Library of Congress's Blog, page 139

Opening Day For the Library

Until 1897, the Library of Congress was housed in the U.S. Capitol Building itself. Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford (1864–97) was the first to propose that the Library be moved to a dedicated building. He also was instrumental in establishing the copyright law of 1870, which placed the Copyright Office in the Library and required anyone seeking a copyright to provide two copies of the work to the institution. Largely as a result of Spofford’s vision, the Library’s burgeoning collection outgrew its space in the Capitol Building. The large Library room filled very quickly, and overflow was moved to the Capitol attics and along the basement corridors. By mid-decade, Spofford was putting volumes along the walls of committee rooms, down the first- and second-floor corridors and against the public staircases.

Builders at work above the second level of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building during its construction. Dec. 3, 1891. Prints and Photographs Division.

On Nov. 1, 1897, at 9 a.m., the new Library building (now known as the Thomas Jefferson Building) officially opened to the public – 25 years after Spofford had begun his entreaty. Several days later, the transfer of Library materials – some 800 tons – into the new building was completed. While the items awaited sorting, counting and classification, much was scattered about, lining hallways and covering floors.

The building itself was an architectural wonder, a “gorgeous and palatial monument to its [America] national sympathy and appreciation of literature, science and art,” according to a guidebook published at the time. News of the opening of the new Library made the pages of many newspapers. A search through the newspapers in Chronicling America uncovered many headlines about the new building.

Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building taken from the Dome of the U.S. Capitol. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, between 1980 and 2006. Prints and Photographs Division.

“The Library of Congress, lately completed, at Washington, D.C., is the most imposing and beautiful, architecturally considered, of any United States Department building, or any building of like character in the world. Beside it the Louvre of Paris, depository of the world’s treasures of paining and sculpture, takes a second place.” The National Tribune, July 29, 1897 

According to the Nov. 2 issue of The Times, it was raining on the day the Library opened, and about 1,200 visitors came. “There is only one restriction on the visitor. As he enters he sees a sign, which, if it were alive, would have a forefinger on its lips. As it is dead, cold type, it merely says ‘Keep quiet,’ a pleasing variation of the bucolic and eternal ‘Keep off the grass.’ In that sole respect it is a melancholy place. … You go in and you want to read.”

Restoration specialist at work on art at the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, between 1980 and 2006. Prints and Photographs Division.

An article from the Evening Star discussed in detail the “diversity of literary tastes” that frequented the Library. From those “whose mental food is entirely of the fiction sort” to the “large number of men and women in Washington who aspire to become writers” to “a fiery and nervous man who … will unhorse the whole civil service reform idea,” “the men and women at the reading tables are diverse enough in appearance, character and in the nature of the library studies and investigations.”

A month or so after the new Library building opened, a bill was introduced in Congress to change the name of the Library to the “national library.” According to a Dec. 16 article in the Saint Paul Globe, “The present theory of the institution is that it is an adjunct of congress, for the convenience and comfort of the members, much as are the barber shops, etc. But public taxation pays the bills; the copyright regulation supplies the American books, and many people have come to regard the institution as too great and far too important in its magnificent new quarters to be an information bureau for congress and of but incidental service to the great student public throughout the country.”

The Library would later add two other buildings to its campus: the John Adams Building in 1939 and the James Madison Memorial Building in 1981. In 1986, work began on a massive renovation of the Thomas Jefferson Building as it approached its one 100th birthday in 1997.

Let’s Take a Spooky Road Trip!

America is full of weird and spooky places, and what better time to highlight some of them than Halloween! The Library’s collections have a wealth of materials on all kinds of topics, so it wasn’t hard to find places worthy of a frightful road trip!

The non-functioning fountain within an artificial pond called “Lake Tuendae” at Zzyzx. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2012. Prints and Photographs Division.

Zzyzx (pronounced zye-zex), located in San Bernadino County, California, was once the site of a health spa in the early 20th century. Founded by evangelist and self-proclaimed medical doctor Curtis Howe Springer in 1944, the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa was to be known as the “last word in health.”

Here’s where it gets a bit shady. Springer acquired the 12,000 acres of federal land, located in the Mojave Desert, by filing a mining claim, which the government later invalidated. He made a fortune selling his useless medicines and cures. In addition, Springer’s “natural” hot springs were completely fake – they were heated by hidden boilers.

Regardless, the health spa was a success for decades, expanding to a 60-room hotel, church, private airstrip and even a castle. In 1974, the government finally caught on to the “King of the Quacks” (as designated by the American Medical Association), and shut his enterprise down claiming Springer had no true claim to the land. He spent 49 days in jail for selling bogus meds and ended up retiring to Las Vegas. Zzyzx was taken over by the Bureau of Land Management and is now the site of California State University’s Desert Studies Center.

Home in the ghost town of Bodie, California. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2012. Prints and Photographs Division.

