tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46452988839358419872024-02-21T02:41:07.675-07:00FootnotablesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-21452916369098419092011-03-22T13:49:00.007-06:002011-03-22T15:30:08.547-06:00Teddy v 50 CentSomeone sent me <a href="http://oi53.tinypic.com/x4qgw2.jpg">this link</a> to an image contrasting the way 50 Cent and Teddy Roosevelt responded to being shot. <br />
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Historically a bit inaccurate as we learned in <a href="http://footnotables.blogspot.com/2010/10/they-dont-make-them-like-teddy-anymore.html">this post</a>, but very clever all the same.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/269867121" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" src="http://img.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/269867121/400/400.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"50 Cent, is that all you've got?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-7713874743885921952010-10-19T09:19:00.000-06:002011-10-14T13:27:18.095-06:00Washington Reports The Surrender at YorktownThe last major battle of the American Revolutionary War ended on 19 October 1781 when Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia to a combined force from the Continental and French armies under the command of General George Washington.<br />
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Here's a letter that General Washington wrote to tell congress about the victory, from <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/172590/continental_congress_papers/">The Papers of the Continental Congress on Fold3</a>:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fold3.com/spotlight/948/washington_informs_congress_of_the/"><img alt="Washington Informs Congress of the Victory at Yorktown" src="http://img5.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/395915/400/400/241_17_2350_1751.jpg" /></a><br />
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And here are a few other interesting items related to the Battle of Yorktown from the Papers of the Continental Congress:</div>
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<img alt="" src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/396244/400/400.jpg" /><br />
A list of clothing and other goods taken from the British captives.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/#396191" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/396191/400/400.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An accounting of the prisoners by rank and unit.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/395997"><img alt="" src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/395997/400/400.jpg" /></a><br />
A copy of the terms of the surrender.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-25315968153906358722010-10-14T09:56:00.005-06:002011-10-14T13:28:17.330-06:00They Don't Make Them Like Teddy AnymoreI've sometimes wondered if Teddy Roosevelt deserved to be immortalized next to Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln in the granite of Mt Rushmore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22XrHTt5TUMsyooEjFz6dmXr_EFq5qZByp0XlPSbubozIWYZQgb9Asz0KzA8t0TCFKoLYPyTJI4qZ20OUFTScc6z40XdqBpnRipNxhfSoE7AAA1kGzfoGGZV92vbQc689XdNGUYU1RQ4/s1600/MtRushmore.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527943019746179170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22XrHTt5TUMsyooEjFz6dmXr_EFq5qZByp0XlPSbubozIWYZQgb9Asz0KzA8t0TCFKoLYPyTJI4qZ20OUFTScc6z40XdqBpnRipNxhfSoE7AAA1kGzfoGGZV92vbQc689XdNGUYU1RQ4/s400/MtRushmore.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
It's always seemed like he may have benefited from the tendency toward recentness in "best of" lists. But, this week I ran across two stories from Octobers past that are starting to change my mind. In fact, if I keep finding things like this I may rename this blog, "The Roosevelt Chronicles."<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Story #1: Teddy's First Flight</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/spotlight/20575/teddy_roosevelts_first_airplane_flight/"><img alt="Teddy Roosevelt's First Airplane Flight" src="http://img3.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/181572973/400/400/1357_499_626_1008.jpg" /></a></div>
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On 11 October 1910, just a few years after the Wright Brother's first successful heavier-than-air human flight, while visiting a flying exhibition in St Louis, Roosevelt was invited to take a ride with Archie Hoxsey, a Wright aviator. Roosevelt accepted the invitation, hopped into the plane (well, OK, as <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/papr:@field%28NUMBER+@band%28trmp+4087%29%29">this video</a> on the Library of Congress website shows, he struggled his way through all the lines and guy-wires that held the thing together) and took a couple of loops around the field.<br />
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While in the air, Roosevelt was so excited and waved so enthusiastically to the crowd that "Hoxsey was afraid he would fall out or interfere with the engine, which was roaring at his side," and had to shout to tell "the Colonel" to calm down.<br />
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The crowd was stunned silent during the flight, but erupted into cheers once the plane landed.<br />
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When the flight was over and Roosevelt was on the ground again, he shook Hoxsey's hand vigorously and said, "It was great! First class! It was the finest experience I have had. I wish I could stay up for an hour, but I haven't the time this afternoon."<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Story #2: Roosevelt, Shot While Campaigning, Gives Speech with Bullet in Chest</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/spotlight/20604/teddy_roosevelt_shot_while_campaigning/"><img alt="Teddy Roosevelt Shot While Campaigning - Gives His Speach Anyway" src="http://img5.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/57358205/400/400/720_372_2727_1755.jpg" /></a><br />
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While on his way to a campaign speech in Milwaukee on 14 October 1912, Roosevelt was shot in the chest by John Schrank who apparently didn't like the idea of Roosevelt running for a third term.<br />
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The assailant was subdued and brought to Roosevelt who asked him to explain himself. When Schrank didn't reply, Roosevelt headed off to the auditorium and spoke for an hour and a half.<br />
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Following his speech, Roosevelt, "weak from loss of blood," was taken to the hospital where an x-ray revealed the bullet lodged near his lung.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/266897702"><img alt="" src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/266897702/400/400.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-69154925030260596472010-07-20T09:23:00.003-06:002011-10-14T13:29:51.038-06:00The 20 July PlotOn July 20, 1944 a group of German military leaders launched a failed attempt to blow up Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazis from power.<br /><br />For years, officers of the German military had been conspiring to overthrow Hitler and other assassination attempts had been made, but the 20 July plot seems to have been the most elaborate and well thought out.<br /><br />The plot has inspired several books and movies, including the 2008 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985699/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Valkyrie</span></a> which stars Tom Cruise as Count Claus von Stauffenberg, the man who planted the bomb intended to blow up Hitler and then returned to Berlin to help with the coup that was to follow.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/153631194/wwii_foreign_military_studies_194554/">WWII Foreign Military Studies</a> on <a href="http://www.fold3.com/">Fold3</a> include some interesting information about the 20 July plot including...<br /><br />A description of the plot by Otto Ernst Remer, leader of the home guard units that helped put down the coup attempt:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/160501373"><img src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/160501373/400/400.