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Rare Book News & Events

• August News from the Librarian of Congress August 5, 2020
  Friends, What an eventful summer this has been. I hope that you are staying well as we begin another month in a most unusual year. As August begins, all Library of Congress buildings and facilities remain closed to the public until further notice. You can continue to check the latest information regarding our COVID-19 response […]
• Celebrating Independence Day July 2, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are doing well. As we enter into July, it is hard to believe the many changes and challenges we’ve had to face in our world in just the past few months. The upcoming July 4th holiday is another reminder of the ways we’ve all had to adjust and rework communal […]
• Celebrating Juneteenth & More June 19, 2020
  Friends, Today is Juneteenth, thought to be the longest running celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, notice of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people finally reached Texas through an order read aloud by Union General Gordon Grange in Galveston. The word arrived a whopping two and a […]
• Cultural Institutions in Times of Social Unrest June 10, 2020
  Friends, Once again, America finds itself confronting difficult questions about race and inequality. The struggle for freedom and equality dates back to our nation’s founding, and it is possible to find context and inspiration in the words of those who have fought for a more perfect union since the beginning. But, libraries offer more than […]
• Memorial Day Weekend Update from the Library of Congress May 22, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you and your families remain well this month. On Monday, we will observe Memorial Day, honoring the service and sacrifices of members of our armed forces. Our nation is strong and it endures because of the men and women who give it their all in protecting and preserving our democracy. Since […]
• The Library of Congress Turns 220 April 24, 2020
  In 1800, as part of an act of Congress providing for the removal of the new national government from Philadelphia to Washington, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5,000 for books for the use of Congress—the beginning of the Library of Congress. Since that beginning 220 years ago, the Library has grown […]
• A Message from the Librarian of Congress April 10, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are taking care or yourselves and your families as we settle into a new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times, the Library of Congress buildings remain closed to the public with all public events currently canceled through May 11. However, while our physical doors may be closed, […]
• Rare Book News & Events Update February 19, 2020
  Join RBSCD for our next Thursdays at 3:00 talk! Rare and Unique works on Ichthyology from 1500-1900 at the Library of Congress by Andrew Gaudio February 27, 2020 at 3:00pm in the Lessing J. Rosenwald Room In this talk Mr. Gaudio will explore The Fishes of North America (1898), a periodical acquired by the Science, Business, […]
• Rare Book News & Events Update January 6, 2020
  Happy New Year from your friends in RBSCD!  Mark your calendars for TWO upcoming Thursdays @ 3:00 talks in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. The British and American Founding of Parliamentary Science, 1774 – 1801by Peter J. Aschenbrenner February 6, 2020 at 3:00Lessing J. Rosenwald Room In this presentation, Mr. Aschenbrenner will introduce the audience […]
• Thanks for Your Support! December 30, 2019
  Thank You! Thank you for all you do to support the nation’s Library. With new books, films, and music arriving every day, the Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Whether you support us with a gift or simply by spreading the word about what we do, you help us in our […]
• Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019! December 20, 2019
  Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019 The Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Visit our new exhibitions, join us for our events and educational programs and participate in our activities that connect you with millions of people around the world. Join the community of people that helps […]
• TODAY: Ignite the Power of Ideas December 3, 2019
  Make Your Gift to the Nation's Library The day has arrived—#GivingTuesday—a day when your gift makes a difference and a statement. The Library of Congress depends on the support of people like you for its exhibitions, programs, events and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with its unique […]
• Ignite the Power of Ideas November 26, 2019
  On Tuesday, December 3, we ask you to make a gift to the Library of Congress in celebration of #GivingTuesday—a global giving movement. Your gift supports exhibitions, events, programs and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with the unique collections, experts and services here at the nation’s library. […]
• Rare Book and Special Collections Update November 21, 2019
  The Itinerant Printer: A look at contemporary letterpress printing across North AmericaThursday, December 5 @ 3:00pmLessing J. Rosenwald Room, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress Please join RBSCD for an afternoon with Chris Fritton, aka the Itinerant Printer. In 2014, Fritton resigned as the Studio Director of the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo, […]
• Rare Book News and Events Update October 29, 2019
    Greetings from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division! We are pleased to announce the release of two new Finding Aids:   The Early American Paper Money Collection The Early American Paper Money Collection contains bills issued primarily by the Continental Congress and the original thirteen colonies. The collection also includes examples of Continental […]
• Rare Book News & Events UPDATE July 15, 2019
  The Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the gift/purchase of the archive of Walter Hamady and The Perishable Press Limited. The Perishable Press was founded by artist, printer, publisher, papermaker, and poet Walter Hamady in Detroit, 1964. Relocating in 1966 to Madison with two intermediate rural […]
• Rare Book News & Events UPDATE July 5, 2019
  Join the Rare Book and Special Collections Division on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 3:00pm in the Rosenwald Room for Print in a Manuscript Realm: The Use of Hand-Stamps in the Decoration of Renaissance Nautical Charts. In this talk, map historian Chet Van Duzer will discuss his new research into an almost unknown episode in […]
• Rare Book News & Events UPDATE May 2, 2019
  This talk will be held on Thursday, May 16 at 3:00pm in the Rosenwald Room at the Library of Congress. Please join The Rare Book and Special Collections Division as we host Caroline Koons to speak about her current project, Composing Civic Harmony between Declaration and Inauguration. This project looks at songs printed as broadsides […]
• Rare Book News & Events May 2, 2019
  Please join The Rare Book and Special Collections Division as we host Caroline Koons to speak about her current project, Composing Civic Harmony between Declaration and Inauguration. This project looks at songs printed as broadsides from 1776 to 1783. Koons argues that during this formative period in American identity--between the Declaration of Independence and inauguration […]
• Rare Book News & Events April 3, 2019
  Autographs of European notables, 1422-1879 Records of the autograph letters, manuscripts, and documents written or subscribed by the Kings and Queens or other rulers of England, Germany, Spain, and Italy, including the Popes of Rome, and Rulers of France, including the Napoleonic collection. The documents are written in the language of the country under which […]