Also in California is the town of Bodie, a once glorious mining town located about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. A great example of a genuine ghost town, what’s left today is preserved in a state of “arrested decay,” with buildings and interiors remaining as they were left.

William S. Bodey discovered gold here in July 1859. It was not until 1874 that the great potential wealth of the district became promising. Bodie reached its pinnacle by 1879-80 when the population was estimated at 10-12,000 and when the production from the mines on Bodie Bluff was at its peak. “Highgrading,” or taking gold, was done so openly that the town was a magnet for criminals, and the “The Bad Man From Bodie” became synonymous for the lawless inhabitants.

The San Francisco call., July 07, 1907. Chronicling America.

By 1883, Bodie’s glory days were on the decline. Two major fires destroyed a good bit of the town, mines were closing and residents were feeling the effects of Prohibition and the Depression. With the onset of World War II, the school and post office were closed, and the last residents left town.

The town became a state historic park in 1962 and has been designated as a California Historic Site, as well as a National Historic Site.

Speaking of abandoned places, there’s nothing spookier than an abandoned castle. And, for some reason, castles and heartbreak go hand-in-hand.

Alster Tower, part of Boldt Castle. Photo by Detroit Publishing Co., 1901. Prints and Photographs Division.

Situated in the famed 1000 Islands region of New York sits Boldt Castle, a 120-room estate complete with tunnels, Italian gardens and a drawbridge. The castle’s history, however, is shrouded in tragedy. George C. Boldt, rich proprietor of the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel, began building the grand chateau for his beloved wife Louise. Sadly, in 1904, Louise passed away suddenly, and Boldt immediately ceased construction. He never returned to the island, leaving the structures as a decaying monument to his lost love. In 1977, Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property and restored it for public use.

Coral Castle. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, between 1980 and 2006. Prints and Photographs Division.

Another such castle is Coral Castle, located in Homestead, Florida. After Edward Leedskalnin was jilted by his fiancée, he left his home country of Latvia for America. Settling in Florida, he began a decades-long task of single-handedly building a massive rock castle. Allegedly he never let anyone watch him while he worked, but several teenagers reported they saw the short-statured and thin man move massive pounds of stone “like hydrogen balloons.”

Legend had it that the castle was built using magic, psychic energy or even alien technology, although that was refuted by Leedskalnin’s friend, Orval Irwin, who also wrote a book about Coral Castle.

According to an article from LiveScience, more than 1,000 tons of oolite limestone was quarried and sculpted into a variety of shapes, including slab walls, tables, chairs, a crescent moon, a water fountain and a sundial. In addition, the property featured a perfectly balanced stone gate that was easily opened despite its weight.

Leedskalnin opened the property in 1923 for tours, and he worked on the castle until his death in 1951. The place remains open for tourists and is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, May 3, 2015. Prints and Photographs Division.

Derelict insane asylums and penitentiaries are often popular places for the ghost adventurers. The East Coast has a number of them.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, located in Weston, West Virgina, served as a sanctuary for the mentally ill from 1864 to 1994. Initially, the facility was intended to house only 250 patients, but at its peak in the 1950s, some 2,400 lived within its walls.

In the early days of medicine, mental health was largely misunderstood and mistreated. Stories are rampant with barbaric practices and treatments, and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum had a reputation for being a very violent place. And, as such, the facility is reported to be haunted. A National Historic Landmark, the asylum is open for regular and ghost tours.

Also reportedly haunted is Eastern State Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia. The facility was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world but stands in ruins today.

Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, between 1980 and 2006. Prints and Photographs Division.

Opened in 1829, Eastern State was a technological marvel. Inmates lived in complete isolation, but their cells were centrally heated, with running water, a flush toilet and a skylight. Adjacent to each cell was a private outdoor exercise yard contained by a 10-foot wall. Inmates were hooded whenever they were outside of their cells to further their isolation and penitence. The menacing façade of the prison implied that physical punishment took place behind the walls.

And, for some prisoners who broke the rules, there were harsh punishments indeed. According to this NPR article, inmates were subjected to water baths, in which inmates were dunked then hung out on a wall in winter until ice formed on the skin; the mad chair, which bound an inmate so tightly that circulation was cut off; or even the iron gag, in which an inmate’s hands were tied behind the back and strapped to an iron collar in the mouth.

 

This system was abandoned in the early 1900s, and Eastern State invoked a more integrated system with prisoners sharing cells and working together.

Notable prisoners included gangster Al Capone and bank robber William Francis Sutton.

The prison closed in 1971, after it became too costly to repair and operate. In 1994, it opened to the public with daily tours. Since then it’s been the site of exhibitions, movies and even a haunted house.

Sources: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress), roadtrippers.com, roadsideamerica.com, bodie.com, boldtcastle.com, trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com, easternstate.org.

