This Week's Hidden Treasure

This Week's Hidden Treasure is an exciting opportunity to examine some of the Library of Congress' most historically meaningful and culturally relevant artifacts from its treasured collections. It's a unique chance to learn more about some of the pieces of history that have shaped our nation.

HISTORY and the Library of Congress have joined forces to give you access to the Library's unparalleled collections, anytime you want to view them.

Lincoln Treasures

Watch a President Age: Lincoln Life Mask (1860)

The first bronze casting of the life mask of Abraham Lincoln was made in Chicago by Leonard Wells Volk in the spring of 1860. The process began with an application of wet plaster on Lincoln's face that became the basis for the bronze casting. The mask captures the musculature of Lincoln's face, and when Lincoln saw the finished mask, he remarked: "There is the animal himself." Copies of this mask were influential in the creation of Lincoln statuary by other sculptors, and Volk himself used it as the model for his statue of Lincoln for the Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. The mask was given to the Library by Lincoln collector Albert Whital Stern in 1953.

Leonard Wells Volk, Lincoln Life Mask (1860). Alfred Whital Stern Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Watch a President Age: Lincoln Life Mask (1865)

The second and final life mask of Abraham Lincoln was made in Washington, DC by Clark Mills in February, 1865. This is the first casting made in bronze and was a gift to John Hay, Lincoln's secretary during the Civil War. The difference in Lincoln's appearance, only five years after the 1860 mask and two months before his death, is striking. When sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens first viewed it, he thought it was a death mask. John Hay wrote in 1890 that "the nose is thin, and lengthened by the emaciation of the cheeks; the mouth is fixed like that of an archaic statue; a look as of one whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory ... the whole expression is of unspeakable sadness and all-sufficing strength." The 1865 mask was a gift to the Library in 1965 from Clarence L. Hay, the son of John Hay.

Clark Mills, Lincoln Life Mask (1865). Alfred Whital Stern Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

How a President Learned to Read: Lincoln's Grammar Book

Abraham Lincoln considered his formal education to be "defective" from an early age, and he compensated by devoting intense effort to self-education through reading. In his twenties, while serving as New Salem Postmaster and a member of the Illinois State Assembly, Lincoln studied the law and taught himself surveying. After mastering Kirkham's Grammar, he gave his copy of the book to Ann Rutledge, in whom some believe Lincoln had a romantic interest, inscribing it: "Ann M. Rutledge is now learning grammar." Ann died tragically a short time later from typhoid fever.

The Most Wanted Man in America- John Wilkes Booth Poster

The suspicion that John Wilkes Booth had acted as part of a conspiracy of Southern sympathizers in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln reignited Northern rancor and helped doom Lincoln's plans for a relatively generous peace. This was one of the earliest "Wanted" posters to bear a fugitive's photograph. Hastily assembled and issued during the few days that Booth was at large, this poster incorporated carte-de-visite photographs of the conspirators, including one of Booth that had been produced as a publicity shot for the actor.

What Was in Lincoln's Pockets?

When Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865, he was carrying two pairs of spectacles and a lens polisher, a pocketknife, a watch fob, a linen handkerchief, a brown leather wallet containing a five-dollar Confederate note, and nine newspaper clippings, including several favorable to the president and his policies. Given to his son Robert Todd upon Lincoln's death, these everyday items, which through association with tragedy had become like relics, were kept in the Lincoln family for more than seventy years. Because it is quite unusual for the Library to keep personal artifacts among its holdings, they were not put on display until 1976 when then Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin thought their exposure would humanize a man who had become "mythologically engulfed."

The Book Lincoln and Obama Have in Common: Lincoln Inaugural Bible

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney administered the oath of office to Abraham Lincoln using the Bible of a court clerk. With the brief words, "I, Abraham Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," Lincoln was sworn in as the sixteenth President. The ceremony was witnessed by Clerk of the Supreme Court, William Thomas Carroll, who recorded the occasion in the back of this Bible. On January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama chose this same Bible for his historic inauguration ceremony.

More from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr00.html#inaugural

273 Words to a New America: Gettysburg Address

President Lincoln gave a copy of the Gettysburg Address to each of his two private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. According to Nicolay, Lincoln had written the first part of the speech on Executive Mansion stationery, and the second page in pencil on lined paper right before the dedication on November 19, 1863. Matching folds are still evident on the two pages of the Nicolay draft, supporting the eyewitness' argument that Lincoln kept it in his coat pocket before the ceremony.