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">A description of the impact of the failed plot by Percy Ernst Schramm, professor of medieval and modern history at the University of Goettingen, formerly Major in the Reserve Corps, and officer in charge of keeping the war diary of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/153632616"><img src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/153632616/400/400.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Ludwig Kaiser's report on the events leading up to coup attempt, which he calls the Goerdeler Movement after Carl Friedrich Goerdeler who would have served as the chancellor of the new government if the plot had succeeded. Kaiser's report begins with the German government's official statements on the plot and proceeds to describe events and discussions that lead of the 20 July:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/153655373"><img src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/153655373/400/400.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5JgnSQyN90">This YouTube video</a> provides a brief overview of the events and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87KNTZjvtxw">this one</a> includes the audio of the speech Hitler gave after the attempt on his life. You can see some pictures and learn all sorts of details from this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot">Wikipedia page</a>. </div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-21868802027411357512010-05-06T09:45:00.005-06:002011-10-14T13:38:07.860-06:00Free Access to Historical Newspapers<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fold3.com/image/234882008"><img alt="" src="http://img.fold3.com/img/thumbnail/234882008/400/250/38_100_3973_2500.jpg" /></a></div>
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Fold3 has opened up access to their historical newspapers for the month of May. You'll have to register to see some of them, but it's free.<br />
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Historical newspapers are full of entertaining, informative and downright strange things.There are some great newspapers on the site. A few of my favorites are:<br />
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/28036823/news_london_times/">The Times</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(London) 1785-1820; 1860-1865; 1914-1919</span><br />
The Times provides a great perspective on world and US events. You can browse by date <a href="http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#110%7C28036823">here</a> or read more and search <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/28036823/news_london_times/">here</a>.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="394" scrolling="no" src="http://www.fold3.com/embed-spotlight.php?spot=13704&w=394&h=394" style="background: url("http://www.fold3.com/i/loadingAnimation.gif") no-repeat scroll 50% 50% rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 3px double rgb(239, 239, 239);" width="394"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/59778719/news_san_francisco_chronicle/">The San Francisco Chronicle</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(California) 1865-1923</span><br />
This is a great paper that manages to combine a frontier feel with in-depth reporting on local, national and world issues. <a href="http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#180%7C59778719">Browse</a> or <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/59778719/news_san_francisco_chronicle/">learn more</a>.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="394" scrolling="no" src="http://www.fold3.com/embed-spotlight.php?spot=9069&w=394&h=394" style="background: url("http://www.fold3.com/i/loadingAnimation.gif") no-repeat scroll 50% 50% rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 3px double rgb(239, 239, 239);" width="394"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/54264848/news_the_atlanta_constitution/">The Atlanta Constitution</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Georgia) 1868-1923</span><br />
The Constitution provides a unique, southern viewpoint. <a href="http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#185%7C54264848">Browse</a> or <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/54264848/news_the_atlanta_constitution/">learn more</a>.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="394" scrolling="no" src="http://www.fold3.com/embed-spotlight.php?spot=12802&w=394&h=394" style="background: url("http://www.fold3.com/i/loadingAnimation.gif") no-repeat scroll 50% 50% rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 3px double rgb(239, 239, 239);" width="394"></iframe></div>
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<a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/42122438/news_the_chicago_tribune/">The Chicago Tribune</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Illinois) 1829-1943</span><br />
A great newspaper for a northern and mid-west perspective, but they did a great job reporting national and world news as well. <a href="http://www.fold3.com/browse.php#187%7C42122438">Browse</a> or <a href="http://www.fold3.com/documents/42122438/news_the_chicago_tribune/">learn more</a>.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="394" scrolling="no" src="http://www.fold3.com/embed-spotlight.php?spot=13899&w=394&h=394" style="background: url("http://www.fold3.com/i/loadingAnimation.gif") no-repeat scroll 50% 50% rgb(51, 51, 51); border: 3px double rgb(239, 239, 239);" width="394"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-22027296807232174522010-04-15T08:56:00.002-06:002010-04-15T09:20:04.205-06:00Tax DayHere's the document we have to thank for this tax day:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/4346755"><img src="http://img.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/4346755/400/400.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>The 16th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed by the 61st Congress on July 12, 1909 and ratified by 2/3 of the states February 3, 1913.<br /><br />Here's the 1040 form for 1913:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/4346756"><img src="http://img.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/4346756/400/400.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Hasn't really changed that much in 96 years, but we do get an extra month and a half to file.<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-86498228853320459602010-02-16T11:33:00.005-07:002010-02-16T11:49:14.275-07:00WWII in Italy: Flooded Airfields, Muddy Ball Turrets and DragonsAs a follow up to <a href="http://footnotables.blogspot.com/2009/05/life-of-ball-turret-gunner.html">this post about the life of a ball turret gunner</a>, it seems that life for those boys could get worse in the rainy season.<br /><br />Here's a picture of an airfield in Italy that was flooded after some heavy rains.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/document/48719853/"><img src="http://img3.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/48719853/400/400/0_0_4532_3535.jpg" alt="Page 172; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />The muddy landing strips made the ball turret gunner's life even less pleasant:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/48719937/"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/48719937/400/400/0_0_3504_4488.jpg" alt="Page 256; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />While we're in the area, he's some great nose art on a B-24 Liberator: <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/48719861/"><img src="http://img1.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/48719861/400/400/0_0_3568_4564.jpg" alt="Page 180; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br><br />The dog doesn't seem to know what to make of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-3155074215525839552010-02-04T09:58:00.003-07:002010-02-04T10:03:31.704-07:00War: Bringing People Together<a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/46942878/?xid=524"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/46942878/400/400/608_607_2776_2601.jpg" alt=""Naga Headhunters [Learn] To Cut Hair"" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><br />I don't know anything about any of the people in this picture, but when I read the caption,<br /><blockquote>"In Addition To His Other Duties, Pvt. Morris Glieberman Of New York City Was Barber For The Yank Expedition. Here, He Teaches Naga Headhunters To Cut Hair, Using Pfc. Jack Elston Of Salt Lake City, Utah As The Victim."