10 Stories: Scary Stuff! Chronicling America

In celebration of the release of the 10 millionth page of Chronicling America, our free, online searchable database of historical U.S. newspapers, the reference librarians in our Serials & Government Publications Division have selected some interesting subjects and articles from the archives. We’ve been sharing them in a series of Throwback Thursday #TBT blog posts.

To commemorate Halloween on Saturday, we return to our historical newspaper archives for alarming tales of the unexpected and a few spooky pranks thrown in for fun.

In the grip of the Green Terror! From the San Francisco Call, January 20, 1901.

“A New Halloween Game: The Shivers”

Wherein one passes carefully “prepared-to-make-one-shiver” items from hand to hand, without seeing what they are. (Obviously the source of that old peeled-grapes-as-eyeballs gag.) New York Tribune, October 26, 1919.

“The Spirit of Halloween”

Tips on celebrating the holiday (although frankly, this seems to be an excuse to print photos of a pretty girl). San Francisco Call, October 26, 1902.

“Mars Peopled by One Vast Thinking Vegetable!”

As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, October 13, 1912. It doesn’t appear to be a Great Pumpkin, but be careful it doesn’t send spaceships to land in Grover’s Mill, N.J., on Halloween night…

“Terror in the Country: An Automobile Is Coming!”

The Richmond Times Dispatch of March 6, 1904, shows the small-town alarm caused by one of those newfangled horseless carriages. Run!

“Breaking the Death-Grip of a Drowning Person”

An unintentionally murderous monster may be swimming beside you in a public pool. Here’s how to save yourself, courtesy of Miss Adeline Trapp, America’s greatest endurance swimmer—who, presumably, has had to fight off a number of these types. Chicago Day Book, August 8, 1913.

“Is San Francisco in the Grip of the Green Terror?”

Not a masked marauder of the radio waves, but an insidious intoxicant: “Society is all agog over the recent discovery that a coterie of girls in a fashionable uptown boarding school have been caught tippling absinthe,” reports the San Francisco Call, January 20, 1901.

“Says Ghosts of Men Executed Return and Cause Murder”

This according to the librarian of the St. Louis Theosophical Society, in cooperation with the American League for the Prevention of Legalized Crime. Mrs. Helen Primavesi suggests that the “the European War was started by the evil spirits of dead rulers.” Chicago Day Book, September 5, 1916.

“Tim – Tom: The Kelly Kids”

These raffish cartoon pranksters, who bear an uncanny resemblance to the more-famous Katzenjammer Kids of the era in both appearance and modus operandi, play a ghostly prank on their old man. Daily Capital Journal (Salem, Oregon), August 30, 1919.

“Oo-ey!! Slim Jim, Ghosts and Everything!!”

More cartoon hijinks, as that outlaw scalawag Slim Jim again evades capture by his three bumbling police pursuers by chasing them around a graveyard in a bedsheet. East Oregonian, November 8, 1919.

“The Ghost That Oberlin Doesn’t Believe In”

And finally, to reassure us that there’s really nothing to be afraid of, “two professors and an amateur Sherlock Holmes try to fathom mysterious tappings” at the Ohio college town. Washington Herald, December 19, 1915.

Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and partners in 40 states and territories. Start exploring the first draft of history today at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov and help us celebrate on Twitter and Facebook by sharing your findings and using the hashtags #ChronAm #10Million.

The Importance of the Write Stuff

(The following post is written by Guy Lamolinara, co-director of the Library of Congress National Book Festival.)

The ability to read and write is taken for granted by those who can read and write. But for the millions of people worldwide for whom the written word strikes fear and apprehension in their hearts, these skills are a precious commodity in the countries, towns, villages and families of which they are a part.

With that in mind, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards program was established through the generosity of philanthropist David M. Rubenstein. Though no single program – or even the thousands of literacy programs worldwide – can stanch the affliction of illiteracy, together, these efforts are making a difference.

“The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is proud to be the administrator of these awards, which support our mission of promoting reading and literacy to all,” said John Y. Cole, director of the center and chair of the Literacy Awards program. “For nearly 40 years, the Center for the Book has worked to help eradicate the plague of illiteracy. These awards will have a profound impact on the programs receiving the prizes.”

This year’s winners, in the third year of the program, represent the best of the best. They were selected from among applicants in both the United States and abroad. They are:

David M. Rubenstein Prize ($150,000): First Book

First Book is a nonprofit social enterprise that works to further educational equity by tackling the scarcity of books and educational resources for millions of children growing up in low-income families in the U.S. and Canada. Through its growing network – currently numbering nearly 200,000 schools, libraries, after-school programs, social service organizations and other groups serving children in need – First Book has provided more than 135 million books for children ages 0-18 since its inception 23 years ago.