Cultural Treasures

Magical Momentos: Houdini Scrapbook

The future "Genius of Escape Who Will Startle and Amaze" ran away from home when he was 12 years old. A postcard from "Your truant son, Ehrich Weiss," to the mother he adored is the earliest example of Harry Houdini's handwriting at the Library of Congress. Houdini was born Ehrich Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 1874. Throughout his life, the man who became the famed Harry Houdini fervently explored the history and practice of the illusion arts. He kept record of his own career with equal passion, and, ever the self-promoter, maintained scrapbooks of all of his promotional advertising, replete with photographs, postcards, posters, playbills and news clippings. He willed his entire collection to the Library of Congress. His autobiographical scrapbooks have posed a serious conservation challenge. His keepsakes were glued to the acidic pages of cheap, store-bought scrapbooks. In order to preserve the items, the items were removed, treated and housed in appropriate archival storage.

Harry Houdini Collection
Rare Book and Special Collections Division

The Man Who Discovered an Icon: Branch Rickey Scouting Reports

These two letters written by baseball's Branch Rickey illustrate his incredible instincts when it came to evaluating talent and the close relationship he developed with Jackie Robinson.

Scouting Don Drysdale
Throughout his career Branch Rickey was known for his recognition of baseball talent and its subsequent development, especially through the farm system, which he pioneered. He joined the Pittsburgh Pirates relatively late in life, but in the evidence of his 1954 scouting report on the 18-year-old Don Drysdale (1936-1993), his baseball instincts were as sharp as ever. Rickey wrote that Drysdale had "a lot of artistry" and a fastball that was "way above average." He deemed the young pitcher "a definite prospect." Drysdale went on to meet and even exceed Rickey's expectations—he was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1984 (but never played for the Pirates). As the handwritten annotation at the bottom of the report indicates, Drysdale signed with the Dodgers, for whom his father was a scout.
Branch Rickey.

Scouting Report on Don Drysdale, June 15, 1954. Branch Rickey Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

Jackie Robinson's Career
Branch Rickey recognized the stellar qualities of Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) as a person and player. He fostered Robinson's career, and helped end racial segregation in Major League Baseball. Rickey hoped Robinson might help break barriers in the administrative side of professional baseball as well. When Rickey left the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, Robinson wrote a warm letter thanking Rickey for his friendship. In this response, Rickey returned the sentiment and suggested that Robinson should be "considered for administrative work in baseball, particularly in the direction of field management." However, when Robinson retired in 1957 he became a baseball broadcast analyst and entered into various business ventures. Speaking shortly before his death, Robinson urged that African Americans be hired as managers of major league teams—a break-through that would not occur until 1975. For his achievements, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, two of the highest honors in the United States.

Branch Rickey. Letter to Jackie Robinson, December 31, 1950. Sender's copy (carbon). Branch Rickey Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

More from the Library of Congress:
Jackie Robinson & Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
Branch Richey Papers

A Legend is Born: Original "Spiderman" Drawings

The character of Spider-Man first appeared in Marvel Comics' Amazing Fantasy #15 in August, 1962. The chemistry of Stan Lee's script and Steve Ditko's art made the tale of a high school outcast accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider an instant success. An anonymous donor gave the first Spider-Man drawings—an icon of comic book literature—to the Library in 2008. The Prints and Photographs Division collects, preserves and makes accessible tens of thousands of examples of original cartoon art, among other achievements of American visual creativity, and offers an annual fellowship to graduate students studying cartoon art in any academic field.

More from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/jun08/spiderman.html

A Picture of Humanity: Migrant Mother Photo

The photograph popularly known as "Migrant Mother" has become an icon of the Great Depression. The compelling image of a mother and her children is actually one of a series of photographs that Dorothea Lange made in February or March 1936 in Nipomo, California. Seeing the photograph in the context of related images, understanding the purpose for which it was made, and knowing something of the photographer's and subject's views of the occasion amplify our perspectives on the image, and, at the same time, suggest that no single meaning can be assigned to it.

Lange made the photographs toward the end of a month's trip photographing migratory farm labor for what was then the Resettlement Administration, later to become the Farm Security Administration. Her work was part of the Administration's larger effort to document economic and social distress among the nation's agricultural workers and to advertise the agency's relief programs and the measures it was taking to address the underlying causes of the dislocation.

