New Collections added to Digital Commonwealth in December
Written by Patricia Feeley The holiday season was celebrated at Digital Commonwealth by adding some interesting collections. Our biggest contributors, Boston Public Library and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, of course, did their bit. But let’s highlight our other two contributors. The Jamaica Plain Historical Society performed a good deed for all Bostonians by sponsoring the…
A Closer Look: Brown, Cooley, Noble and Strong families
I’ve been fascinated by this photo ever since it was uploaded. Are we looking at the 19th century equivalent of Photoshopping? The Brown, Cooley, Noble and Strong families pose very sedately in front of a raging river with a train crossing a suspension bridge in the distance. The subjects are definitely sitting on chairs on…
Season’s Greetings
Of the many holidays we celebrate at this time of year, Christmas is certainly the best marketed. Chances are, whether you decry this or embrace it, you can’t escape it. The images in this post are for the Richard Schwarz Toy Emporium. First of all, we need more toy emporiums. (Emporia?) Who wants to go…
Snow
Every year there is a first substantial snow of the year. As I type this, snow has just started falling in Boston. Over the course of the Thanksgiving weekend, the prediction has gone from “up to 12 inches” to 6-12″, to 4-6″ to “wintry mix”. I have no idea how much snow we’ll get in…
Preserving local landmarks
Every town has one. The general store where everyone discusses local politics. The church where the community has potluck dinners. The community center where the schools and amateur theater troupe put on shows. They’re gathering places that you can’t imagine losing because they’ve always been there. Until they’re not. Someone retires, a weather disaster occurs,…