The American Prize ($50,000): United Through Reading

To help active military personnel stay involved in their children’s literacy development, United Through Reading unites military families facing physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together. The nonprofit organization films service members reading storybooks and sends the video recordings and the books home to their families. The program is based on research showing that reading aloud to children is a key factor in their acquisition of literacy skills. Since its inception more than 25 years ago, nearly 2 million military parents, spouses and children have benefited from the program.

The International Prize ($50,000): Beanstalk

Beanstalk is a volunteer-based literacy organization that provides one-on-one support to children ages 6 to 11. Teachers refer children to Beanstalk when they are struggling with reading in the classroom and could benefit from enhanced support. Volunteer tutors work consistently with their assigned children, meeting twice a week for the entire school year to read, play and talk together. By creating a less structured environment, without consequences for perceived failure, tutors are able to help the students engage with and enjoy reading and learning.

Applications for the 2016 Library of Congress Literacy Awards will be accepted beginning in January. All literacy organizations are encouraged to apply, both in the United States and abroad.

A “Best Practices” publication was produced to highlight outstanding work of the organizations that applied for awards in 2014 and 2013.

Rosanne Cash Curates a Carnegie Hall Exhibit with AFC

(The following post was written by Stephen Winick and originally appeared on Folklife Today, the blog of the American Folklife Center.)

Rosanne Cash. Photo by Clay Patrick McBride.

When Rosanne Cash, recognized by the Library as one of the most compelling figures in popular music, was asked to curate a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, she graciously brought the American Folklife Center along for the ride. Cash asked AFC to help her curate a photo exhibit, which is being installed outside Carnegie Hall’s Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall. It will be in place in time for this Saturday’s concert featuring The Time Jumpers, which will be the first in Rosanne’s “Perspectives” series.

In a recent interview, she explained the concerts:

I’m really inspired by Southern roots music. Everything from blues to Southern gospel to country pop and Appalachian music. I was born in Memphis and my parents were Southerners, so when I was asked by Carnegie Hall to be a Perspectives artist for the 2015-16 season, I knew immediately that I wanted to curate a series of shows with Southern roots music as the theme. My album ‘The River and The Thread’ had recently been released and music from the Delta and Appalachia was all-consuming for me. I was so honored to be invited and delighted that Carnegie Hall was so enthusiastic about the theme.

Cash sees the concerts as an entertaining way to catch up on Southern roots music history. “I wanted to cover different areas of roots music, so I invited The Time Jumpers (October 4), Ry Cooder and Ricky Skaggs with Sharon White (November 4), and a new Alabama soul band called St. Paul and the Broken Bones (January 15, 2016),” she explained. “My own show, in which I’ll play my album ‘The River and the Thread’ in sequence, rounds out the series on February 20, 2016. In that group of artists we cover bluegrass, soul, country, blues, gospel, Appalachian music and more– I think people will be wowed.”

Rosanne Cash visits the Greyhound station in Greenwood, Mississippi, a landmark town in both blues music and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Photo by John Leventhal, courtesy of Rosanne Cash.

It was when she heard that the concert hall included exhibition space for photos that she thought of the Library of Congress, and especially AFC. “I called AFC director Betsy Peterson shortly after I was invited, told her the theme, and said, ‘start thinking about images to accompany this music!'”

Blind street musician, West Memphis, Arkansas. Photo by Ben Shahn for the Resettlement Administration, 1935. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The seeds for this project were sown during Cash’s residency at the Library of Congress in December 2013, when she met Betsy and the rest of the staff. That program, spearheaded by the Library’s Music Division and Poetry and Literature Center, included a concert at which Cash’s band performed “The River and the Thread,” much like the closing show of the Carnegie Hall series. “The first concert with the band at The Library of Congress was such a high,” she wrote at the time. “We performed my upcoming record in sequence, which was exhilarating.” She also participated in a songwriters’ round-robin in the Coolidge Auditorium with Amy Helm, Cory Chisel, Rodney Crowell, and her husband John Leventhal, which she called “a kind of musical combustion.” “The audience was so warm and the night charged with energy,” she remembered.

The Bog Trotters Band, Galax, Virginia. Includes bandleader Doc Davis (autoharp), Uncle Alex Dunford (fiddle), Crockett Ward (fiddle), Wade Ward (banjo), Fields Ward (guitar). Photo taken by a CBS photographer for an Alan Lomax radio show, 1937. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The final official program of the residency was an on-stage conversation with the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry (at the time Natasha Trethewey), which she also remembered fondly:

In the conversation with Natasha Trethewey, I learned that writing poetry and songwriting were identical in process. I knew this, as all creative work has a similar arc of inspiration, problem-solving, completion and editing. But it was exciting to hear Natasha verbalize it.

(You can watch the conversation between Cash and Trethewey in the player below this post!)

Rosanne Cash and Natasha Trethewey at the Library of Congress, December 7, 2013. Library of Congress photo.

