Prologue: Pieces of History

Among our extensive collection of Mathew Brady photographs is this one of Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, whose sideburns appear to slide down his cheeks towards his cravat. The Honorable J. B. Grinnell’s name may seem familiar if you have ever browsed college catalogs, or if you are an alum of Grinnell College, located in Grinnell, Iowa. [...]

Since April 2010, we’ve brought you more than 100 Pieces of History. Nothing too small, too strange, or too obscure has escaped the spotlight of our blog or the scalpel of your clever comments. And we are still discovering new pieces of history every day here at the National Archives! But before we go forward into [...]

  They just lit up the White House Christmas tree here in Washington, DC, and temperatures here have taken a North Pole-style turn for the worse (I am beginning to wonder if I’ll need to knit myself a neard). So, here at Facial Hair Friday, I thought it might be time to do a search for “Santa” in [...]

At least three colleagues here at the National Archives and one commenter have mentioned Horace Greeley as a candidate for the spotlight here at Facial Hair Friday. And upon looking him up and letting out a strangled gasp, I had to agree that his facial hair is indeed worthy of a blog post. I’m not sure that [...]