Recent research highlights the use of letterlocking techniques by Queen Elizabeth, Catherine de’ Medici and Mary Queen of Scots.
Tag Archives: Archives and Records
‘Dickinson’ on AppleTV+ Is Ending. But the Props Live On in Archives.
The Apple TV+ series “Dickinson” is donating scripts, props and other artifacts — including painstaking replicas of the poet’s manuscripts — to the Emily Dickinson Museum and Harvard University.
Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Bid to Shield Material From Jan. 6 Inquiry
A three-judge panel held that Congress’s oversight powers, backed by President Biden’s decision not to invoke executive privilege over the material, outweighed Mr. Trump’s residual secrecy powers.
Researchers Identify Dozens of Native Students Who Died at Nebraska School
Using digitized records and newspaper clippings, researchers pieced together the history of the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, a government-run institution that closed in 1934.
Trump Seeks Continued Block on Sending White House Files to Jan. 6 Panel
The ex-president’s brief to a federal appeals court argued that his residual secrecy powers could block a House subpoena for information about the Capitol riot.
Steven Mark Klein, Fashion Archivist and Gadfly, Dies at 70
His collection of fashion ephemera now fills a museum, but he also chastised the industry, all while making a name as a brand adviser to hotels and restaurants.
Court Issues Brief Hold on Release of Trump Files in Jan. 6 Inquiry
Congress had been set to receive the first batch of Trump White House files from the National Archives on Friday, a move that the former president has fought.
Judge Questions Trump’s Grounds for Keeping Jan. 6 Documents Secret
In a hearing on Thursday, a federal judge voiced skepticism about the former president’s claim that hundreds of pages of documents related to the riot should be shielded by executive privilege.
Citizen Activists Lead the Hunt for Antiquities Looted From Nepal
In just the past year, volunteers working for the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign have played a role in the return of seven artifacts.
Russ Kick, ‘Rogue Transparency Activist,’ Is Dead at 52
Working on his own, he used the Freedom of Information Act to publish suppressed documents, sometimes making front-page news.
Sam Anthony, Facing Death, Found the Courage to Find His Father
After struggling with cancer for years, Sam Anthony was running out of time. Before he died, he found the courage to mail a letter that he had long been afraid to send.
U.S. Holocaust Museums Are Updating Content and Context
Many organizations are now trying to reach wider and younger audiences, and to tackle topics beyond the Holocaust.
A Pakistan Photographer Rushes to Save the Past
Shahid Zaidi is working to preserve the photos his father shot of Pakistan’s first leaders and of its people in the era of the country’s founding.
Marie Antoinette’s Letters to Her Dear Swedish Count, Now Uncensored
Researchers used an X-ray technique to resurface the redacted text of letters exchanged between the queen and her dear friend Axel von Fersen.
Obama Breaks Ground on Presidential Center in Chicago After Lengthy Discord
The project has been bogged down by legal challenges and a federal review. Barack Obama’s presidential papers won’t actually be housed there — they’ll be digitized, another point of contention.
An Urban Archive Was Lost on 9/11. This Agency Is Trying to Rebuild It.
The Port Authority, which was headquartered in the World Trade Center and lost 84 employees, is collecting artifacts with the help of retirees.
A World War II Spy Didn’t Live to Tell Her Tale. Her Great-Great-Niece Will.
In her book, “All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days,” Rebecca Donner examines the life of Mildred Harnack, part of the anti-Nazi resistance in Germany.
Cherry Grove, Where Gay New Yorkers Became ‘Their Real Selves’
In the 1950s, the Fire Island hamlet was a refuge for gay men and lesbians. Dozens of enlarged photos from the era are now on view outside the New-York Historical Society.
Consortium Aims to Save the Honresfield Library
Sotheby’s has agreed to postpone a highly anticipated auction as a consortium tries to raise $21 million to acquire a “lost” private library for the British public.
Ashes of Hideki Tojo, Japan’s Wartime Leader, Were Secretly Scattered at Sea
For more than 70 years, the location of the remains of the wartime Japanese prime minister had been a puzzle. Now, documents reveal that U.S. forces secretly scattered his ashes into the Pacific Ocean.
Museum to Create a National Archives of Game Show History
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y., will house the archives, which it hopes will include set pieces, audience tickets, press photos and other memorabilia.
What Happens to Philip Roth’s Legacy Now?
His single authorized biography is mired in controversy. Scholars say it shouldn’t be the last word, but they are struggling for access to his vast and in some cases inaccessible private archives.
Reconstructing the Neighborhood Burned in the Tulsa Massacre
Using maps, newspaper clippings, testimonies and more, a team of graphics editors created an interactive 3-D portrait of the community that was burned down in 1921.
How the A.T.F., Key to Biden’s Gun Plan, Became an N.R.A. ‘Whipping Boy’
The federal agency tasked with enforcing gun laws has been hamstrung for years by the firearms lobby. Now, the president’s plan to rein in gun violence hinges on the A.T.F.’s success.