Cash came to know about the American Folklife Center as a result of AFC’s participation in the residency: as a way of welcoming her to the Library, AFC staff put together a display of materials in our collections that we thought might interest her. As she recounted, the materials made her think even more about the Library’s role in preserving American culture:

The curators were kind enough to bring some special items from the American Folklife Center to show us—instruments, field recordings and some old fan magazines of my dad, with photos of my mother and me and my sisters as children. It’s mind-boggling to think what this building preserves, and I’m so grateful they do.

John Leventhal tries out Burl Ives’s Hauser guitar courtesy of the American Folklife Center, in the Library’s Whittall Pavilion. Photo by Stephen Winick for AFC, December 5, 2013.

The items we brought out for Rosanne included the disc sleeve for “Rock Island Line,” the famous field recording collected by John and Alan Lomax and their assistant at the time, Lead Belly; Rosanne’s father Johnny Cash recorded the song and released it as the first track on his first legendary LP from Sun Records. We found the fan magazines in the Christopher S. Wren Collection, which is made up of research materials for Wren’s book on Johnny Cash, including many interviews with Rosanne’s family members. (In addition to the pictures, the fan magazines Wren donated to AFC included Rosanne’s earliest publication: a poem she wrote at the age of 9.) The main instrument we brought out was Burl Ives’s guitar, which she and all her friends got to play.

We also remembered that AFC has two rare video episodes of TV’s Flatt and Scruggs Show featuring Johnny Cash in 1968, and we invited Rosanne to the AFC Research Center to watch them. She had never seen these clips, and they made a particular impression, especially because they captured Johnny’s legendary backing guitarist Luther Perkins on video, only a few months before he died. As Rosanne later told us, Luther was very important to her when she was a young girl, and it was moving to see one of his last performances to be caught on video. “I was thrilled,” she remembered.

As a result of this experience with AFC, Rosanne immediately thought of the Center when planning the Carnegie Hall exhibit:

I’m nearly obsessed with what the AFC has on their shelves–the carefully collected archives of everything that is important to the preservation of American roots music. I knew they could help find the pictures we needed to put in the glass cases at Carnegie Hall.

The principal work of looking for photos, preparing them for printing, writing captions, and delivering them to Carnegie Hall fell to me. Rosanne and Betsy made the final selections from among a small group I identified as being of possible interest, from among over a million digitized images at the Library.

Split Rail fencing in the Doughton Park area of North Carolina, along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo by Terry Eiler, September 1978. Library of Congress American Folklife Center AFC 1982/009.

At AFC, Ann Hoog helped me turn up beautiful southern landscapes captured by AFC fieldworkers in the Blue Ridge Mountains and in West Virginia, and Todd Harvey helped find arresting photos of Southern musicians captured by Alan Lomax. (We’re grateful to the Association for Cultural Equity for permission to use Lomax’s photos.)

Congregant of the Union Holiness Church with tambourine, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1960. Photo by Alan Lomax, from the Alan Lomax Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Courtesy of the Association for Cultural Equity.

In addition to AFC’s collections, I used the unparalleled body of public-domain photos available from the Library’s Prints and Photographs division. I found exceptional photos among those shot by Resettlement Administration and Farm Security Administration photographers such as Ben Shahn and Marion Post Wolcott, and exuberant photos of music and southern scenes by Carol Highsmith.

A band gives it the old one-and-a-two at the annual Texas Polka Festival at Sengelmann’s Restaurant in Schulenburg, Texas. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2014. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Finally, Rosanne herself supplied some striking photos, including some pictures by Leventhal of places important to Southern roots music, and a beautiful shot of herself as a toddler in her father’s arms—a moving portrait of two great roots musicians. (That photo also served as the frontispiece of a moving article Rosanne wrote about her Southern roots. You can see the photo and the article here!)

This crossroads store, bar, juke joint, and gas station would have been a venue for roots music in Melrose, Louisiana, 1940. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, Farm Security Administration. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Rosanne said she enjoyed the process of working with the AFC curators. “It’s always a pleasure,” she said. “They understand what I love and how much respect I have for them. They’ve been so helpful and so welcoming. I feel I can just stop into the Center any time I want, have a cup of tea and see and hear priceless bits of history.”

Related Resources

Below, see Rosanne’s conversation with Natasha Trethewey.

10 Stories: Look to the Skies! Chronicling America

In celebration of the release of the 10 millionth page of Chronicling America, our free, online searchable database of historical U.S. newspapers, the reference librarians in our Serials & Government Publications Division have selected some interesting subjects and articles from the archives. We’ll be sharing them in a series of Throwback Thursday #TBT blog posts during the next few weeks.

Today we return to our historical newspaper archives for reports of endeavors and antics in the air, mostly through powered, heavier-than-air machines. But sometimes a person just has to get shot out of a cannon.

Sky Pirates! From the Salt Lake Tribune, May 12, 1912.

