March marks Women’s History Month, set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history. Today I would like to highlight the life and career of Pablita Velarde/Tse Tsan (Santa Clara Pueblo), a prominent 20th-century Native artist. Using records from a host of collections across National Archives facilities, we are able to glimpse into this accomplished … Continue reading Meet Artist Pablita Velarde/Tse Tsan (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Until the mid-twentieth century, personnel files as we now understand them did not exist. Nevertheless, there were some earlier records of a personnel-type that existed. Among them are the records relating to applications for service in agencies of the U.S. government. In the modern world, these types of records are not designated for preservation in … Continue reading Now Available Online: Department of State Letters of Application and Recommendation for Public Office, 1797-1877
Today's post was written by M Marie Maxwell, archivist in the Special Access and FOIA Program at the National Archives in College Park. In the executive proclamation for National Black History Month, 2025, African American economist and prolific author Thomas Sowell was mentioned. Although retired from teaching, Professor Sowell does pop up here and there … Continue reading Thomas Sowell and the National Archives Catalog
Today’s post is written by Jessica Behrman, Archivist at The National Archives at Denver. Heart Mountain Relocation Project (National Archives Identifier 342713797) On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in Japanese-American incarceration at relocation centers across remote areas of the western U.S. and Arkansas.[1] This series is part of … Continue reading Case Files of Japanese-American Prisoners, 1944–1946
The United States Bank, Philadelphia (National Archives Identifier 135803994) Are you saving enough? Is it in a nice traditional bank building? Is it historic? There are more than eight hundred properties that are retuned when you search for “banks and banking” in the files of the National Register of Historic Places (National Archives Identifier 20812721) … Continue reading Money, Money, Money – Historic Banks in the National Register of Historic Places
Photograph of The Krupp Diamond, taken March 24, 1959, Newark Sunday News, Sub A, HQ [Headquarters]-87-46974 [Classification-Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property] [The Krupp Diamond] (NAID 470528423) (FOIA Tracking Number RD 46626); Series: Classification 87 (Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property) Headquarters Case Files (Entry P 194); Record Group 65: Records of the Department of Justice. Federal … Continue reading Glimmer of Justice: The Krupp Diamond, an FBI Investigation turned Hollywood Romance
In 1913 Philip Longergan, superintendent of the Pueblo day schools, received a deal he couldn’t refuse. Even marked CONFIDENTIAL, adding validity to just how great a deal it was, Longergan was entitled…to purchase an A.G. Spalding and Brothers Incorporated All-Steel Apparatus for the Playground…for 20% off! A.G. Spalding and Brothers Inc. playground equipment coupon sent … Continue reading Swing into the Bureau of Indian Affairs Decimal Filing System
Today's post was written by Max Korn, an archives technician at the National Archives in College Park. "All names, characters, places, and incidents in this story are entirely fictional and the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental." Ever noticed at the end of movies a … Continue reading When a Russian Princess Sued MGM
POPCORN WAGON AT SNOWMASS MOUNTAIN (National Archives Identifier 554217) On Sunday January 19, the deeply underappreciated holiday of National Popcorn Day will be celebrated. There are about seventy-five properties that are returned when you search for “popcorn” in the National Register files (National Archives Identifier 20812721). Of course, several of the properties are theaters or … Continue reading “Let’s all go to the Lobby!” – It’s National Popcorn Day – Popcorn related Properties in the National Register of Historic Places
Noted journalist Jim Hoagland died in early November 2024. He spent most of his career working for the Washington Post, where he began working in 1966, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1971 and for commentary in 1991. Over the years, Hoagland had postings in Africa, Lebanon, France, headed the Post’s foreign desk, … Continue reading The Press: Friend and Foe