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

• August News from the Librarian of Congress August 5, 2020
  Friends, What an eventful summer this has been. I hope that you are staying well as we begin another month in a most unusual year. As August begins, all Library of Congress buildings and facilities remain closed to the public until further notice. You can continue to check the latest information regarding our COVID-19 response […]
• Celebrating Independence Day July 2, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are doing well. As we enter into July, it is hard to believe the many changes and challenges we’ve had to face in our world in just the past few months. The upcoming July 4th holiday is another reminder of the ways we’ve all had to adjust and rework communal […]
• Celebrating Juneteenth & More June 19, 2020
  Friends, Today is Juneteenth, thought to be the longest running celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, notice of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people finally reached Texas through an order read aloud by Union General Gordon Grange in Galveston. The word arrived a whopping two and a […]
• Cultural Institutions in Times of Social Unrest June 10, 2020
  Friends, Once again, America finds itself confronting difficult questions about race and inequality. The struggle for freedom and equality dates back to our nation’s founding, and it is possible to find context and inspiration in the words of those who have fought for a more perfect union since the beginning. But, libraries offer more than […]
• Memorial Day Weekend Update from the Library of Congress May 22, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you and your families remain well this month. On Monday, we will observe Memorial Day, honoring the service and sacrifices of members of our armed forces. Our nation is strong and it endures because of the men and women who give it their all in protecting and preserving our democracy. Since […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: Newspaper Navigator Announced: Extracting Photos, Maps, and Comics from over 16 Million Newspaper Pages! May 14, 2020
  Newspaper Navigator Announced: Extracting Photos, Maps, and Comics from over 16 Million Newspaper Pages! May 14, 2020 Last week the Library of Congress Labs team shared some exciting news about the first phase of the Newspaper Navigator project. Led by Ben Lee, Innovator-in-Residence at the Library of Congress, Newspaper Navigator uses machine learning techniques to […]
• The Library of Congress Turns 220 April 24, 2020
  In 1800, as part of an act of Congress providing for the removal of the new national government from Philadelphia to Washington, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5,000 for books for the use of Congress—the beginning of the Library of Congress. Since that beginning 220 years ago, the Library has grown […]
• A Message from the Librarian of Congress April 10, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are taking care or yourselves and your families as we settle into a new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times, the Library of Congress buildings remain closed to the public with all public events currently canceled through May 11. However, while our physical doors may be closed, […]
• Thanks for Your Support! December 30, 2019
  Thank You! Thank you for all you do to support the nation’s Library. With new books, films, and music arriving every day, the Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Whether you support us with a gift or simply by spreading the word about what we do, you help us in our […]
• Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019! December 20, 2019
  Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019 The Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Visit our new exhibitions, join us for our events and educational programs and participate in our activities that connect you with millions of people around the world. Join the community of people that helps […]
• TODAY: Ignite the Power of Ideas December 3, 2019
  Make Your Gift to the Nation's Library The day has arrived—#GivingTuesday—a day when your gift makes a difference and a statement. The Library of Congress depends on the support of people like you for its exhibitions, programs, events and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with its unique […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: 119 YEARS AGO: "The Gobble," San Francisco Call," Nov. 24, 1901 November 27, 2019
  Not enjoying the Thanksgiving spirit? Here's an unusual poem by Clarence V. Odell describing the turkey-eat-turkey dynamic of a 'gobble,' another name for a flock of the big birds (also known as a 'rafter'). "NINE greedy gobblers having a fete,One ate his head off, then there were eight...." Pity the turkeys... it rarely ends well […]
• Ignite the Power of Ideas November 26, 2019
  On Tuesday, December 3, we ask you to make a gift to the Library of Congress in celebration of #GivingTuesday—a global giving movement. Your gift supports exhibitions, events, programs and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with the unique collections, experts and services here at the nation’s library. […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: Checking Out Baseball’s World Series in Washington 1924, 1925 and 1933 October 25, 2019
  Game 3 of the 2019 World Series gets underway in Washington, DC, tonite and we're excited! Not since 1933 has Washington hosted the championship games of “America’s great pastime,” baseball! In 1924, Washington’s then-home baseball team, the Washington Senators, won the series and earned bragging rights in 7 games against the New York Giants. Not […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: "FIRE! Destruction of Chicago!" Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11, 1871 October 8, 2019
  Almost 150 years ago on October 8, 1871, the Great Fire of Chicago began in a small dwelling on "the west side"  of the city. Two days later, as the conflagration finally died down, the Chicago Tribune printed a brief two-page issue, its first since the disaster began. Its own home offices devastated by the […]