“Ohio Boys Who Have Invented a Flying Machine Which Flies”

It all started with Orville and Wilbur Wright. And before you mock the redundancy in the headline, please note that in those days, not all flying machines actually got off the ground. Tacoma (Washington) Times, Dec. 26, 1903.

“Startling Feat Crowns Trip of Aviator Atwood”

Pilot lands his plane on the White House lawn. Gets a medal and hearty handshake from President Taft. Does not get taken into custody. These were simpler times. Washington Herald, July 15, 1911.

“Aviator Sees Sporting Chance to Reach Roof of World”

While he was a long-lived aviator (d. 1974) known for his air speed records, we are not certain that Roland Rohlfs ever made it to Mount Everest. Odgen (Utah) Standard-Examiner, Jan. 17, 1921.

 ”Will It Be the Aeroplane Pirates Next?”

A spate of murders and robberies by three “automobile pirates in Paris” leads a “great German scientist” to the obvious next step: sky pirates. Salt Lake Tribune, May 12, 1912.

“100-Foot Drop, Nearly Drowned; About Cured Her of Air Game”

“It isn’t often that a woman falls 100 feet, while strapped to the seat of an aeroplane, plunges into the ocean and after being held under the water for three minutes, is rescued and lives the tell the tale.” No, not often at all. Mrs. Florence Seidell had just learned to fly a few weeks back, too, according to the Chicago Day Book, Sept. 25, 1913.

“Airplane Acrobatics”

It’s the “very newest sport,” said the New York Tribune of April 20, 1919, but not for the faint of heart.

“Things You Might Have to Do If You Acted in Motion Pictures”

Including dangerous (and even fatal) stunts from airplanes, recounted in the Washington Evening Star, July 25, 1915.

“Marooned 50 Hours on a Skyscraper”

Not a pilot, but an unintentional denizen of the sky: A brave clerk leaps to save an important paper when the window closes behind him. Passers-by point and laugh. A typical day in New York City, as reported in the Rising Son (Kansas City, Mo.), May 18. 1907.

 ”Hazardous Feats the Thrill the Blood”

Just a little before powered flight began, such feats might include an “aeronaut” taking to the sky via balloon and jumping out with a parachute. Whew! San Francisco Call, July 13, 1902.

Bonus Story: “100 Ways of Breaking Your Neck”

In somewhat the same vein and with all of the perilous activity mentioned this week, it was hard for us to leave off this delightful piece from the Omaha (Nebraska) Daily Bee, April 16, 1905. To be fair, they only list six ways—but two of those entail being shot into the air (albeit without aeroplane or balloon).

Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and partners in 40 states and territories. Start exploring the first draft of history today at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov and help us celebrate on Twitter and Facebook by sharing your findings and using the hashtags #ChronAm #10Million.

The Future is Now

Jumping gigawatts! Today, the future has arrived! If you were around in 1989, Oct. 21, 2015, may have seemed light-years away, and you might have thought we would all be riding around in flying cars or something. Well, your imagination isn’t as far-fetched as you think.

On this day, Marty McFly jumped through time to arrive in the future – Oct. 21, 2015, to be exact – in the film “Back to the Future II” (1989) to save his future son from going to prison. While fixing one thing, McFly and trusted friend Doc Brown create numerous other problems in this zany sci-fi adventure that has become a cult classic, along with the other two movies in the trilogy.

What really stands out are the fantastical predictions the movie made for a point in time some 25 years later. And, some have actually since come true. While we don’t yet have flying cars, self-lacing shoes” or “Jaws 19,” and fax machines are actually becoming a passé technology, we do have such advancements as video phones, flat screen and smart TVs, virtual-reality goggles, holograms and fingerprint technology and voice control systems and software. And, yes, people still do drink Pepsi.

And, while “Back to the Future II” predicted the Chicago Cubs would win the 2015 MLB World Series, the baseball team is currently in the playoffs, so that’s something, right?

Futuristic air travel. Drawing by Harry Grant Dart. Between 1900 and 1910. Prints and Photographs Division.

Recently, the movie had me thinking about other predictions and inventions that were ahead of their time, so I mined the Library’s collections for historical examples of “future” advancements.

The dream of human flight was made a reality thanks to the Wright brothers’ invention of the first powered heavier-than-air flying machine in 1903. However plenty of others before and after the noted duo had their own ideas of what flight would look like – all of which are a far cry from today’s airplanes.

This 1882 lithograph by French artist  even depicts aircraft in the form of buses, limousines and police patrol cars. Perhaps “Back To The Future II” wasn’t completely ahead of its time.

Robida produced a trilogy of books with a futuristic outlook, and his imagined social developments ended up being quite accurate: feminism, mass tourism and pollution, among others. His writings describe modern warfare, including robotic missiles and poison gas. And his future world revolves around the “téléphonoscope,” a flat screen television display that delivered the latest news and entertainment 24-hours a day,

A common theme among futuristic predictions is architecture. The Library’s collections contain several examples.