</blockquote>I couldn't help but think, "So, a Mormon, a Jew and a headhunter walk into this bar[bershop]."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-2622568863265750622010-01-12T16:01:00.003-07:002010-01-12T16:29:57.592-07:00Miep Gies Dies at Age 100<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EdSNaS55K4goxigvJ0_ISQZ2QDNnDhtgvfLH0w39nh6c523Pe0wZtPEOZeUHpLHfkAMgyTp6qgkrJpqEE2qvxnW5vzUZmha4lCIa9RNP8fSaC2sF6sCKfr1LYKlEeZDQEZzoKngGDr0/s1600-h/miepgies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1EdSNaS55K4goxigvJ0_ISQZ2QDNnDhtgvfLH0w39nh6c523Pe0wZtPEOZeUHpLHfkAMgyTp6qgkrJpqEE2qvxnW5vzUZmha4lCIa9RNP8fSaC2sF6sCKfr1LYKlEeZDQEZzoKngGDr0/s400/miepgies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425992400228856866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.miepgies.nl/en/">Miep Gies</a><br />15 February 1909 – 11 January 2010<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miep_Gies#cite_note-0"><span></span></a><br /></span></div>From <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/miep_gies_helped_protect_anne.html">NPR.org</a>:<br /><blockquote>Miep Gies, who helped Anne Frank and her family avoid capture by the Nazis for more than two years and safeguarded the young Holocaust victim's famous diary for posterity, has died at age 100.</blockquote>From <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/11/obit.miep.gies/index.html">CNN.com</a>:<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>Gies was among a team of Dutch citizens who hid the Frank family of four and four others in a secret annex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during World War II... She worked as a secretary for Anne Frank's father, Otto, in the front side of the same Prinsengracht building.</p> <p>The family stayed in the secret room from July 1942 until August 4, 1944, when they were arrested by Gestapo and Dutch police after being betrayed by an informant. Two of Gies' team were arrested that day, but she and her friend, Bep Voskuijl, were left behind -- and found 14-year-old Anne's papers.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>From <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8453331.stm">BBC.co.uk</a>:</p><blockquote>It was Mrs Gies who collected up Anne's papers and locked them away, hoping that one day she would be able to give them back to the girl.<p>In the event, she returned them to Otto Frank, who survived the war, and helped him compile them into a diary that was published in 1947.</p><p>... "We did our duty as human beings: helping people in need."<br /></p></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-79951529692526512172010-01-11T09:35:00.006-07:002010-01-11T13:12:57.847-07:00Survivor of Two Atomic Bomb Blasts Dies at Age 93On Jan 6, 2010, Tsutomu Yamaguchi died. Mr Yamaguchi had the distinction of being the only officially recognized survivor of atomic bombings at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.<br /><br />Sometime last year, while I was looking through the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/28439236/wwii_us_air_force_photos/?xid=524">World War II Air Force photos collection</a> and doing some research on those first atomic bombs, I came across <span class="byline"><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article766984.ece">this 2005 article by Richard Lloyd Parry</a> who interviewed Mr Yamaguchi along with his coworkers and fellow survivors </span>Akira Iwanaga and Kuniyoshi Sato (there is a slightly shorter version republished in March of 2009 with a couple of photos <a href="http://timesonline.typepad.com/times_tokyo_weblog/2009/03/the-luckiest-or.html">here</a>.) Parry explained that,<br /><blockquote>"In 1945, they were working in Hiroshima, where the world's first atomic bomb exploded on August 6... One hundred and forty thousand people died as a result of the explosion; by chance, Mr Yamaguchi, Mr Sato and Mr Iwanaga were spared. Stunned and injured, reeling from the horrors around them, they left the city for their home town, Nagasaki, 180 miles to the west. There, on 9th August, the second atomic bomb exploded over their heads."</blockquote>These survivors' descriptions of the scenes during and after the bombings are vivid and shocking and provide a powerful reminder of just how terrible a weapon an atomic bomb is.<br /><br />Some of the photos of the aftermath of the atomic bomb blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki have a similar effect:<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/29018182/?xid=524"><img src="http://img2.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/29018182/400/400/0_0_4480_3496.jpg" alt="Page 1; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">'View of Hiroshima taken from Red Cross hospital building about a mile from focal point of blast."</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/29020527/?xid=524"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/29020527/400/400/0_0_4536_3537.jpg" alt="Page 1; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Nagasaki: "A street through a formerly congested residential area... 1,000 ft. northeast of atom bomb burst."</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Hopefully stories like Mr Yamaguchi's will be retold and remembered so that they will never be repeated.<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-2852569890026208702010-01-05T13:49:00.004-07:002010-01-05T16:25:35.256-07:00The Tangled Tale of Topsy the ElephantYesterday marked the 97th anniversary of the electrocution of Topsy the elephant.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zNdlGN-8InvweE5nPnEFh9JCkvbbodVcM2C_yoUTHXhKw7fI8erkg6mInd5bItCNSagjwBDpyhz_Qb0JIUlloK9efhG4vf4i3z6xr9yersQhVSUjYHrv76V74WdSYw2BOxFx2fyiNbk/s1600-h/Topsy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0zNdlGN-8InvweE5nPnEFh9JCkvbbodVcM2C_yoUTHXhKw7fI8erkg6mInd5bItCNSagjwBDpyhz_Qb0JIUlloK9efhG4vf4i3z6xr9yersQhVSUjYHrv76V74WdSYw2BOxFx2fyiNbk/s400/Topsy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423361971725050882" border="0" /></a><br />For those of you not familiar with Topsy's sad story...<br /><br />Topsy was a domesticated elephant who, as a baby, was popular with children, but got into trouble later in life. Reports say that she, "<a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14291/rogue_elephant_is_electrocuted/">killed two men in Texas and a third in Brooklyn borough after he had fed her a lighted cigaret</a>."<br /><br />Topsy was part of a circus at Coney Island's Luna Park and her owners decided that she should be put to sleep and that they could take advantage of the opportunity. They announced that she would be executed for murder and invited people to come see the spectacle.<br /><br />The original plan seems to have been to hang Topsy, but either the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals objected, or Topsy wouldn't walk out onto the gallows, or both, so a new plan was required.<br /><br />At the time, Thomas Edison was busy trying to get people to adopt his Direct Current (DC) as the standard for electricity by electrocuting animals using the rival Alternating Current (AC) advocated by Nicola Tesla and Westinghouse. Topsy's case must have seemed the perfect opportunity for Edison and he proposed execution by electrocution.<br /><br />On January 4, 1903, Topsy was wired up, fed some poisoned carrots (just in case) and then had 6,600 volts of AC passed through her. Within seconds, as <a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14294/baby_elephant_topsy_killed/">the Atlanta Constitution reported</a>, "Topsy, the man-killer, was no more," but she became a national celebrity.<br /><br />As many as 1,500 people witnessed the event and newspapers around the country reported it.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14294/baby_elephant_topsy_killed/"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/80101098/400/400/2948_586_736_1435.jpg" alt="Baby Elephant Topsy Killed" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Atlanta Constitution</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14293/poison_and_electricity_for_new_york/"><img src="http://img3.