Destitute peapickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California. Dorothea Lange, March 1936

The unlikely rebel: Lucy Burns Suffragette Photo

Suffrage leader Lucy Burns (1879-1966) was imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia, in November 1917, after she and others were arrested for picketing the White House in support of a federal amendment granting women nationally the right to vote. The authorities initially tolerated the picketing, which began in January 1917, but after the United States entered World War I, criticism became less acceptable, especially when it exposed the government's hypocrisy of supporting democracy abroad while denying voting rights to women at home. Among the first two picketers arrested on June 22, 1917, Burns served more jail time during her six sentences than any other suffrage prisoner, and she helped instigate hunger strikes to protest the suffragists' treatment and demand recognition as political prisoners. At Occoquan she was brutally restrained and forced fed. As this British poster shows, forced feeding involved inserting a tube in the prisoner's mouth or nostril, into which a solution of milk and eggs was poured. The result was often vomiting, pain, and lacerations. As one victim reported in 1909, "The drums of the ears seem to be bursting and there is a horrible pain in the throat and breast. The tube is pushed down twenty inches; [it] must go below the breastbone."

Photograph of suffragist Lucy Burns, [November 1917]. Harris & Ewing photographers, Washington, D.C. National Woman's Party Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

"Torturing Women in Prison. Vote Against the Government." London: National Women's Social and Political Union, ca.1909-1914. Color lithograph, printed by David Allen & Sons, London. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Scientific Treasures

Two Brothers and a Dream: Wright Brothers
The first powered flight was made by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on December 17, 1903. It was the result of years of experiments and design by the Wright brothers, whowere operators of a bicycle repair shop and factory in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers continued their flying experiments in Ohio and in Fort Myer, Va., and were granted a patent for the plane in 1906. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912 and Orville sold his interest in the Wright airplane company in 1915. After Orville's death in 1948, the majority of the Wright brothers papers were given by the estate to the Library of Congress.

Wright Brothers, Photograph of First Flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 10:35 AM, December 17, 1903

One of the most famous photographs of all time, this image was made from one of the five-by-seven- inch glass-plate negatives deposited in the Library of Congress in 1949. The camera had been set on a tripod by Orville, who instructed John T. Daniels of the Kill Devil Hill Lifesaving Station how and when to snap the shutter. Daniels did exactly as he was told and the result captures with clarity and drama the world's first airplane flight at the exact moment of liftoff. Orville is at the controls, lying on the lower wing with his hips in a movable cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. Wilbur, running alongside to steady the machine, has just released his hold on the upright strut of the wing and probably stepped back to get a better view. This first flight lasted only twelve seconds and went 120 feet; it was followed by three more flights that day, each longer than the previous flight.

John T. Daniels, photographer; printed by Orville Wright, January 1904. Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Telegram Announcing Success, Orville Wright to Milton Wright, December 17, 1903

Shortly after their history-making flights of December 17, 1903, Orville sent this telegram from Kitty Hawk to his father, Milton, and sister, Katharine, who became the first non-Kitty Hawk residents to learn about their success. Following their eventful and highly successful morning, the Wrights had an unhurried lunch and then walked the few miles to the town of Kitty Hawk to send this historic telegram to their father. The only telegraph equipment in Kitty Hawk was a government wire at the weather bureau office connected to Norfolk, which passed the message on to Western Union. Two errors in transmission were made: Orville's name was misspelled and the time of their longest flight was incorrect (57 seconds instead of the actual 59 seconds). The telegram reached Dayton, Ohio, at 5:25 P.M. and the brothers returned home with their machine on the evening of December 23.

Orville Wright. Telegram, December 17, 1903. Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

Orville Wright's Flight Journal for 1904-05 at Huffman Prairie

Orville's tiny note, taped to the front of this journal, tells why he considered this item special and distinct from all the other Wright journals, notebooks and diaries that he and Wilbur carried in their pockets over the years. His note reads, "Carried on all flights recorded in it. OW." In addition to all the abbreviated, important flight data it contains, this journal is a singular treasure and a unique historical artifact because it went with Orville and Wilbur on each and every one of the Huffman Prairie flights noted in it, from 1904 to 1905. During those years, the Wright's new flyer was sturdier, heavier and had an entirely new engine, and was on its way to becoming a truly practical aircraft.

Orville Wright Journal, 1904-1905. Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress

More from the Library of Congress:
First Flight
The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers Wright Brothers Negatives

The Way the World Works: Tectonic Globe

Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen were oceanographers, cartographers and geologists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Science Observatory of Columbia University from the late 1940s to 1977. Marie Tharp's papers in the Geography and Map Division contain more than 32,000 pieces including a handmade globe of the earth showing the ocean floor and the location of the mid-Atlantic Ocean ridge. This globe served to reveal positive data regarding the concept of continental drift and plate tectonics.