This rendering of a 150-story office building, sketched by Cass Gilbert in 1905, was truly a vision of a century later. The current tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, built in 2010 in Dubai, at 163 floors.

Other images foreshadow tall skyscrapers and highways, display a “house of the future,” advertise a $15,000,000 residential and shopping development in Washington, D.C. designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and highlight spaceship-looking buildings in Texas.

 

“Starship Pegasus,” a failed futuristic restaurant and gift shop in in Italy, Texas. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Sept. 9, 2014. Prints and Photographs Division.

As far as technology, we have since seen three-dimensional films, color televisions and phone booths.

Another good resource of futuristic imagery is the Library’s collection of world’s fair imagery, which often featured state-of-the-art science and technology from around the world.

While “Back to the Future II” was a source for future contemplations, what other films have made assumptions that came to fruition?

  Sources: “A Stereoscopic Vision of the Future: Albert Robida’s Twentieth Century,” by Philippe Willems 

 

Lewis Helps Library Celebrate Acquisition of Personal Papers

(The following was written by Mark Hartsell, editor of the Library’s staff newsletter, The Gazette.)

Jerry Lewis laughs with (from left) Rob Stone, son Chris Lewis and John Snelson. Photo by Shawn Miller.

Jerry Lewis sat alone in the spotlight, reflecting on his career and on the passage of the years – for both him and the fans who filled the historic State Theatre.

“At the time that I began, which was some time ago, I was playing to this audience,” the 89-year-old Lewis said. “This audience who were 10, 11, 12 – that was the age of most of my audience when I first began. It’s such a good feeling to see that audience again 40 or 45 years later.

“So when I look at you and I smile, it’s because I remember you all so well.”

The Library of Congress in September acquired the legendary comedian’s personal collection: films, documents, test footage, outtakes, home movies and photos that collectively chronicle more than seven decades of laughter.

Lewis spent Oct. 9 helping the Library celebrate the occasion, performing a sold-out show that night before raucous fans in the State Theatre on Main Street in Culpeper, Virginia.

Lewis began by thanking the Library for its work in preserving his collection.

“I was at the Library of Congress today. Most fantastic experience I’ve ever had in my life. To think I had to come to Culpeper – that’s with one ‘p,’ he quipped. “It’s just an incredible facility, and anyone that’s got it would be very proud. I’m sure that Culpeper is as proud as they could get because they know well that it’s not something you put together in a week. …

“I’m so happy they’ve taken all of my work, all of my films, and they’re working on them. And they’re making them perfect.”

Lewis then launched into a string of one-liners – most of them politically incorrect – interspersed with film clips covering all aspects of his career: scenes from his movies, a mock screen test he administered to comedian Milton Berle, performances onstage in Las Vegas with Sammy Davis Jr.

Lewis also showed his emotional, live-on-TV reunion with former partner Dean Martin at the 1976 Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon.

The historic State Theatre in Culpeper, where Jerry Lewis performed. Photo by Shawn Miller.

The Lewis and Martin comedy team had been one of Hollywood’s hottest acts, but they split up in 1956 and didn’t speak again until pal Frank Sinatra brought Martin onstage at the annual telethon two decades later.

“That was an incredible night,” Lewis remembered. “My partner and I hadn’t spoken to one another in 20 years. The stupidity of that I cannot in any way defend or acknowledge. … I am so grateful that we had that time together because this country loved those two guys and those two guys loved this country.”

Earlier that day, Lewis toured the Library’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Culpeper.

Wearing black shoes bearing Greek masks of tragedy and comedy, Lewis examined historical film equipment, learned about preservation techniques, discussed his collection with processing technician John Snelson and examined the personal scrapbook of one of his comic heroes, Stan Laurel.

Guided by moving-image curator Rob Stone, Lewis explored the film vaults and viewed the original camera negatives of some historic films: “The Great Train Robbery” (1903), Edison Studio’s “Frankenstein” (1910) and “A Plantation Act” (1926), the first sound film made by another of Lewis’ heroes, Al Jolson.

“I feel like I died and went to heaven,” Lewis said.

The Packard staff also had a few surprises in store.

Lewis toured the Recorded Sound Section, where curator Matt Barton displayed, among other items, a tape of a Washington Senators baseball game that Lewis and announcer Bob Wolff called for a radio broadcast in 1957 – a tape acquired by the Library two years ago as part of the Wolff sports broadcast collection.

“They never recovered from that,” he quipped about the sad-sack Senators. Lewis was presented with a CD of the broadcast.

Nitrate film specialist Larry Smith also had a special treat cued up: “Three Hams on Rye,” a Three Stooges comedy that featured Lewis’ father, Danny, in his first big-screen appearance – a film Lewis said he hadn’t seen since its release in 1950.