‘Citizen Kane’ Is No ‘Paddington 2,’ Says Rotten Tomatoes
After an 80-year-old pan resurfaced, the website Rotten Tomatoes recalculated and found that only 99 percent of critics had praised “Citizen Kane.”
Wildfire Deals Hard Blow to South Africa’s Archives
The fire, which began Sunday and is still being fought, ravaged a library that housed first-edition books, films, photographs and other primary sources documenting Southern African history.
National Endowment for the Humanities Announces New Grants
The first round of funding for the year totals $24 million and will support 225 projects across the country.
Cambodians Demand Apology for Khmer Rouge Images With Smiling Faces
An Irish artist colorized portraits of Cambodian prisoners who were tortured, starved, beaten and killed. In some cases, he doctored the images to put smiles on their faces.
Yahoo Answers Is Shutting Down
People used Yahoo Answers to ask weird questions, seek help and make jokes. But the service offered “real human reaction, for better or for worse,” one longtime observer said.
Philip Roth Was His Own Favorite Subject. What’s Left for a Biographer?
One of the great chroniclers of America’s literary lives takes on the author who fought to control his own story.
New Technique Unfolds Centuries of Secrets in Locked Letters
M.I.T. researchers have devised a virtual-reality technique that lets them read old letters that were mailed not in envelopes but in the writing paper itself after being folded into elaborate enclosures.
‘Allen v. Farrow’ Episode 2 Recap: A Family Torn Apart
Seven months after the shocking discovery of Woody Allen’s relationship with Soon-Yi Previn, he was accused of sexually abusing Dylan Farrow.
Salvaged From 1941 Shipwreck, Letters Reveal Wartime Love and Sacrifice
For over 70 years, the letters lay undisturbed in the wreckage of the S.S. Gairsoppa, sheltered from the ravages of ocean currents by well-positioned mail bags. Now, conservators are piecing together these undelivered messages from the past.
Auction House Suspends Sale of 19th-Century Jewish Burial Records
The records of a Jewish community in Romania that was almost annihilated during the Holocaust are viewed as essential to reconstructing its history.
Presidents’ Day Auction Offers Lincoln’s Hair and Other Oddities
The auction feeds a thriving market for private collectors. Among the items: photographs, a lottery ticket signed by Washington, a Kennedy sweater, and a check from Donald J. Trump.
When Joe Biden Took the White House, He AlsoTook @WhiteHouse Twitter
The transition of official White House social media handles in 2020 was more complicated than four years ago.
How a Historian Got Close, Maybe Too Close, to a Nazi Thief
Over nearly a decade, Jonathan Petropoulos met dozens of times with a man who helped the Nazis loot Jewish art collections, a complicated relationship he explores in “Göring’s Man in Paris.”
What We Found in Robert Caro’s Yellowed Files
The author of “The Power Broker” and a multivolume biography of L.B.J. is giving awed archivists — and New York — access to more than 50 years of research.
The Record Keepers’ Rave
Every month, the archival institutions of this nation unleash tiny particles of the past in a frenzy of online revelry.
The Royal Academy of Dance: From Music Hall to Ballet Royalty
The history of the Royal Academy of Dance, outlined at an exhibition in London, is synonymous with the history of ballet in Britain.
Old Letters, Photos and Recipes Brighten Smaller Thanksgivings
As Americans splinter into isolated Thanksgivings, some are taking the opportunity to examine their pasts.
The ‘Detective Work’ Behind a War Novel
Maaza Mengiste spent years on “The Shadow King,” not only writing but also learning Italian, living in Rome and amassing an archive of historical photography that informed her book.
New Spirits Rise in Old, Repurposed Churches
For years, attendance rates have dropped and congregations have closed nationwide. But many reused religious spaces are still sanctuaries.
A Brief History of Questionable Parenting Advice
Wine is good for children but bananas are bad, according to the Times archives.
The Improbable, Slightly Surreal Plan to Save Fashion’s Printed Matter
The new International Library for Fashion Research in Oslo, the brainchild of a fashion odd couple, has very big ambitions.
The First Photos of Enslaved People Raise Many Questions About the Ethics of Viewing
“To Make Their Own Way in the World” convenes a group of scholars of slavery, American history, memory, photography and science to tell a complex story.
How Richard Nixon Became an Accidental Archivist
When the son of David Frost went looking for missing tapes of his father’s interview show, he found many of them in an unlikely place.
New York Public Library Acquires Choreographer Trisha Brown’s Archive
The New York Public Library has acquired Brown’s archive, including 1,200 videotapes that provide an invaluable record of her creative process.
7 Things to Do on Labor Day Weekend
How can you get your cultural fix when many arts institutions remain closed? Our writers offer suggestions for what to listen to and watch.
The Strange Lives of Objects in the Coronavirus Era
The pandemic has inspired a flurry of new and novel items — and given ordinary ones new meanings.