Portraits Collection Now Available in State Library Digital Collections Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Posted by aramsey in Archives, digital collections, history.Tags: portraits
add a comment
Connecticut Senate Session of 1925
The Connecticut State Library has recently completed the digitization of a portion of the photographs from the Connecticut General Assembly Portraits (PG 540) which is now available in the Portraits collection in its digital collections. The collection consists of 192 historical portraits of Connecticut state officials including governors (circa 1862, 1865, 1901-1905, 1925, 1957), constitutionally elected officers (circa 1844-1866, 1901-1912, 1919-1924), executive branch officials (1889-1957), General Assembly members (circa 1844-1957), and General Assembly committees (1889-1935). From time to time the Connecticut State Library hopes to add to this collection.
Chauncey Hosford War of 1812 Papers Now Available in Digital Collections Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Posted by aramsey in Archives, digital collections, history.Tags: War of 1812
add a comment
Attention deserters from the 25th Regiment U.S. Infantry
The Connecticut State Library has recently completed the digitization of the Chauncey Hosford War of 1812 papers, which is now available in its digital collections. During the War of 1812, Chauncey Hosford (1784-1855) enlisted as a first lieutenant in Capt. Elizur Warner’s Company of the United States Infantry Thirty-seventh Regiment on April 30, 1813. His prior military service included a commission as ensign in the Third Company of the Fourteenth Regiment of Connecticut Militia as of April 28, 1810. The Thirty-seventh Regiment was stationed at Fort Griswold in New London.
Hosford was assigned to the recruiting service and spent much of the time in his home town of Canaan in Litchfield County recruiting men from the area. Most of this collection of 101 items reflects his recruiting activities. Included is correspondence, orders, weekly recruiting returns that list the names and towns of recruits, and receipts for recruiting expenses. Also included is a muster roll for Capt. Elizur Warner’s Company.
The Chauncey Hosford War of 1812 Papers was donated to the Connecticut State Library by David A. Gibbs and researched by Rosemary Pereira in 2012 and is part of the David Arthur Gibbs Collection of Hosford and Gibbs Family Papers.
Connecticut Made Holiday Gift Ideas…circa 1895-1955 Monday, December 10, 2012
Posted by capittsley in Museum, digital collections.Tags: DigitalCollections, Museum of Connecticut History, Holiday, advertisements, Connecticut manufacturing
add a comment
Need some ideas for Holiday Gifts this year? Try the Museum of Connecticut History’s guide to gifts manufactured right here in Connecticut! From American Flyer Trains to Royal Portable Typewriter, there’s a gift for everyone on your list.
The catch – the gifts featured in this advertisement collection might be hard to find – the advertisements date from 1895 to 1956. They hark back to an era in which gift-giving was more gender-specific and in which men were led to believe that women truly wanted and appreciated the gift of an electrical appliance.
Did you ever give or receive any of these gifts? Tell us your stories of your own “Made in Connecticut” Christmas!
Final Twenty-two Towns Added to the WPA Architectural Survey Collection Friday, July 27, 2012
Posted by capittsley in Archives, digital collections, history, updates.Tags: archives, DigitalCollections, historic buildings, historic homes, WPA
add a comment
The Connecticut State Library is pleased to announce the completion of the WPA Architectural Survey digitization project. We have just added the final twenty-two towns to our online collection of historic homes and buildings. The newly added towns are Wallingford, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, Westbrook, West Hartford, West Haven, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Willington, Wilton, Winchester, Windham, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, and Woodstock.
John Barker house, Wallingford
Digitized materials include survey forms and photos from the Census of Old Buildings in Connecticut. Also known as “The WPA House Survey”, the project took place from 1934 through 1937 under the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). The survey forms provide descriptions of nearly 5,000 buildings. Photographs were taken of most buildings and clipped to the survey forms. Some forms also include sketches of interior and/or exterior architectural details and a brief history of the building.
Thirty-nine New Towns Added to the WPA Architectural Survey Collection Monday, May 21, 2012
Posted by capittsley in Archives, digital collections, history, updates.Tags: archives, DigitalCollections, historic buildings, historic homes, WPA
add a comment
The Connecticut State Library has just added twenty-one new towns to our online collection of historic homes from the WPA Architectural Survey. The newly added towns are Plainfield, Plainville, Plymouth, Pomfret, Portland, Preston, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Ridgefield, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Salisbury, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Shelton, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Stafford, Stamford, Sterling, Stonington, Stratford, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Trumbull, Union, Vernon, and Voluntown.
Gurdon Marchant house, Redding
Digitized materials include survey forms and photos from the Census of Old Buildings in Connecticut. Also known as “The WPA House Survey”, the project took place from 1934 through 1937 under the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). The survey forms provide descriptions of nearly 5,000 buildings. Photographs were taken of most buildings and clipped to the survey forms. Some forms also include sketches of interior and/or exterior architectural details and a brief history of the building.
