The Five Points Site

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A virtual exhibit of a 1991 archaeological undertaking at the Foley Square Courthouse block in Lower Manhattan of the 19th-century "Five Points" area, a working-class and immigrant neighborhood infamously regarded in contemporary accounts as a "center of vice and debauchery." The site offers information on excavations of a tannery, bakery, saloon, and oyster house, as well as residences in the neighborhood--including Irish, German, Jewish, and Italian residents at various times--and makes an argument that journalistic descriptions of the period failed to adequately represent the "hard work and industry" that material culture evidence suggests. Includes eight images of the excavation sites and more than 60 photos of artifacts. The site also provides five maps, six contemporary images of the neighborhood, and a list of five recommended readings and 13 links to other websites on archaeology and history. Valuable for those studying 19th-century urban life and as a demonstration of ways that archaeology can provide a window on everyday life of earlier eras.

Washington As It Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959

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Presents approximately 14,350 photographs by Theodor Horydczak (1890-1971), most of which document the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area between the 1920s and 1950s. Subjects include the architecture and interiors of government, commercial, and residential buildings; views of streets and neighborhoods; images of work and leisure; and events such as the 1932 Bonus March and the 1933 World Series. Also includes a limited number of shots taken in other U.S. locations and in Canada and a background essay, "Discovering Theodor Horydczak's Washington." Provides visual documentation of official and everyday life in the nation's capital and its environs.

Photographs from the Fred Hulstrand and F. A. Pazandak Photograph Collections

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Furnishes approximately 900 photographs from two collections at the Institute for Regional Studies at North Dakota State University. A professional photographer from northeastern North Dakota who sought to document the settlement of the Great Plains produced the "Fred Hulstrand History in Pictures Collection." The "F. A. Pazandak Photography Collection" includes photographs taken by a southeastern North Dakota farmer as mechanization began to change his family farm. Images portray everyday rural and small town life, mostly from 1880-1920, and include shots of farmers, farm machinery, children, one-room schools, and workshops. The site also provides a historical overview of North Dakota, a 300-word history of farm machinery companies, and presentations entitled "Implements Used on the Farm," "Schooling," "Women," "Sod Homes," "Immigrants," "Steam Engines and Tractors," "Hired Hands," and "Golden Age of Agriculture." An annotated bibliography of 61 titles provides a guide for further research. This site includes important visual documentation on changes in rural communities and farming practices during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

California Heritage Collection

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An impressive archive of more than 30,000 digitally reproduced images "illustrating California's history and culture," taken from nearly 200 collections at UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library. The site, searchable by keyword, features photographs, sketches, and paintings in six categories: early California missions and mining activities, natural landscapes, Native Americans, San Francisco, World War II and Japanese relocation, and portraits of notable and ordinary Californians from diverse backgrounds. More than 100 images selected from the larger collection are included in an accompanying California Cornerstones Collection. Includes 158 finding aids, additional links to the Bancroft Library, and six "web-based lesson plans" for using the collection in K-12 classrooms. While the text accompanying each image is limited to artist/photographer, subject, and date, the sheer number of images available makes this a valuable resource for those studying California's history.

H.H. Bennett: Photographer Extraordinaire

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This website makes available 650 photographs and stereographs taken by Henry Hamilton Bennett, a commercial photographer who worked in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Chicago from 1865 to 1908. Bennett was most renowned for his photos of the Wisconsin landscape, most especially his views of the Wisconsin Dells, and steamboats and lumber rafters on the Wisconsin River. Also collected on this website are his images of Milwaukee, Minneapolis (including its Winter Carnival with ice structures and sculptures), and Chicago during the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Doris Ulmann Photograph Collection

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This collection of more than 1,700 photographs by Doris Ulmann (1882-1934) documents the rural people of the South, in particular the people of Appalachia and the Georgia-Carolina Sea Islands. "Ulmann's photographs represent important primary source material for historical and ethnographic studies of Appalachian and Gullah culture as well the subject of folk arts and craft traditions." Of particularly interest in the collection are the images of Appalachian craftspeople performing their crafts, such as quilting, whittling, weaving, hooking rugs, spinning, and making baskets and ceramic ware.

The visitor can browse all the images in the collection or search the collection by keyword. An advanced search by numerous categories including subject, title, date, place, and name is also available. Each image is accompanied by full bibliographic information. This collection is a useful resource both for those teaching or researching Appalachian or Sea Islands folk culture and for those with a broader interest in the social and cultural history of the South in the early 20th century.

Dolley Madison Project

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This attractive and easy to navigate website focuses on the life and legacy of First Lady Dolley Payne Todd Madison, wife of James Madison. There are two main sections. "Resources" includes four short background essays on different periods of Dolley Madison's life; a timeline and chronology of her life; a short essay explaining the controversy over Dolley Madison's first name; an alphabetical listing of her correspondents with biographical sketches; and a link to the National First Ladies' Library page on Dolley Madison with a bibliography and lesson plans. "Exhibit" offers four presentations focused on Dolley Madison's life: early years, years in Washington, years at Montpelier during her husband's retirement, and widowhood. Each has a background essay, selected letters, an image gallery (41 images total), and a timeline. There is also a link to the Dolley Madison Digital Edition, a fee-based archive containing "the first-ever complete edition of all her known correspondence." Additionally, there is a section on the use of Dolley Madison's name and image in popular culture with a collection of 27 images. A useful information resource for those interested in Dolley Madison or teaching about her life.

Bound for Glory: America in Color, 1939-1943

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This exhibition offers 70 color pictures taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI) between 1939 and 1943. This collection "reveals a surprisingly vibrant world that has typically been viewed only through black-and-white images. These vivid scenes and portraits capture the effects of the Depression on America's rural and small town populations, the nation's subsequent economic recovery and industrial growth, and the country's great mobilization for World War II." The collection features the work of famed photographers John Vachon, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, and Marion Post Wolcott.

All pictures in the exhibition can be viewed in large format by clicking on the image or the title in the exhibition gallery. The collection is searchable by keyword. The complete collection of FSA/OWI photographs—171,000 black-and-white images and 1,602 color images—is available on the Library of Congress website at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html. This collection is of interest to both those studying the history of American photography and those seeking images of New Deal-era America.

Louisiana State Museum Jazz Collection

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This small site, part a larger collection, offers a music archive dealing primarily with traditional New Orleans jazz. Composed of photographs, audio recordings, and audio interviews of musicians and bands that were primarily active in New Orleans, the collection is currently composed of more than 1,000 total items, including more than 380 audio recordings. Of particular interest are the 160 Louis Armstrong items. The collection can be searched by keyword. The site's authors plan to make additional items available as they are digitized and catalogued. A useful resource for those studying the history of jazz or jazz culture.

Life After the Holocaust: Stories of Holocaust Survivors After The War

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This website presents the stories of six Holocaust survivors—three men, three women; five born in Poland and one in Czechoslovakia—who immigrated to the United States after World War II. Visitors can either listen to the six 30-minute interviews in their entirety, or listen to interview clips surrounding six themes: "starting over," "arriving in New York," "living with the past," "speaking out," "faith, guilt, and responsibility," and "telling their children." Many of the survivors begin by talking about their experiences before the war, and proceed to explain the complexities of starting over in the United States after the war.

Each interview is interspersed with narration and accompanied by photographs and other personal memorabilia, helping visitors better contextualize the narrators' stories. Audio files and interview transcripts are downloadable, making this website's resources useful in classroom settings, as well as to a broader public interested in understanding the aftermath of the Holocaust through deeply personal accounts.