Marie Tharp Collection, Geography and Map division

What Hath God Wrought?: Morse Telegram

Morse's first telegram marked the beginning of the telecommunications revolution. When decoded, this paper tape recording of the historic message transmitted by Samuel F. B. Morse reads, "What hath God wrought?" Morse sent it from the Supreme Court room in the U.S. Capitol in Washington to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore. Morse's early system produced a paper copy with raised dots and dashes, which were translated later by an operator. Across the top of this artifact Morse has given credit to Annie Ellsworth, the young daughter of a good friend, for suggesting the message he sent. She found it in the Bible, Numbers 23:23.

Samuel F. B. Morse telegram. Samuel F. B. Morse Papers. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

Military Treasures

Jedediah Hotchkiss: Civil War Mapmaking on Horseback

Jedediah Hotchkiss served as the official map maker and topographical engineer of the Valley District, Department of Virginia, under the command of General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson from March 1862 to the conclusion of the Civil War. Hotchkiss produced highly detailed maps of the region, including a large map showing all points of offense and defense in the Shenandoah Valley from the Potomac River to Lexington, Virginia. His field sketchbook provides first-draft detailed maps—usually prepared while on horseback—of various sections of the Shenandoah Valley and the area around Chancellorsville. The two items are part of the Hotchkiss map collection in the Geography and Map Division.

Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress

A Spiteful Souvenir: War of 1812 Accounts Book Stolen

During the War of 1812, the British army, under Admiral Cockburn, captured Washington, DC. They then set about destroying all public buildings in the fledgling capital city (including the White House and the Treasury) as retaliation for the massive destruction during the Battle of York in 1813, in which American forces looted and burned York (now Toronto).

Just before setting fire to the Capitol Building, Admiral Cockburn searched the president's ceremonial office for a memento that would match the official mace stolen from the Parliament Building by the American forces the previous year. He chose the only item labeled as "President of the U. States," a modest printed summary of the federal government's expenses.

Cockburn eventually gave the volume to his eldest brother, the governor of Bermuda, inscribing it as: "Taken in President's room in the Capitol, at the destruction of that building by the British, on the Capture of Washington 24th. August 1814." The book later was discovered and acquired by the famed antiquarian dealer Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach and finally returned to the Library of Congress. Rosenbach completed the inscription begun by Cockburn: "And now, this sixth day of January, 1940, after 126 years, restored to the Library of Congress by A.S.W. Rosenbach."

More from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/

How to Get Into Princeton: George Washington's War Map

This hand-drawn map was delivered to Generals John Cadwalader and George Washington on the eve of a surprise attack by the American Revolutionary forces on a British army at Princeton, New Jersey. Delivered by a spy to the Americans in late December 1776, the map includes vital information about the British headquarters and positions, the roads not protected by the British, the directions of mounted cannons, and other revealing details. It was essential to the success of attack on Princeton.

More from the Library of Congress:
Plan of Princeton, Dec. 31, 1776.
Map Collections
Geography and Map Division

The Union Sends a Message: Civil War Newspaper

During the Civil War, everyday items like paper became luxury goods. And, like several other Southern newspapers, the Vicksburg Daily Citizen eventually exhausted its stock of newsprint. J.M. Swords, publisher and editor, vowed to keep the paper alive. His solution? Print the Citizen on the back of wallpaper—floral wallpaper.

When Vicksburg surrendered to the Union on July 4, 1863, Swords fled, leaving the most recent issue of the Citizen typeset in his printing press. Union forces found the abandoned newspaper, decided to print it, with one vital change: Union soldiers replaced part of the last column with a newly typeset satirical announcement of their arrival in Vicksburg, and then printed and distributed the last edition of the Vicksburg Daily Citizen.

A Key to Victory: D-Day Relief Map

In preparation for the Normandy Invasion of early June 1944, the U.S. and British military prepared detailed maps of the coastline site in France. One was a three-dimensional model made of rubber depicting relief and showing tide lines, the slope of the beach, buildings, and locations of anti-landing craft systems, known as hedgehogs. The map was given to the Library of Congress by a participant in the invasion, Charles Lee Burwell, who as a naval intelligence officer during the conflict responsible for briefing Allied high command and troops.