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/171342043/400/400/4416_5794_776_943.jpg" alt="Poison and Electricity for New York Elephant" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">San Francisco Chronicle</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14291/rogue_elephant_is_electrocuted/"><img src="http://img3.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/85532273/400/400/173_397_840_1210.jpg" alt="Rogue Elephant Is Electrocuted" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Chicago Tribune</span><br /></div><br />To help with his campaign, Edison filmed the event and showed the film to audiences around the country. Today, Edison's movie is available on YouTube:<br /><div align="center"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RkBU3aYsf0Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RkBU3aYsf0Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></div><br /><br />You can learn more about Topsy on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsy_%28elephant%29">Wikipedia</a>, from <a href="http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0104#">this article at Wired</a>, or from <a href="http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/lunapark.htm">this interesting webpage about Coney Island's Luna Park</a>. Those with a darker sense of humor may enjoy the blog <a href="http://topsytheelectrocutedelephant.blogspot.com/">Topsy: the Electrocuted Elephant</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-2280967349474143682009-12-30T11:18:00.006-07:002009-12-30T14:00:54.626-07:00New Year's ArtIn preparation for the new year, I looked at some old newspapers to see what the front page held on January firsts past. In my brief survey, I found several treatments of the Old Father Time and the baby New Year theme:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14151/ringing_in_the_new_decade_january_1/"><img src="http://img6.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/84947146/400/400/1781_2073_2277_3162.jpg" alt="Ringing in the New Decade - January 1, 1900" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Chicago Tribune 1 January 1900</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14204/the_chicago_tribune_rings_in_the_new/"><img src="http://img1.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/101278481/400/400/1600_903_2320_2485.jpg" alt="The Chicago Tribune Rings in the New Year - 1911" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Chicago Tribune 1 January 1911</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14205/a_happy_new_year_1922_the_atlanta/"><img src="http://img1.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/97961341/400/400/2115_1465_2006_2880.jpg" alt="A Happy New Year 1922 - The Atlanta Constitution" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Atlanta Constitution 1 January 1922</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14208/poughkeepsie_journal_new_years_1924/"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/234694558/400/400/211_185_3666_850.jpg" alt="Poughkeepsie Journal - New Years 1924 Edition " style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Poughkeepsie Journal 1 January 1924</span><br /></div><br />And then I came across this very odd image from the San Francisco Chronicle of 1 January 1920<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/14207/happy_new_year_1920_from_the_san/"><img src="http://img0.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/224853570/400/400/206_844_4660_2960.jpg" alt="Happy New Year 1920 from the San Francisco Chronicle" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div>I'm not sure who these people are, but they seem happy about starting the 20s.<br /><br />It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of the Happy New Year messages with the sensational and generally negative headlines on the front pages.<br /><br />Most of the papers gathered stories of tragedy, murder and death from around the country to spice up the front page, which probably worked on most days, but seem a little out of place on a page with Happy New Year emblazoned across the top of it.<br /><br />That 1920 San Francisco Chronicle is a good example. Headlines sharing the front page with the strange New Year's revelers include:<br /><ul><li>"35 Poison 'Rum' Cases Bared by S.F. Officials"</li><li>"Hunter Drowned, Companion Near Death as Result of Boat Mishap"</li><li>"Poison Whisky Factory Found, Officers Say"</li><li>"Woman Plunges Knife to Hilt in Man Refusing to Clear Her Name"</li><li>"Shots Fired at Police Captain"</li><li>"U.S. Building is Set on Fire"</li><li>"Four Scalded to Death in Steamer Explosion"</li><li>"3 Motorists Hurt in Jitney Collision"</li><li>"Four Women Shot by Baltimore Celebrants"</li></ul>Happy New Year in deed. Here's hoping 2010 rings in on a better note.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-6748894809104989072009-12-07T09:48:00.006-07:002009-12-07T12:30:16.071-07:00Remembering Pearl HarborThis urgent radiogram to "All ships present at Hawaiin Area" announced the December 7, 1941 attack on the US Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbor:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/29103786/?xid=524"><img src="http://img6.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/29103786/400/400/0_0_2921_2400.jpg" alt="WWII Pearl Harbor attack radiogram" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />The surprise attack <span id="pageDesc" onclick="showMoreLess(0,'pageDesc','moreless',trunc,org);"> damaged all eight battleships anchored in the harbor and caused over 3,000 American casualties.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="pageDesc" onclick="showMoreLess(0,'pageDesc','moreless',trunc,org);"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/64830485/?xid=524"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/64830485/400/400/0_0_564_706.jpg" alt="Pearl Harbor 13.JPG" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a></span><br /></div><span id="pageDesc" onclick="showMoreLess(0,'pageDesc','moreless',trunc,org);"><br /></span>1,177 died on the USS Arizona and are remembered with <a href="http://www.nps.gov/archive/usar/ExtendWeb1.html">a memorial</a> that was built over the top of the still visible remains of the battleship which lies at the bottom of the harbor.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/235006208/?xid=524"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/235006208/400/400/0_0_1999_1338.jpg" alt="3.JPG" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />The memorial includes a wall with the names of those killed on the Arizona in 1941 and a place for those who have died since and had their remains "interred with their shipmates."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/140065836/?xid=524"><img src="http://img6.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/140065836/400/400/0_0_44983_27257.jpg" alt="page; Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />On Footnote, you'll find an interactive image of the memorial wall where you can learn more about those who died or if you have images or stories about someone whose name appears, you can add them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/140985223/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wabsLXvBJvwwRgcs1JsV5V2YD7mG-87mjZb9bD5IKhW8ykZuBqWcZOtsnEbxojt3TuKoB9BCeKNs39VXyikJbIbEGTRAEfkN_u_D_1ATGtn7lAEVJ_6tIbou7Az8ylRfD6nwr8zAJrc/s400/Elmer+Yates.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412565822850703346" border="0" /></a><br />The day after the attack, President Franklin D Roosevelt delivered his famous "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress. In his speech, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare that, since the attack on Pearl Harbor, a state of war had existed between the United States and the Empire of Japan. You can hear the full six and a half minute speech on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy_Speech">this Wikipedia page</a>.<br /><br />Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war which Roosevelt signed, bringing the United States into World War II.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/47556180/?xid=524"><img src="http://img0.