Lewis concluded his visit late that afternoon in the Packard Campus movie theater (“It’s gorgeous”) with a question-and-answer session for Library staff members.

“What a motley group you are,” he said to laughter as he eyed the assembled group.

Jerry Lewis onstage at the State Theatre on Oct. 9. Photo by Shawn Miller.

For more than a half-hour, Lewis fielded questions and discussed his work with Martin (“We had so much fun that it was ridiculous”), the film that most inspired him (“Captains Courageous”), the night that Charlie Chaplin watched his act at the Olympia theater in Paris (“I walked on air for four days”), his first time on Broadway (“I had a great time; I made a fortune”), the dramatic role he most wanted to play (“Auntie Mame,” he quipped), and his proudest professional accomplishment (the Academy Award he received for his charitable work).

He closed by thanking the staff for its work to preserve his collections for future generations of film and comedy fans.

 

“I’m very grateful to you all for joining in the most fun I’ve had in my life – making the product that you’re taking care of,” Lewis said. “It makes me very proud. …

“When I pass away, I like to think that I’ll be remembered. I know I will now, for sure. You think about that sometimes. Not often, but when you get close to 90 you think about it – 90 is a hell of a number, ain’t it? … I do sincerely appreciate all of your help in taking care of the work that was my heart and soul.”

10 Stories: Great Hair in History! Chronicling America

In celebration of the release of the 10 millionth page of Chronicling America, our free, online searchable database of historical U.S. newspapers, the reference librarians in our Serials & Government Publications Division have selected some interesting subjects and articles. We’ll be sharing them in a series of Throwback Thursday #TBT blog posts during the next few weeks.

Today we open our historical newspaper archives to review the subject of hair: its styling, care and (in the case of advertising) how to grow it.

“Miss J. Carroll, 2307 Irving Avenue, Chicago,” a happy Danderine user, from the (Ardmore, Okla.) Daily Ardmoreite, Oct. 4, 1907.

“Fashionable Coiffures for ’98”

From the San Francisco Call, Jan. 16, 1898: “Seven fashionable coiffures from which the American woman can take her choice,” illustrated.

“Dressing the Hair for Christmas Dinner”

Complete with fabulous illustrations and photos, courtesy of the St. Paul Globe, Dec. 28, 1902.

“How to Build the Spring Coiffure”

The San Francisco Call of April 6, 1902, devotes an entire page to managing the new “Low London Coiffures.”

“Demure Hair Dressing Is on the Way”

According to the Chicago Day Book (December 14, 1911), “elaborate head-dressing off-sets simple coiffures.”

“Fashions for January”

A national capital consumed by fears of Civil War needed a distraction: “…We mention the coiffure Gabrielle d’Estrees, of ponceau velvet, over which was rolled a thick gold cable chain, forming bows, with a bunch of elegant white feathers at the side,” reported “Le Follet” in the Washington Star, January 22, 1861.

“Hair of All Colors Except Orange…”

Stripes, checks, plaid, pale pink – even polka dots! Chicago Day Book, Jan. 28, 1914.

“The Bowman Easter Hair Style Exhibit”

Not an April Fool gag but an ad for Bowman’s Hair Shop, from the (Harrisburg Pa.) Star-Independent, April 1, 1915.

“Danderine Grew Miss Carroll’s Hair and We Can PROVE IT!” (1907)

On to the hair tonics: a powerful hair-growth cure of the first decade of the last century took a full page ad in the (Ardmore, Okla.) Daily Ardmoreite, Oct. 4, 1907.

“Danderine Grew This Hair and We Can PROVE IT!” (1905)

They’re very emphatic about that. And to be fair, this is some pretty serious hair. Washington Evening Star, December 7, 1905.

“Ayer’s Hair Vigor”

“Do you think nature intended you should have short, stubby and thin hair?” Ayer’s special tonic will help you out. St. Louis Republic, Jan. 21, 1900.

Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and partners in 40 states and territories. Start exploring the first draft of history today at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov and help us celebrate on Twitter and Facebook by sharing your findings and using the hashtags #ChronAm #10Million.

Pics of the Week: #LibraryOpenHouse

The Library of Congress once again opened the doors to its magnificent Main Reading Room on Monday for a special open house, held twice each year. More than 6,100 visitors enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the Library’s services, resources and collections, speak with reference librarians and even go inside the decks to view the card catalog. Patrons included school groups from several states and family vacationers, both national and international.

A highlight of the open house was the opportunity to take pictures of the extraordinary art and architecture of the Main Reading Room and Thomas Jefferson Building. Library Instagram followers were encouraged to post their images using the hashtag #LibraryOpenHouse. We picked a few of our favorites to feature on this blog.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram to check out more pictures of the Main Reading Room open house and glimpses of life and work at the world’s largest library. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and iTunesU for even more access!