Nathaniel Lyon Diary and Cash Book No. 2 Now Available In Digital Collections Friday, May 11, 2012
Posted by aramsey in Archives, digital collections.Tags: account books, diaries, military
add a comment
Nathaniel Lyon cash book no 2
The Connecticut State Library has recently completed the digitization of the Nathaniel Lyon diary, circa 1845-1847, and cash book no. 2, circa 1856-1861, which are now available in its Digital Collections. Lt. Nathaniel Lyon kept the diary while serving in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War. The diary also includes approximately seventeen pages of account entries detailing his expenditures from circa 1845-1847.
Captain Nathaniel Lyon kept cash book no. 2 from 1856-1861 while serving in the United States Army at Kansas. The cash book contains information about accounts received and disbursements made by Lyon. Included in the cash book is account entries detailing disbursements made for the provisioning of Company B, 2nd Infantry, United States Army. Entries for payment of provisions include flour, bacon, potatoes, onions, etc.
Political Buttons now in Flickr Monday, April 23, 2012
Posted by capittsley in digital collections, history, Museum, updates.Tags: campaigns, Connecticut, Museum of Connecticut History, political buttons, politicians
add a comment
Just in time for the beginning of the political season here in Connecticut, the Museum of Connecticut History is proud to bring you the buttons of political campaigns past. This collection of nearly 1,000 Connecticut political campaign buttons were donated by Mr. James Cassidy of Greenwich and can be found on our Flickr page.
Gubernatorial campaign buttons for Wilbur L. Cross and opponent Arthur M. Brown. Cross was governor of Connecticut from 1931-1939.
Included in the collection are buttons from campaigns for Governor, Lieutenant Governor (until 1966 the Governor and Lieutenant Governor were elected separately), Treasurer, Secretary of the State, Attorney General and Comptroller. In addition there are buttons from races for U.S. Senator and Representative as well as examples of materials from local political campaigns. Winners and losers are both represented. The Museum has a sizable collection of Connecticut political memorabilia and there is some duplication in the new acquisition, but examples of buttons not previously in the collection far outnumber the duplicates. Connecticut political history is one of the Museum‘s three primary collecting areas, the others being military and industrial history. Of the three, political history is the hardest to illustrate, and artifacts such as campaign buttons, bumper stickers, lawn signs and similar materials are significant ways of linking abstract political ideas to the politicians who espouse them.
Blizzard of 1888 Photographs Now Available in Digital Collections, Flickr, and Historypin Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Posted by aramsey in Archives, digital collections, history.Tags: blizzard, Flickr, Hartford, historypin
add a comment
Main St. looking south
The Connecticut State Library has recently completed the digitization of the Blizzard of 1888 photographs (PG 448), which is now available in its digital collections, Flickr site, and Historypin channel. The collection consists of 72 photographs taken of Hartford and its immediate surroundings both during and after the blizzard. The photographs are almost exclusively albumen prints taken by photographers E.P. Kellogg, R.C. Buell, William B. Lloyd, and William H. Lockwood. Lockwood compiled 37 photographs into a book entitled, “The Great Snow Storm,” which he donated to the Connecticut State Library in 1916.
PDF files may not open properly in Internet Explorer Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Posted by jcullinaneatcsl in digital collections, updates.Tags: DigitalCollections
1 comment so far
Internet Explorer users may see only a grey screen when trying to open PDF files. This is due to a bug with Adobe Reader version 10.1.2. You should not have this problem with other browsers. This link to the Adobe site, explains the problems and solutions for continuing to work in Internet Explorer. Adobe plans to include a fix in their next quarterly release, presumably in April. This bug affects at least some of the PDF files in the State Library Digital Collections.
Freedom Trail Quilts now in Flickr Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Posted by capittsley in digital collections, history, Museum, updates.Tags: Black History Month, celebration of black history, connecticut freedom trail, Freedom Trail, Freedom Trail Quilts, Museum of Connecticut History
add a comment
In celebration of Black History Month, the Museum of Connecticut History’s Freedom Trail Quilts are now on Flickr! This collection of Freedom Trail Quilts shows the individual blocks–many of which commemorate Underground Railroad sites in Connecticut, as well as the entire quilt block from each of the four regions of Connecticut.
In 1995, the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the designation of some forty public and private historic properties to form a network which would convey the dramatic and important story of Connecticut’s African-American experience - the Connecticut Freedom Trail. Included are historic properties which have been deemed worthy for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Landmarks and the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Among the gravesites, monuments, homes and other structures included are sites associated with the Underground Railroad, the Amistad Case, and such notable persons as Paul Robeson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Prudence Crandall.
In 1997, a grass roots citizens group of interested volunteers from every corner of the State came together to form the Freedom Trail Planning Committee. They dedicated their time and efforts to creating a lasting tribute to the Connecticut Freedom Trail through one of the most traditional of American art forms – quilting. Four quilts, representing each region of Connecticut, were completed in 1998.