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/47556180/400/400/0_0_4016_5657.jpg" alt="Page 1; Selected Photographs of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1913-1945" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />In honor of Pearl Harbor Day, Footnote is making their <a href="http://go.footnote.com/wwii/?xid=524">WWII collection</a> free during December. You can <a href="http://blog.footnote.com/in-honor-of-pearl-harbor-day/">read more on the Footnote Blog</a> or see the World War II collection <a href="http://go.footnote.com/wwii/?xid=524">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-29790626595411896762009-12-04T22:33:00.000-07:002009-12-04T22:33:00.104-07:00The Gunboat PhiladelphiaThe <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/index.cfm">National Museum of American History</a>'s website has <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/factsheet.cfm?key=30&newskey=1083">this nice page</a> about the Continental Gunboat <span style="font-style: italic;">Philadelphia</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiaSbzsB94JOB4MExJ2l8VthdHeQNYqB52KGzQwAPUtvSH0VCEiiI8CzlXlIt9vTrIs8SMx9PKtkKraWkiL2uArkS-HHihPKhmBAiQaWCCE5PL8_pwIX2cRs9WSQiLWGwkfEgoLT28hc/s1600-h/philadelphia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiaSbzsB94JOB4MExJ2l8VthdHeQNYqB52KGzQwAPUtvSH0VCEiiI8CzlXlIt9vTrIs8SMx9PKtkKraWkiL2uArkS-HHihPKhmBAiQaWCCE5PL8_pwIX2cRs9WSQiLWGwkfEgoLT28hc/s400/philadelphia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411145066583002082" border="0" /></a><blockquote>The Gunboat <em>Philadelphia</em> is the oldest surviving American fighting vessel. Built in 1776, it was sunk in Lake Champlain during a naval battle with the British in the same year. The Continental Congress authorized the building of this 54 foot, 29-ton gunboat and eight other similar vessels for the defense of the Champlain Valley - the northern frontier of the colonies considered the key to the success or failure of the American Revolution. In the summer of 1776, under the leadership of the charismatic and controversial Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, <em>Philadelphia</em> and her sister-ships were hurriedly organized into what historians consider “the first American Navy.”</blockquote>Here's the page from Transcript Journals of the Continental Congress (part of the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/172590/continental_congress_papers/">Papers of the Continental Congress</a>) where congress resolves, "that the president write to governor Cooke requesting him to order fifty ship carpenters to be engaged on the best terms at the expense of the continent and sent to general Schuyler at Albany as soon as possible, in order to build vessels for the defense of the lakes."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/400560/"><img src="http://img0.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/400560/400/400/458_679_1721_730.jpg" alt="Continental Congress hires carpenters "to build vessels for the defense of " style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br />You can find some nice pictures of the Philadelphia <a href="http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/gunboat.html">here</a> and more information about the history of the ship <a href="http://www.historiclakes.org/Valcour/philly.htm">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-7831207326820369942009-12-03T12:16:00.003-07:002009-12-03T13:37:54.805-07:00UFO SightingsToday's <a href="http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/index.html?dod-date=1203#2009">Document of the Day</a> from NARA is UFO report from the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/6283401/project_blue_book_ufo_investigations/?xid=524">Project Blue Book</a> files.<br /><br />Here's the image on Footnote where you'll find the other 31 pages of the report:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/6963003/?xid=524"><img src="http://img3.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/6963003/400/400/0_0_3276_4003.jpg" alt="Page 5; Project Blue Book, 1947-1969" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a></div><br />Project Blue Book is full of interesting and mundane reports. Names of people reporting the sightings have been redacted, so you aren't likely to find out if your mother reported a flying saucer, but it's interesting to see the kinds of things that were reported, the way the government collected the data and in many cases, the way they explained the various sightings.<br /><br />Here are a few other interesting reports from <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/6283401/project_blue_book_ufo_investigations/?xid=524">Project Blue Book</a>.<br /><br />A first hand report of the Flat Woods Monster,<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/6384158/?xid=524"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/6384158/400/400/0_0_3100_3985.jpg" alt="Page 17; Project Blue Book, 1947-1969" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />A "Special Report on Conferences with Astronomers on Unidentified Aerial Objects,"<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/11883955/?xid=524"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/11883955/300/300/0_0_3704_4773.jpg" alt="Page 39; Project Blue Book, 1947-1969" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />And the occasional picture of an unidentified flying object:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13311/new_york_agosto_67/?xid=524"><img src="http://img4.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/6980114/400/400/0_0_1800_1242.jpg" alt="new york agosto 67" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/1423/ufo_or_photographic_anomaly/?xid=524"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/7171147/400/400/616_356_1969_1487.jpg" alt="UFO or Photographic anomaly?" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br />I don't know that you'll find proof of alien life in <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/6283401/project_blue_book_ufo_investigations/?xid=524">Project Blue Book</a>, but looking for it can be a lot of fun.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-24208838751705454812009-12-02T15:31:00.004-07:002009-12-02T16:36:51.192-07:00ThanksgivingI meant to post a few tidbits from the history of Thanksgiving last week, but I just never had the time. Here you go, a little late and hoping you had a nice holiday...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/228145084/news_poughkeepsie_journal/?xid=524">The Poughkeepsie Journal</a> publishes President George Washington's declaration of "a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer"<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13595/george_washingtons_thanksgiving/?xid=524"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/230688845/400/400/875_3248_737_2151.jpg" alt="George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation - 1789" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/42122438/news_the_chicago_tribune/?xid=524">The Chicago Tribune</a> prints President Abraham Lincoln's declaration of the last Thursday in November 1863 "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13844/proclamation_of_the_president/?xid=524"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/80090087/400/400/2645_861_622_669.jpg" alt="Proclamation of the President - Thanksgiving 1863" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br />The December 27, 1941 <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/228145084/news_poughkeepsie_journal/?xid=524">Poughkeepsie Journal</a> reports on President Franklin D Roosevelt (who in the years previous had moved Thanksgiving earlier to extend the Christmas shopping season) signing a law designating the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13842/thanksgiving_officially_returned_to_the/?xid=524"><img src="http://img1.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/231795101/400/400/3036_4101_485_462.jpg" alt="Thanksgiving Officially Returned to the Fourth Thursday" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br /></div><br />And here are some folks from the National Turkey Growers Association presenting <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/5631126/photos_truman/?xid=524">President Harry Truman</a> with a Thanksgiving turkey, November 16, 1949.