BPL « Digital Commonwealth News & Announcements

Charleston, SC April 1865 from The Medford Historical Society & Museum — Charleston, SC April 1865, from The Medford Historical Society & Museum

As we pack away the ghosts and goblins of Halloween and prepare for Thanksgiving, let us give thanks:

…to the Annisquam Historical Society for sharing a lovely sketch of the I Am Here schooner amongst its 86 historical documents.
…to the Boston Public Library – and especially to the Leventhal Map Center – for continuing to add too many wonderful items to mention individually.
…to the Medford Historical Society & Museum for adding a superb collection of Civil War photographs, ranging from cartes de visites to battle scenes to fortifications to the haunting photo of a devastated Charleston, S.C. (Left)
…to the Sharon Public Library for a wonderful variety of photos, including photos taken after the Blizzard of ’78. “Foot of my driveway” is exactly the kind of titles I give my photos, but the Cobb’s Corner photos give a better idea of the scale. (Below)

Take a look and let us know what you’re thankful for.

Annisquam Historical Society

Annisquam Historical Society’s Collection of Historical Documents – 86 items

Cobb's Corner, Sharon, February 8, 1978>, from the Sharon Public Library Photo Collection — Cobb’s Corner, Sharon, February 8, 1978>, from the Sharon Public Library Photo Collection

Boston Public Library

Early English Printers – 1 item

Incunabula (Collection of Distinction) – 1 item added to an existing collection

Medieval and Early Renaissance Manuscripts (Collection of Distinction) – 18 items added to an existing collection

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 728 items added to an existing collection

Medford Historical Society & Museum

The Medford Historical Society Civil War Photograph Collection – 742 items

Sharon Public Library

Sharon Public Library Photo Collection – 155 items

World Armenian Congress from the Project SAVE Archives Banquet and Panoramic Photo Collection

Just in time for Armenian Independence Day on September 21, Project SAVE Archives Banquet and Panoramic Photo Collection added 222 items to Digital Commonwealth – including the nearby photo of the World Armenian Congress held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The place was packed! I honestly don’t know how those people got served.

In addition, Needham Free Public Library has added over 3,000 house photos while Wellesley Free Library and Boston Public Library added more historical maps.

Boston Public Library

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 5 items added to existing collection

Paintings and Fine Arts Collection – 5 items

Needham Free Public Library

Needham Historical House Collection – 3,199 items

Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives

Project SAVE Archives Banquet and Panoramic Photo Collection – 222 items

Wellesley Free Library

Wellesley Free Library Local Historical Maps – 19 items

105 State Street, Boston from the Public Works Department Photographs collection

Strike up the band, fire the confetti cannon and release the balloons! Digital Commonwealth is celebrating the half million item mark. Thanks, in part, to the large and small collections below, Digital Commonwealth by the end of August was able to offer access to 529, 444 items.

On August 23, you could commemorate the 90^th anniversary of Sacco and Vanzetti’s execution by perusing the 285 additional items added to the Boston Public Library’s Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee Collection.

Or you could remember your summer vacation trips around Massachusetts by comparing your GPS maps to the more than 400 1794 town plans in the Massachusetts Archives’ Town Plan Collection. Wait, school is starting and your brain is working and you know Massachusetts only has 351 cities and towns. What gives? In 1794, Massachusetts still had a province in what is now Maine, so be careful when you look for Falmouth. There are two of them.

Or you could play the “then and now” game with the City of Boston Archives Public Works Department Photographs Collection, one of twenty and including over 1,000 photos by itself. My how you’ve changed, 105 State Street.

So whether you are partial to the early daguerreotypes included in Historic Newton’s collection or the Town of Rockport’s maps, there’s something for everyone in the 85 collections added in August or the over half million total items on Digital Commonwealth. Enjoy!

Boston Public Library

Medieval and Early Renaissance Manuscripts (Collection of Distinction) – 3 items added to existing collection

Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Collection of Distinction) – 285 items added to existing collection

Sir Muirhead Bone (1876-1953). Prints, Drawings, and Paintings – 577 items