Literary Treasures

A Tale of Two Books: Walt Whitman & Henry David Thoreau

Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau met for an afternoon on a Brooklyn esplanade in 1856, presenting each other with a copy of one of their works. Whitman recorded the event on the flyleaf of Thoreau's Concord and Merrimack: "Thoreau call'd upon me in Brooklyn 1856 and upon my giving him L of G first edition–gave me this volume–We had a two hours talk + walk. I liked him well–I think he told me he was busy at a surveying job I own on Staten Island. He was full of animation-seemed in good health-looked very well.–W.W." Over 100 years later, these same copies were reunited at the Library of Congress.

Walt Whitman, 1819—1892.
Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, New York, 1856.
Presentation copy, inscribed: "H.D. Thoreau from Walt Whitman."
Houghton Whitman Collection
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

Henry David Thoreau, 1817—1862.
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Boston: J. Munroe and Company, 1849.
Presentation copy from the author. Signed and inscribed by Walt Whitman.
Feinberg Whitman Collection
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress

The Founding Fathers Unite: Federalist Papers

Thomas Jefferson received this first edition of The Federalist in book form while he was in Paris serving as minister to France. As the title page attests

Now considered to be the most significant American contribution to political thought, these essays supporting the ratification of the new Constitution first appeared in New York newspapers under the pseudonym "Publius." Although it was widely known that the eighty-five essays were the efforts of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the initial curious speculation about authorship of specific essays gradually developed into heated controversy. Jefferson, who rarely wrote in his books, could not resist the political parlor-room game of speculating which author wrote which essay. On the fly-leaf of his copy Jefferson has penned an authorship list. The Library also holds Madison's copy of the essays, and he too indicated authorship of the essays. However, the two lists do not coincide and, to this day, the authorship of several of the contributions is still under dispute.

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution. 2 volumes. New York, 1788
Thomas Jefferson Collection
Rare Book and Special Collections Division

Columbus' Most Prized Possession: Book of Privileges

On January 5, 1502, prior to his fourth and final voyage to America, Columbus gathered several judges and notaries in his home in Seville. The purpose? To have them authorize copies of his archival collection of original documents through which Isabel and Fernando had granted titles, revenues, powers and privileges to Columbus and his descendants. These 36 documents are popularly called "Columbus' Book of Privileges." Four copies of his "Book" existed in 1502, three written on vellum and one on paper. The Library's copy, one of the three on vellum, has a unique paper copy of the Papal Bull Dudum siquidem of September 26, 1493, which extended the Spanish claim for future explorations.

Códice Diplomático Columbo-Americano
Seville: ca. 1502, Vellum
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

The Book That Changed the World: Gutenberg Bible

By introducing printing with moveable metal type to Western Europe, Johann Gutenberg revolutionized books, and, in fact, the very nature of communication. Text, once scarce and complicated to produce, was now easily created in multiples that were readily distributed. Out of the explosion of text enabled by moveable type came the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. The Bible, too, became a transformed document.

Gutenberg's Bible contained 1,286 pages holding forty-two lines of text. Of the approximately 180 copies printed, less than 50 survive today. In the 50 years that followed the Gutenberg Bible, hundreds of presses emerged across Europe, printing millions of books. Of these, the Bible was principal: by 1500 there were well over 80 editions printed in Western Europe. The Bible has never gone out of production since the Gutenberg printing. In June 1930, Congress authorized the purchase of 3,000 15th-century books owned by Otto H. Vollbehr, including a perfect three-volume vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible.

The Book That Saved a Life: Rudyard Kiplin's "Kim"

Maurice Hamonneau, a French legionnaire and the last survivor of an artillery attack near Verdun in the First World War, lay wounded and unconscious for hours after the battle. When he regained his senses, he found that a copy of the 1913 French pocket edition of Kim by Rudyard Kipling had deflected a bullet and saved his life by a mere twenty pages.

Hamonneau's reward was a Croix de Guerre and the medal brought about a close friendship with Kipling. Hearing that the English writer was mourning the loss of his son John, who had served with the Irish Guards, the young Frenchman was moved to send the medal and the torn copy of Kim to Kipling. Kipling was overwhelmed and insisted that he would return the book and medal if Hamonneau were ever to have a son. Hannonneau did, and named him Jean in honor of John Kipling. Kipling returned the items with a charming letter to young Jean, advising him to always carry a book of at least 350 pages in the left breast pocket. The book eventually went to auction and arrived at the Library via the Colt-Kipling Collection.

More from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/134.html

Meet the Curators

At the Library of Congress, curators are the content specialists, deeply knowledgeable about specific areas of the vast and multiform collections. All have higher academic degrees and years of professional experience in guiding scholars and the public to the information and resources they seek.