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5631424/?xid=524"><img src="http://img4.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/5631424/400/400/0_0_5860_4645.jpg" alt="Page 52; Select List of Photographs of Harry S. Truman, 1885-1953" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-68726840270856954722009-11-20T09:46:00.003-07:002009-11-20T09:52:47.412-07:00Using Revolutionary War Pension FilesA <a href="http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=603">nice post on the NARAtions blog</a> today discusses the value of pension files and links to an interesting example from <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=wl0SjaPnl8k&offerid=150188.785261916&type=10&subid=">Footnote</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>William Graham was 64 years old when he submitted this document in support of his Revolutionary War pension application in 1820. The pension laws in effect then required him to prove not only his service, but also his need for monetary support. The inventory seen here lists his personal property. </blockquote><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/document/21824295/"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/21824295/400/400/0_0_2188_3210.jpg" alt="Page 8; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;padding: 7px;"></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-52846675019621840752009-11-19T09:12:00.003-07:002009-11-19T10:42:58.730-07:00Remembering the Gettysburg AddressToday is the 146th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/page/94390537_the_gettysburg_address/?xid=524">Gettysburg Address</a>. <br /><br />This brief speech contains what may be Abraham Lincoln's most memorable mistake, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here."<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/4346725/?xid=524"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/4346725/400/400/0_0_2572_3319.jpg" alt="Page 1; American Milestone Documents" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;padding: 7px;"></a> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/4346726/?xid=524"><img src="http://img6.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/4346726/400/400/0_0_2568_3316.jpg" alt="Page 2; American Milestone Documents" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;padding: 7px;"></a></div><br /><br />Here's my transcription of this early draft:<br /><blockquote>Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal."<br /><br />Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, while it can never forget what they did here. <br /><br />It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.</blockquote><br /><br />It's interesting to compare this with the address Lincoln gave (<a href="http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/images/Gettysburg-2.jpg">here's the version on the Lincoln Memorial</a>) and see how he worked through the details.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-27182923810760041822009-11-11T16:33:00.006-07:002009-11-18T17:20:30.034-07:00World War I Ends - November 11, 1918On November 11, 1918, Germany agreed to the terms of an armistice ending World War 1.<br /><br />Here are a few newspaper pages reporting the end of the war:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13607/great_war_ends/"><img src="http://img3.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/159294503/400/400/72_185_5540_3406.jpg" alt="Great War Ends" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br />The Chicago Tribune Nov 11, 1918<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13608/germans_sign_armistice_world_war_comes/"><img src="http://img0.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/92912180/400/400/88_80_5200_3286.jpg" alt="Germans Sign Armistice World War Comes to End" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br />The Atlanta Constitution - Nov 11, 1918<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13606/great_war_over/"><img src="http://img5.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/224947425/400/400/82_362_4704_2274.jpg" alt="Great War Over" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br />San Francisco Chronicle Nov 11, 1918<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13605/armistice_signed_ending_world_war_i/"><img src="http://img2.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/225426722/400/400/1057_826_3305_2241.jpg" alt="Armistice signed ending World War I - 1918" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;" /></a><br />Washington Post Nov 12, 1918<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13706/the_armistice_signed/"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/31150547/400/400/1384_48_1299_1002.jpg" alt="The Armistice Signed" style="border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 4px;"></a><br />The Times (London) - Nov 12, 1918<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-79772067311682488522009-11-11T09:51:00.005-07:002009-11-11T10:08:42.795-07:00NARA Asks for Input on Motion Picture File FormatsToday, on <a href="http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=502">the NARAtions blog</a>, the folks at the National Archives are asking how we would like them to make their motion picture archives available. <br /><br />I'm hoping for a streaming solution and one that will make them embeddable. Be sure to give them your input.<br /><br />In celebration of Veterans Day, here's a WWII news reel from NARA's collection:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalDOSearch?hitLimit=2000&searchExpression=38957"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiVK8ziGJZK0fhVyAINNdXOQK5J8krYHGYS6BQGD7odaOdj22SGPKPY_qCUSPjNw7g7fTWLjk9B0gT-uKtLjSR1JZpzNLThkxu-rKEhKal8EtSKsPSz1Cws27G4SqvxAfU7txipGqoH4/s400/NARA+News+Reel.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402890532942864242" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-19469489139417898932009-11-06T17:01:00.004-07:002009-11-06T18:25:58.947-07:00D W Griffith's The Birth of a NationD W Griffith's epic 1915 film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004972/"><font style="font-style: italic;">The Birth of a Nation</font></a>, is widely considered Hollywood's first blockbuster. <br /><br />The movie, which alternates between intimate family shots and grand battle scenes with thousands of actors, includes everything from love scenes to the burning of Atlanta. It introduced new film techniques, and cost the equivalent of over 2 million dollars to make.<br /><br />This 1915 ad from the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/228145084/news_poughkeepsie_journal/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Poughkeepsie Journal</span></a> calls it, "The greatest dramatic narrative of the century" and claims that the film has been "Seen by Over Five Million People."<br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13534/1915_ad_for_d_w_griffiths_epic_the/"><img src="http://img7.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/231544047/400/400/54_3917_3911_1236.jpg" alt="1915 Ad for D W Griffith's Epic The Birth of a Nation " style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;"></a></div><br /><br />Admission to the film was $2 (equivalent to about $44 today) and theaters were sold out for days. Here's <a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/92851454/">a December 12, 1915 review in the Atlanta Constitution</a> that describes the "clamors of hundreds turned away." <br /><br />In <a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13532/">this article</a>, Griffith justifies the ticket price and predicts future movie prices as high as $5.<br /><br />The plot, which is based on Thomas Dixon's novel and play <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clansman"><font style="font-style: italic;">The Clansman</font></a> (the film was originally released under that title), follows two families, one from the North and the other from the South, before, during and after the Civil War and depicts the Ku Klux Klan rising from the chaos of reconstruction to establish order in the post-war South.<br /><br />By modern standards, parts of the film are melodramatic and overdone to the point of silliness, but Griffith used all the tools available to him to create a spectacle that moved audiences in 1915 and is still powerful today.