Just a few of the treasures from the Barnstable Patriot Photograph Collection
Boston Public Library
Cape Cod Community College
Barnstable Patriot Photograph Collection, 1931-1978 (1,223 items)*
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives
Commonwealth v. Sacco and Vanzetti (763 items)
Wilbraham Public Library
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…to the Annisquam Historical Society for sharing a lovely sketch of the I Am Here schooner amongst its 86 historical documents.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Annisquam Historical Society’s Collection of Historical Documents – 86 items
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
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
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 90th 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
Cape Cod Community College
Cape Cod Association Collection, 1851-1969 – 80 items
City of Boston Archives
20 collections – 3,750 records harvested
Historic Newton
Historic Newton Early Photograph Collection – 279 items
Massachusetts Archives
Town plans, 1794 – 403 items
Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
Laws, Regulations and Commerce Collection – 3 items
NCCHP Museum Collection – 2 items
Noble & Cooley Business Correspondence Collection – 2 items
Noble & Cooley Employee Collection – 7 items
Trade Catalog Collection – 4 items
Town of Rockport
Rockport Town Clerk, Street, Roads and Maps – 228 items
University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries Special Collections and University Archives
53 collections – 26,759 records re-harvested
Put on your comfy travel shoes, it’s time to play tourist! If you can’t actually take a trip to faraway places, Digital Commonwealth has got you covered. From Sir David Young Cameron’s delightful watercolor of Robin Hood’s Bay in England (Boston Public Library) to the postcard of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (Springfield College Archives and Special Collections) to the flier for the Willow Park Cure and Hygienic Institute (Westborough Public Library), you can find a virtual vacation destination to your liking among the additions to the Digital Commonwealth in July.
Boston Public Library
Sir David Young Cameron (1865-1945), Prints, Drawings and Paintings – 551 items
SAILS
1 new collection and 109 new items added to existing collections
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Cliff Smith YMCA Postcard Collection – 98 items added to existing collection
Topsfield Historical Society
The Parson Capen House and the Captain Joseph Gould Barn – 4 items added to existing collection
Topsfield Maps – 1 item
USS Constitution Museum
War of 1812 – 78 items added to existing collection
Westborough Public Library
“Westborough: Your Town – Your History” Scanning Day, 2017 – 97 items
June is a traditional month for saying good bye to school friends and beginning on new and unknown paths. We are pleased to highlight this month’s addition of Class Photos from Barre High School provided by the Barre Historical Society, including the 130-year-old photo to the right. The Boston Public Library continues to add to established collections, which may see more use during the school year when old school friends meet again.
June is also Pride Month and the Digital Transgender Archive has uploaded seventy-seven (yes, 77!) new collections. I can’t list them all, so follow the link and explore the various paths to a history that may be new and unknown to you.
Whatever path you choose, wherever you wind up, may your journey begin with a visit to the Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Barre Historical Society
Barre Class Photos – 64 items
Boston Public Library
Anti-Slavery Collection -2,178 items added to existing collection
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 10 items added to existing collection
Shakespeare Collection – 101 items added to existing collection
Digital Transgender Archive
Seventy-seven collections – 1,587 items harvested
All those May showers brought us this month’s eight collections of perennials (new items in existing collections), new plants (new collections) and crops ready to reap (harvested). Whether you will be enjoying the fruits of your own or someone else’s gardening labors this season, save some time for these varied and fascinating collections.
American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society Collection – 1 item added to existing collection
Boston Public Library
Art at the Boston Public Library – 3 items added to existing collection
Hugo Münsterberg Collection – 972 items added to existing collection
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 295 items added to existing collection
Leominster Public Library
Leominster, MA, Municipal Building (City Hall) Time Capsule, 1915 – 146 items
Lincoln Public Library
Lincoln Town Archives – 1 item added to existing collection
Phillips Academy Andover
Abbot Academy Collection Highlights – 301 items
Wellesley College
Catharine Mitchill ’31 Collection of Family Letters – 392 items harvested
This month focused mostly on getting Northeastern University Library’s collections harvested. There are now 17 new collections from them, including a really wide variety of content! Don’t miss that, or any of the beautiful new items from the BPL’s collections.
Boston Public Library
Early, Rare, and Exceptional Items from Special Collections, Rare Books – 6 items
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 879 items added to existing collection
Northeastern University
Carmen A. Pola Papers – 318 items
Center for Spirituality, Dialogue and Service Records – 62 items
Citywide Educational Coalition Records – 1582 items
Frank J. Miranda Papers – 58 items
Freedom House, Inc. Records – 83 items
Frieda Garcia Papers – 84 items
Holocaust Awareness Committee Records – 161 items
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción Records – 5101 items
James W. Fraser (Collector) Photograph Collection – 5 items
La Alianza Hispana Records – 3332 items
Lower Roxbury Black History Project Records – 839 items
Melnea A. Cass Papers – 1 item
Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc. Records – 943 items
Northeastern University Faculty Publications – 1 item
Northeastern University Photograph Collection – 7 items
Office of Community Affairs Records – 1 item
Phyllis M. Ryan Papers – 309 items
Along with the new season, Digital Commonwealth also brings you many new collections of beautiful and historical content to explore.
Boston Public Library
Anti-Slavery – 22 items added to existing collection
Colonial and Revolutionary Boston – 4 items added to existing collection
Cuneiform Tablets – 9 items
Incunabula – 6 items
Medieval and Early Renaissance Manuscripts – 6 items added to existing collection
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection – 555 items added to existing collection
Shakespeare – 1 item added to existing collection
Harvard Forest Archives
Harvard Forest Martha’s Vineyard Collection – 122 items added to existing collection
Jamaica Plain Historical Society
Jamaica Plain Historical Society Photo Gallery – 1 item added to existing collection
National Archives at Boston
Civil Defense Photographs – 1112 items
USS Constitution Museum
War of 1812 – 8 items added to existing collection
To start of 2017 right, we’ve added several amazing new collections to the Digital Commonwealth portal. Check them out!
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection – 13,707 items harvested
Billerica Public Library
Billerica, Massachusetts: History Capture on Glass – 1074 items
Jamaica Plain Historical Society
Jamaica Plain Historical Society Photo Gallery – 9 items added to existing collection
USS Constitution Museum
War of 1812 – 7 items added to existing collection
