Images

Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.english.udel.edu/lemay/franklin

Author:

J.A. Leo Lemay

Excerpt:

I began compiling Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History as a source for a biography of Franklin. I gradually came to think that it had scholarly value of its own, though I still intend it to be the basic documentation for the biography. Since the Documentary History (DH) is arranged chronologically, the dates in the biography can be readily checked in the DH, where bibliographical references are given. The DH calendars but does not print Franklin's writings. It refers to The Papers of Benjamin Franklin far more frequently than to any other source, citing the Papers for the innumerable scholarly contributions made by that great edition. Since The Papers of Benjamin Franklin is also arranged chronologically, the date itself in the DH can serve as a reference to the Papers.

Annotation:

This site presents a 7-Volume "Documentary History" of Benjamin Franklin with content useful for researchers and educators. The content was originally compiled by historian J. A. Leo Lemay of the University of Delaware, writing a biography of Franklin. Volume One of the Documentary History abstracts all contemporary references to Franklin. Naturally the Documentary History becomes more detailed as Benjamin Franklin became older. The latter volumes are more selective, but at least for the first three volumes (until his departure from America in 1757), Lemay attempted to include all references regarding Franklin's whereabouts and his opinions. Lemay believes that the documentary history is more accessible and useful online than as a series of expensive, ponderous volumes. In essence Lemay is correct, however the site's technology is out of date, making it difficult to use and read.

Panoramic Photographs

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/panoramic_photography/panoramic_home.html

Author:

National Archives and Records Administration

Excerpt:

This exhibit of panoramic photographs is but a small sample of the wide variety of panoramic images in NARA`s still picture holdings located at the National Archives Building at College Park, Maryland. The exhibit photographs date from approximately 1864 until 1937. The vast majority of the collection, however, dates from the World War I era.

Annotation:

Online exhibit drawing on "The Long View: Panoramic Photography from the National Archives," which was displayed at the National Archives at College Park from August 15, 1998 through May 1, 2000. Collection of twenty-three panoramic photographs, many of military subjects, which are also viewable interactively through QuickTime Panoramic. Includes links to other areas of the National Archives site.

Emma Spaulding Bryant Letters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/bryant/

Author:

The Digital Scriptorium, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University

Excerpt:

Emma Spaulding Bryant wrote these ten letters to her husband, John Emory Bryant, in the summer of 1873. They recount Emma's activities during that summer when she and her daughter, Alice, were visiting relatives in Illinois and Ohio while her husband tended to his political affairs in Georgia.

In particular, the letters describe Emma's visits to a doctor in Cleveland for "uterine difficulties" that had been ailing her for some time. Although we do not have her husband's letters to her from this period, it appears that he accused her of adultery with the doctor and berated her for not being obedient to him. Many of Emma's letters from this period have markings in red pencil, presumably made by John to highlight the sections of her letters that he found suspicious. Emma's responses to John's accusations are indignant, and she rebuts each of his points eloquently and emphatically.

Because these letters are unusually frank for this time period, they reveal much about the relationships between husbands and wives in this era, and shed light on medical practices that were often kept private.

Annotation:

Features ten letters written in the summer 1873 from Emma Spaulding Bryant to John Bryant, her husband and a politician in the Georgia Republican Party after the Civil War. The letters, taken from the John Bryant Papers at Duke University, are accompanied by images and background notes. These documents are "unusually frank for this time period," according to the author of the site, and they "reveal much about the relationships between husbands and wives in this era, and shed light on medical practices that were often kept private." Presented by Duke's Digital Scriptorium, which provides "access to historical documentation through the use of innovative technology and collaborative development projects with Duke University faculty, students, and staff."

Thomas A. Edison Papers

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://edison.rutgers.edu/

Author:

Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, National Park Service, New Jersey Historical Commission, Smithsonian Institution

Excerpt:

The extensive collection of papers preserved in the archive at the Edison National Historic Site—approximately 5 million pages in all—is the product of Thomas Alva Edison's sixty-year career as inventor, manufacturer, and businessman. Until now, the sheer size and organizational complexity of the archive have deterred researchers from delving extensively into its wealth of documentary resources. With the publication of the selective microfilm and book editions, these historically significant papers are for the first time readily available to scholars and other researchers. Because the arrangement of the documents on the microfilm parallels the organizational structure of the archive itself, it is helpful to understand how the records of Edison's laboratories and companies were generated during his own lifetime and how the archivists entrusted with their guardianship have subsequently treated them.

Annotation:

This site is a vast database of Thomas Edison's papers including 71,000 pages of correspondence and 12,000 pages of technical drawings. Processes for searching the site are complicated and visitors are recommended to read a 3,000-word guide to searching it. The site may be searched by name, date, or document type, by Folder/Volume, or by Series notes. Series collect documents in groups, such as scrapbooks and legal papers. The site includes over 2,000 facsimiles of Edison patents from 1868 to 1931 for products such as the electric lamp and the phonograph. More than 7,000 clippings from 103 journals and newspapers discuss Edison's achievements. Journals range from the American Engineer to the Westminster Gazette. "Document Sampler" contains over 20 documents including Edison's wife's design for a light bulb and a list of 19 different possible names for the phonograph. A collection of photographs, maps, and prints depict Edison, his environs, and his inventions. There are two chronologies of Edison's life on the site, the longer one running 13,0000-word. The site offers an 8,000-word essay on Edison's companies and over 20 pages about Edison and the development of the motion picture industry. A 70-item bibliography and a shorter 10-item version direct visitors to books and articles about Edison. The site links to 20 Edison-related websites. Because it is somewhat difficult to search, this site will be most useful to experienced researchers.