<br /><br />Even in its own day, critics blasted the historical inaccuracies and racist nature of the film. The inflammatory narrative lead to violence against African-Americans and rioting in some locations and several major cities canceled performances of the film.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/231544105/">This 1915 review</a> in the Poughkeepsie Journal focused on the spectacle of the show and concludes with, "The play is, as has often been said, rather partisan, and the reconstruction part very much overdrawn and exaggerated, but it furnishes a thrilling drama with the picturesque Ku Klux to the rescue."<br /><br />In looking through other contemporary newspaper coverage of the film, it was interesting to see the way people responded to the movie. In some cases, it's hard to know what was hype and promotion and what were sincere expressions, but I was struck by statements like this one from a pre-performance article in the Poughkeepsie Journal extolling the "historical worth of this great spectacle."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13537/this_realistic_picture_of_history/"><img src="http://img2.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/231544082/400/400/1720_2246_552_278.jpg" alt=""This realistic picture of history..." The Birth of a Nation" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;"></a><br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/92856218/">This two page ad</a> in the Atlanta Constitution includes many endorsements, including one quoting "Prof. Richard A. Dobbie, Superintendent Norfolk City Schools" as saying, "The Birth of a Nation reproduces historical events with marvelous fidelity."<br /><br />This ad/article, published before the movie came to Atlanta, mentions that three citizens requested the mayor ban the film and then quotes several people in support of it, including "Mrs. Frank Anthony Walke, president of the Norfolk chapter of the U. D. C." who said: "The Birth of a Nation is wonderful. There are a few things that are not agreeable, but to make history correct this has to be with the pleasant. ... It is a revelation and all southerners should see it and glory in its teachings."<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/13539/article_or_advertisement/"><img src="http://img4.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/91053614/400/400/866_2244_1449_1680.jpg" alt="Article or Advertisement?" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 4px;"></a><br /></div><br />I don't think many people today would consider using Griffith's film to teach history, but the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_birth_of_a_nation">Wikipedia article</a> about it claims that, "As late as the 1970s, the Ku Klux Klan continued to use the film as a recruitment tool."<br /><br />The Birth of a Nation is now in the public domain. In fact, you can watch it online in its entirety at the Internet Archive, <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/dw_griffith_birth_of_a_nation">here.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-31799242594337195172009-11-03T18:21:00.001-07:002009-11-03T20:10:18.088-07:00Civil War Photos OnlineA friend at the office sent me a link to <a href="http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/index.html">this site</a> with a nice collection Civil War era photos from the Library of Congress.<br /><br />I liked the photo of <a href="http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/pages/LincolnFirstInauguration.html">Lincoln's first inauguration</a> against the backdrop of the Capitol dome under construction, <a href="http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/pages/CapitolTrinityChurch.html">this one</a> of the Old Trinity church with the Capitol in the background and <a href="http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/pages/HarpersFerry2.html">this one</a> taken from the cemetery at Harper's Ferry.<br /><br />This image of Richmond is particularly striking with the ruins of the Gallego Mills overlooking the river.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/pages/RichmondCanal.html"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh228MkcwuWHmBaOIUPxUNFV3VgCv6XXTBdCFVwxQmODHZknsDsMhRoz_ozVLNFEy-nEDwYSyU8QkpITqTZ-6dHGDHz8Rvc-tXkbeNxktV8lffdA27oHHh0RhpeS-e4KGPfZFfMC7sOHE0/s400/LOCimageRichmond.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400019216967019858" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a very similar picture that comes from NARA's <a href="http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=285">recent project</a> to put the Brady Photos on Flickr:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3995272793/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcP77MVXxhize5nR7B_XcJ7BDU26QMD5qzo1xIL5m8ASppsmaTGgqFcw_w4zuPlfBuikZUEnRKmSwrSKKG7lpFI5H6OGLum31hs4Nx878VFdkmyx_evmgsWfbIwhyHkRKGMSdvwlyYtHo/s400/NARARichmond1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400025077486569026" border="0" /></a>The two photos are almost identical, but there are a few small differences and judging from the left bank of the canal, the one from NARA seems to have been taken from a little farther back.<br /><br />And here's another picture of Richmond's ruined mills from the NARA Photo Stream:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/3996076078/in/set-72157622549882756/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmfyfSCoKuxQw8JIbEsSK7vYaYiHvEHF1YiMxmvHTlG7lo3O1XSQxIm6E0Na7NA2b_AYj_dGaJv_b7JJY948MZN4UL64NNbCNt2Ek_uP30P2WKJK95_uPo5Z3ceNwJ4eiiT96-QPCDAM/s400/NARArichmond2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400024386086413346" border="0" /></a>You'll find more information about Gallego mills <a href="http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=23880">here</a> and a picture of them before the fire <a href="http://www.vahistorical.org/lva/gallego.htm">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-36684570885304241652009-10-19T11:58:00.008-06:002009-10-19T17:18:07.023-06:00Photos from the Coolidge YearsOne of the fun things about <a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=wl0SjaPnl8k&offerid=150188.785261916&type=10&subid=">Footnote</a> is finding something interesting in a collection and then just getting lost in surrounding or related documents.<br /><br />The other night, I got into the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/5630565/photos_coolidge/?xid=524">Calvin Coolidge photos</a> and used the filmstrip at the bottom of the viewer to browse around.<br /><br />The Coolidge photos were scanned from microfilm, which gives many of the images a striking, high contrast look which seems appropriate for this shot of Cecil B Demille working on his 1923 silent film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014532/">The Ten Commandments</a>:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5630810/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 288px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5630810&crop=2200,1100,2000,1500&width=386&height=288" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Cecil B Demille instructs Ramses (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0211191/">Charles de Rochefort</a>) and Moses (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0731623/">Theodore Roberts</a>)</span><br /></div><br />Here are a few other interesting photos I came across.