History Matters is a blog series where we’ll be talking about the things you’re not supposed to discuss at the dinner table – things that may make some people uncomfortable. These pieces of our history are there if you look but might not be top of mind or in a textbook. We often think of history on a larger scale, […]
Most of the time I try to stay focused on my assigned topics for digitization projects, but I know when to follow an unexpected and interesting story when it presents itself. Recently, I was researching the Brant and Helen McKay Steele Collection for a project on women’s history and came across a folder of photographs […]
Lawyer Calvin Fletcher arrived in Indianapolis almost penniless in 1821. The new city offered boundless opportunities for those who got in on the ground floor, and Fletcher’s resume grew steadily. In addition to his legal work, he fashioned himself into a banker, farmer, husband, father, landowner, philanthropist, politician, abolitionist, public education advocate, and all-around fancy […]
As a former teacher, I always get excited when school materials come my way. I recently cataloged several Indiana history and government workbooks from the 1930s. Like most, I was required to take courses on both topics during my career as a student. I like to think my knowledge is above average – after all, […]
I recently cataloged numerous issues of Bandwagon, a publication of the Circus Historical Society. The organization was formed in 1939, and its mission is to “preserve, promote and share through education, the history and cultural significance of the circus and allied arts, past and present.” The first issue of their journal was published in 1940 […]
In preparation for our Mapping Indianapolis panel this Saturday, I thought it was timely to highlight one of my favorite new resources available in the library – the H.B. Fatout Co., Herbert Bloemker Co., and Ernest R. Hamilton Co. Surveying Books collection. The collection includes more than 50 sketchbooks surveying Marion County, beginning in the 1880s. […]
This blog is the inaugural in a series we’re calling History Matters. We’ll be talking about the things you’re not supposed to discuss at the dinner table – things that may make some people uncomfortable. These pieces of our history are there if you look but might not be top of mind or in a […]
Happy New Year! I started my work in 2019 by cataloging a unique item, unlike anything that has ever come across my desk: a nurseryman’s sample book from the late 1880s. It belonged to Henry C. Eickhoff, a well-known nurseryman from Indianapolis. A book like this was used by salesmen to show potential customers images […]
Dec. 11 was the 202nd anniversary of Indiana’s Statehood. On that day, we usually send out a “Happy Birthday” message. These posts on social media are lighthearted ways to recognize the day. One popular image in Statehood day posts is this 1819 map of Indiana. This map, prepared by John Melish, was originally published in […]
I have been making a conscious effort to catalog more maps recently. I hate to admit it, but I sometimes neglect my duties when it comes to printed materials that aren’t books or pamphlets. For the most part, it is a simple case of “out of sight, out of mind.” Maps waiting to be cataloged […]
