MetaFilter posts tagged with collections and history

'Favorite dolls may fade with time - our love for them never will.'

anastasiav — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:31:11 -0800

Doll Kind :: Dolls of the 20th Century - A Celebration in Pictures and Histories

Mad Props

dersins — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:24:41 -0800

There was a typewriter repairman in North Hollywood, California. He couldn’t believe it when all of a sudden someone deposited 24 vintage typewriters on his doorstep and said, “Make them look new.” He probably hadn’t had that much work in the last 25 years. He was probably just about ready to hang up the “Going out of business” sign and cursing the arrival of the laptop computer when all of a sudden here I come with 24 typewriters. The Collectors Weekly interviews Scott Buckwald, propmaster for Mad Men.

Woodward realized that it was only a question of being pestered forever or quietly throwing open his place

jessamyn — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:25:14 -0800

"The What Cheer House catered to men only, permitted no liquor on the premises, and housed San Francisco's first free library and first museum." Opened in 1852 by Robert B. Woodward it became immensely popular. "[S]ailors enjoyed staying there... [he] was such a well-liked man that they would often bring him trinkets from around the world when they’d come to town. For Woodward, these gifts were the beginning of what would become a life-long obsession with collecting." He moved the collection and opened Woodward's Gardens in 1866 between Mission and Valencia at 13th-15th streets. Called the Central Park of the West, it was San Francisco's most famous public resort. - more information, photos and rememberances on this lost landmark - guidebook entry from 1879 describes the gardens - what San Francisco was like in 1856 - SF Chronicle article about the gardens from 1913, photos from the SF Call in 1907 - the origin of the phrase "what cheer" - what's there now

NIOBY

dersins — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:26:03 -0800

In Our Own Backyard: Resisting Nazi Propaganda In Southern California 1933 - 1945, a digital exhibition from the Oviatt Library at Cal State Northridge. "The Nazi Propaganda period, 1933 to 1945, chronicles a crucial twelve years in American history. This exhibit's story about the local threat to American ideals demonstrates how European events reached across the ocean and affected people in Southern California -- in our own backyard." Magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, stickers and more. The site navigation, especially as pertains to the digital materials, leaves a good deal to be desired, but it's still a fascinating look at an aspect of the Depression era most people don't think about. [via, which is in itself one of the best link blogs out there, from (formerly?) Metafilter's Own™ plep ]

Patches

netbros — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:19:17 -0800

The Quilt Index is a growing research and reference tool designed to share access to information and images about quilts provided by an array of contributors. You may search by category including time period, style and technique, location, or fabric.

Japan through wonderful vintage photos

madamjujujive — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:30:07 -0800

Vintage 3-D stereoviews of old Japan, Meiji and Taisho era swimsuit girls, working people, geisha, and kids, old Japan salt prints, dozens of T. Enami glass slides, and strange or offbeat images: all part of a vast and superb collection of Japanese photos from 1862 to 1930 by flickr user Okinawa Soba. More on the work of T-Enami, "King of the Stereoview, Master of the Lantern-Slide And Prolific, Anonymous Contributor To the World of Yokohama Album Views"

"The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor..."

dersins — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:23:45 -0800

The Willa Cather Archive is an incredible resource provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including biographies, letters, photos, and even full (often annotated) text of much of her writing, including scholarly editions of two of her greatest (and most famous) works, My Antonia and O Pioneers. About the archive.

Pre-Videogame Era Toys

jonson — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:44:57 -0800

Before there were videogames, growing up in England in the late 1960s though the 70's we had Action Transfers. The Letraset company branched off its division of hand set rub-on transfer fonts into full blown action scenes, with Cowboys & Indians, famous historical battles, Vikings, natural disasters & more. This collector has dozens of sets, scanned in high resolution & never used.

Renaissance bling

madamjujujive — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:03:35 -0800

The King's Kunstkammer - en vogue in Renaissance Europe, kunstkammers were status symbols of kings, vast collections of art, curiosities, and scientific and natural objects. This is a partial reconstruction of the Royal Danish Kunstkammer, established by King Frederik III in the mid-1600s. Exploring the collection's 250 objects offers insight into princely preoccupations of the era.

Witness: holocausts and genocides as told in art

madamjujujive — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 07:03:54 -0800

The Ghetto Diary of Eli Lesky, The Fifth Horseman, the Buchewald Series, artwork by Joseph Bau; Paintings of the Hmong Migration; Visualizing Otherness - Nazi and other racist propaganda - all this and much, much more from the University of Minnesota's The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Historic theatrical and performing arts ephemera

madamjujujive — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 12:54:59 -0800

Theatre History is the Theatre Museum of London's vast online collection of ephemera, containing more than 1500 objects that record the history of the performing arts in Britain since the 1600s. There's lots of goodies, but don't miss the goldmine of fabulous photos, posters, and prints.

Photomuse

tpl1212 — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 05:33:25 -0800

Photomuse - a searchable (and growing [NYtimes]) collection of "masterwork photography" combining the collections of the George Eastman House and the International Center of Photography... [via]

Manteca to Nirvana

me3dia — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 10:00:57 -0800

The latest additions to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress have just been announced. This year's additions of "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" works include "Swanee'" by Al Jolson, Edward R. Murrow's radio reports from London during WWII, and "Fear of a Black Planet" by Public Enemy. View the full registry here, selection criteria and nomination information here.

Man, those things are OLD!

monju_bosatsu — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 15:25:04 -0800

"Puntate. Clic." 1000Bit archives images of vintage computer adverts, magazines, manuals, and brochures, many in Italian. Also of interest: old-computers.com, the Obselete Technology Web, Rune's PC-Museum, and Dave's Old Computers. [via]

See the USA in your CHEVROLET

anastasiav — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:19:04 -0800

The Old Car Manual Project