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5630773/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 346px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5630773&crop=100,480,3900,4500&width=346&height=400" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">A cheerful greeting from President Calvin Coolidge</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5630688/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 386px; height: 288px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5630688&crop=1175,1100,3000,2239&width=386&height=288" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Secretary of Agriculture <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cantwell_Wallace">Henry Cantwell Wallace</a> in Chicago with "the champion canning club team"</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5630984/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5630984&crop=100,190,2500,2800&width=357;height=400" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">President Coolidge as Chief Leading Eagle after being adopted as the first white chief of the Sioux Tribe</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5630638/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5630638&crop=3490,270,2900,3500&width=331;height=400" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Major General James G Harbord and Brigadier General Charles G Dawes "deliver the goods" in Paris</span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/5631333/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 395px; height: 295px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=5631333&crop=150,120,3600,2700&width=395&height=295" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Former President Coolidge, gone fishin'</span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-33515760110511236152009-10-17T11:17:00.003-06:002009-10-21T13:02:22.609-06:00Doctored PhotosHere's <a href="http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1924226,00.html">an interesting Time article</a> about doctored photos starting with an example from the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/4289899/brady_civil_war_photos/">Brady Collection</a>.<br /><br />A while back, <a href="http://www.footnote.com/profile/blake/?xid=524">Blake</a> found and interesting example of photo doctoring on Footnote.<br /><br />Here's a picture of Omaha beach after the D-day invasions, scanned from a mounted card in <a href="http://www.archives.gov/">NARA</a>'s image collection:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/document/35468668/"><img src="http://img8.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/35468668/400/400/0_0_4516_3551.jpg" alt="Page 44; Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies..." style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br />The planes at the top add to the excitement, but it looks like they were added to the picture. Here's what appears to be the same picture, but without the planes flying overhead:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.footnote.com/image/232710831/"><img src="http://img1.footnote.com/img/thumbnail/232710831/400/400/0_0_1046_798.jpg" alt="D-Day Omaha Beach June 1944.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 7px;" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update [Oct 21, 2009]: </span><span>The New York Times is running <a href="http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-case-of-the-inappropriate-alarm-clock/">a seven part series by Errol Morris</a> exploring the manipulation of photos. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4645298883935841987.post-22452452171443545212009-10-14T16:35:00.020-06:002009-10-15T10:49:01.045-06:00Cataloging a Stolen HeritageAs Allied forces made their way into Germany toward the close of World War II in Europe, US Zone Commanders were instructed to impound certain types of artifacts that the German Reich, Nazi Party and others had taken from individuals and institutions in Germany and countries they had occupied.<br /><br />The army set up temporary collecting points for the various types of impounded items and then cataloged the collections as they tried to find out where things belonged.<br /><br />At <a href="http://www.archives.gov/">NARA</a>, the records of these looted items are grouped as the “Ardelia Hall Collection” because Ardelia Hall, the US State Department’s Arts and Monuments Adviser worked extensively with the records from 1954 to 1961.<br /><br />You can read more details about the collecting points, the process of sorting through the arifacts and the Ardelia Hall collection <a href="http://www.footnote.com/pdf/M1942.pdf?xid=524">here</a>.<br /><br />The other day, I found some interesting things while poking around the <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/231812253/ardelia_hall_collection_wiesbaden_property/?xid=524">Wiesbaden Property Cards</a> from the Ardelia Hall Collection in Footnote's <a href="http://go.footnote.com/holocaust/?xid=524">Holocaust Collection</a> (the Ardelia Hall titles are included in a group called <a href="http://www.footnote.com/documents/_114/?xid=524">Holocaust Era Assets</a>).<br /><br />Most of the material at the Wiesbaden Collection point came from German holdings, like these from the <a href="http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=29&n=1">Staatliche Museen in Berlin</a>:<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/232000869/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 262px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=232000869&crop=250,1100,3136,2051&width=400&height=262" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio">Caravaggio</a>'s </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/european_paintings/the_holy_family_with_the_infant_saint_john_the_baptist_caravaggio_michelangelo_merisi/objectview.aspx?collID=11&OID=110003041"><span style="font-style: italic;">Holy Family</span></a><br /></span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/231947855/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=231947855&crop=270,1280,3300,2051&width=400&height=249" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt">Rembrant</a>'s <a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rembrandt/rembrandt170.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Head of Christ</span></a></span><br /></div><br />But, some of the works cataloged at Wiesbaden we presumed taken from other countries, like this work by Taesler which may have been from Russia :<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/232063958/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=232063958&crop=130,950,3300,2051&width=400&height=249" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /></div>Other works came from individuals, like this scene painted by Kobell which may have belonged to Siegfried Reiss:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/232027201/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=232027201&crop=170,975,3300,2085&width=400&height=253" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;">In many cases, there was no way of knowing where the items came from and for some</span>, the collectors had only a general idea of where the item belonged, as with this portrait by Poeckh, presumed to have a "Jewish Owner":<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/232027222/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=232027222&crop=235,890,3300,2085&width=400&height=253" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> I don't know what they did with all the items they could not identify, but I came across several works with an note like the following:</span><br /><blockquote>"By order of Mr. Theodore A Heinrich Cult. Aff. Adviser Propert. Div. OEA HICOG. This object has been destroyed as being of no historical and arthistorical value."</blockquote><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/231958907/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=231958907&crop=750,890,3300,2085&width=400&height=253" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Is the lack of historical or "arthistorical" value reason enough to destroy someone else's painting?<br /><br />It made me wonder what <a href="http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/monumentsmen/bio.php?personID=136">Mr Theodore A Heinrich</a> thought about as he ordered the destruction of these stolen pieces of the cultural heritage of nations and people who had suffered so many other tragedies at the hand of the Nazis. Sounds like a pretty tough job. There is more information about Mr Heinrich <a href="http://library2.usask.ca/srsd/manuscripts/heinrich.htm">here</a>.<br /><br />This picture in particular, with the note, "Destroyed by order of the Director," struck me:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footnote.com/image/231958794/?xid=524"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.footnote.com/thumbnail.php?image=231958794&crop=850,1000,3300,2085&width=400&height=253" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Who was she? Did she have a family? Did a concentration camp administrator order her destruction? Did Allied commanders order a bombing raid that destroyed her home? Was this the only picture there was of her?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0