally, what’s certain is that 200 years after his birth, his textual legacy continues to grow.
[Read more…] about 200 years later, Walt Whitman’s legacy continues to grow
Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman
President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, having been assassinated at Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.