Beverly Brannan is curator of 20th-century documentary photography. She co-edited Documenting America: FSA-OWI Photographs, 1935-1943 (1989) and FSA: The American Vision (2006). She also works with the Library's extensive collections of photojournalism.

Dr. Leonard Bruno is the Library's manuscript specialist for science and technology and is responsible for over 500 individual collections in the Manuscript Division. Bruno is the author of two major Library of Congress publications interpreting the Library's landmark works in science and technology and has curated three major exhibitions for the Library.

Mark Dimunation was appointed Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress in 1998. As Chief, Mr. Dimunation is responsible for the development and management of the Rare Book Collection, the largest collection of rare books in North America. He specializes in 18th and 19th century English and American printing and has considerable experience working with antiquarian materials as well as fine press and contemporary artists books. He is currently completing an extensive project to reconstruct Thomas Jefferson's Library at the Library of Congress.
Division Link://loc.gov/rr/rarebook

Sara W. Duke is a curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. She has worked with caricature and cartoon art since 1993, serving most recently as co-curator for the exhibitions Cartoon America.
Division Link:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/

Clark Evans is the Head of Reference Services in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress. Mr. Evans has been employed in the Division since 1974. He has previously served as President of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia (1990-92); and the Abraham Lincoln Institute (1997-2000).
Division Link:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/

Jeff Flannery is the Head of the Reference and Reader Services Section in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. His employment with the Library began in 1985. He was selected for the Library of Congress Intern Program, worked in the Inquiry Section of the Library's Congressional Research Service, and served as a senior manuscript reference librarian before heading the section. A graduate of Temple University, Mr. Flannery also earned a MA in History from Duquesne University and an MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.

John R. Hébert is Chief, Geography and Map Division, at the Library of Congress. He is the editor and contributor to 1492: An Ongoing Voyage, the companion volume to the Library of Congress's Columbus Quincentenary exhibition 1492-1992: The Ongoing Voyage. He served for 14 years as editor of the cartographic and the bibliography and general works sections of the annual Handbook of Latin American Studies, authored The Library of Congress Hispanic and Portuguese Collections, An Illustrated Guide, produced, with Anthony Mullan, The Luso Hispanic World in Maps; A Selective Guide to Manuscript Maps to 1900 in the Library of Congress, and authored Panoramic Maps of Cities in the United States and Canada. He contributed to the atlas publication Virginia in Maps: Four Centuries of Settlement, Growth, and Development (2000) and served as contributor and editor of Charting Louisiana: Five Hundred Years of Map atlas (2003).
He holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (1965), and M.A. (1967) and Ph.D (1972) degrees in Latin American history from Georgetown University.

Janice E. Ruth was formerly the manuscript specialist in American women's history at the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, where she now holds the position of assistant chief. She is one of the authors of the Library's resource guide American Women, the illustrated book Women Who Dare: Women of the Suffrage Movement and three Library of Congress Web sites relating to women's history, including Women of Protest.

Dr. John R. Sellers is a specialist in the American Civil War and Reconstruction in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. He has written and spoken widely as a historian and curated a number of exhibitions, including the Library's nationally-touring Lincoln Bicentennial exhibition, With Malice Toward None. His many publications include Civil War Manuscripts: A Guide to Collections in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Dr. Sellers received his Ph.D. from Tulane University.
Division Link:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/

Raymond White is a Senior Music Specialist in the Library's Music Division. He holds undergraduate degrees in history and music and graduate degrees in musicology and library science. During his nearly three decades in the Music Division, he has worked in a variety of capacities involving acquisitions, reference assistance, preservation and exhibitions and displays. He now serves as the division's Outreach Coordinator. His varied musical interests include George and Ira Gershwin (he is the curator of the Library's Gershwin Collection) as well as George Frideric Handel, Franz Liszt, opera and choral music.

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This Week's Hidden Treasure

Contents

Lincoln Treasures

Cultural Treasures

Scientific Treasures

Wright Brothers, Photograph of First Flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 10:35 AM, December 17, 1903

Telegram Announcing Success, Orville Wright to Milton Wright, December 17, 1903

Orville Wright's Flight Journal for 1904-05 at Huffman Prairie

Military Treasures

Literary Treasures

Meet the Curators

How to Cite this Page:

This Week's Hidden Treasure

APA Style

Harvard Style

MLA Style

MHRA Style

Chicago Style

CBE/CSE Style

Bluebook Style

AMA Style