The grim new numbers of the cases and deaths from COVID-19 reach us every day. As laypeople, we want to tune them out at times, but they are crucial to medical practice and public health. Certainly, we see that in history: Here is the sobering list of yellow fever deaths at Bellevue Hospital in 1795...

The post “Take No Medicine Without Advice”: New York Reacts to Pandemics Past appeared first on New-York Historical Society.

This post is one in a quarterly series in which the New-York Historical Society highlights the collections for which detailed finding aids were published over the prior three months. All collections receive at least a summary description in our catalog, Bobcat. But many collections have such depth or are simply so large or complex that...

The post New Finding Aids, 1st Quarter 2020 appeared first on New-York Historical Society.

Archival collections often have variety of printed material and ephemera such as pamphlets, broadsides, books, and maps. Periodically, these offer unexpected perspective on an aspect of history, as is the case with a smallish, three-dimensional 1872 relief map titled Map of the White Mountains N.H. nestled in the papers of Lincoln’s assistant secretary of the navy, Gustavus Vasa Fox. As its name...

The post The White Mountains…in 3D appeared first on New-York Historical Society.

George B. Post (1837-1913), an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition, is perhaps best known for his New York City landmark buildings, including the New York Stock Exchange, City College, and the Brooklyn Historical Society. After working as a draftsman for Richard Morris Hunt, Post opened his first architectural firm in New York City...

The post Lab Notes: Conserving a George B. Post Presentation Drawing appeared first on New-York Historical Society.

Will we ever get back to watching baseball at Yankee Stadium? It is a fair and frustrating question. Perhaps, as therapy, it helps to go back in time before Yankee Stadium (either the original or the newer one) was even there.  We get this view from the Subway Construction Photograph Collection, and some parts of...

The post Before Yankee Stadium: The View from the Subway Construction Photograph Collection appeared first on New-York Historical Society.

While General George Washington commanded the troops in the field, Martha led the charge at home. Historic Interpreter Lee Ann Rose describes the impact women made during the Revolution.

Abraham Lincoln makes good on the founders’ promises of freedom and equality. Author Gordon Wood lays out the Revolutionary origins of the Civil War.

Could the war have been won without women? Author and Professor Holly Mayer thinks not. Learn more about the inner workings of the Continental Army.

Author and historian Alan Brinkley shares his thoughts on the alchemy of luck and chance in the Oval Office.

African American history is both discovered in and continued by an ancient oral tradition. Richard Josey describes the process of restoring a community’s voice.

Pirates seek treasure both sunken and sea-going, from the 17th century through today. William and Mary Professor Kris Lane draws the connections between the old traditions and the fresh emergences of piracy.

George Washington’s retirement venture had a high alcohol content. Mount Vernon’s Director of Preservation, Dennis Pogue, leads us on a tour through Washington’s whiskey distillery.

A lost relic returns to the Pamunkey tribe in a new form. American Indian Initiative Manager Buck Woodard guides us through treaties and time.

War makes the weaver busy. Cloth for everything from sails to bedsheets is created on his loom. Max Hamrick weaves the tale.

A new armoury complex takes shape on the footings of Anderson’s Forge. Archaeologist Meredith Poole talks about the site’s rebuilt narrative.

Thomas Jefferson reads the words that started it all: The Declaration of Independence.

Patrick Henry demands liberty or death in his rousing 1775 speech. Hear the immortal words voiced by interpreter Richard Schumann.

George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address teems with advice that rings true today. Listen to interpreter Ron Carnegie read excepts from the timeless epistle.

Basketmaking is a tradition born of utility and preserved for beauty. Colonial Williamsburg basketmaker Terry Thon practices a trade passed down through generations.

A broken helmet is discarded and forgotten, only to be resurrected 400 years later by curious archaeologists on Jamestown Island. Curator Michael Lavin describes the effort.

Early maps and prints leave geography for last, focusing first on politics and propaganda. Curator Margaret Pritchard talks about a new exhibit at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

Democracy is an experiment sustained through debate; rights are a privilege earned through participation. Michael Hartoonian introduces The Idea of America.

The Constitution guarantees the right to jury trial. What does it mean for a vital democracy? Director of the Center for Jury Studies Paula Hannaford-Agor explains their importance.

The tale of a Spanish spy reveals England’s fragile hold on the New World. Miguel Girona tells the story of Don Diego de Molina.

Williamsburg’s blacksmith transforms crude metal into elegant, functional tools. Master Blacksmith Ken Schwarz details the trade.

Restoration presents a paradox when repairing old instruments could mean erasing their stories. Conservator John Watson walks the fine line.

Two gravestones are unearthed during a construction project. Historians and curators work to solve the mysteries below. Emily Williams tells their story.

Wry humor softens the sharp wit of this quintessentially American founding father. Interpreter John Hamant talks about portraying Benjamin Franklin.

Edith Cumbo was a rare individual in colonial Virginia: a free African woman. Learn about her life and her stature in this interview with Emily James.

Doctors treating madness in 1773 embraced methods like bleeding, vomiting, restraint and intimidation. Interpreter Donna Wolf researched the topic for her program, “A Method for Madness.”

Master cabinetmaker Mack Headley makes fine furniture in the plain and neat Virginia style.

The diverse relationships between slaves and masters were governed by kindness, betrayal, trust, and cruelty. A new Electronic Field Trip, “Harsh World, This World” examines the complex familiarity of slavery.

Author Susan Berg on what the 18th century read for work and for fun.

America outgrows her 13 colonies and stretches her boundaries west. CNU Professor Phillip Hamilton explains the sprawl.

Hear tales of hair farms, shaved heads, yak fur, and wigs rigged with live ammunition, told by wigmaker Betty Myers.

The coopers’s cask is one of mankind’s strongest constructions, and the ubiquitous container for shipping items wet and dry. Meet cooper Ramona Vogel to learn more about the trade.

New information continues to emerge from the excavation of Anderson’s Armoury. The tin shop is found, beginning a new exploration of the trade. Meredith Poole updates.

The manners of the parlor codify the feminine culture. Kristen Spivey keeps up appearances in The Polite Academy.

A tale of murder in the final chapter in a great man’s noble life. Chris Hull tells George Wythe’s story.

The gun is part of America’s creation story. Gunsmith George Suiter describes the technology of this potent tool.

The founders demanded freedom for themselves, but not for their slaves. Early protests show that the enslaved noticed the flaw in the logic. Historian Harvey Bakari introduces the Boston Slave Petitions.

Retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation and former under secretary of the Army Norm Augustine says history and science go hand-in-hand.

At his inauguration, George Washington had just one tooth left. Mount Vernon curator Laura Simo describes history’s most famous set of dentures.

Native American archaeologists reclaim their tribal history in a modern-day dig. Pamunkey tribeswoman Ashley Atkins describes the discoveries.

Alcohol quenched nearly every thirst there was in colonial America. Author Ed Crews explains why the preference existed and how the prevailing medical wisdom supported it.

Old-fashioned fire engines had to do much the same jobs as today’s, but they relied on classic physics and plenty of manpower. Curator Erik Goldstein describes the fire engine at the center of a new exhibit at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.

Runaway slave Elizabeth found freedom, family, and equality when she was adopted into the Shawnee tribe. After ten years, she returned to slavery. Hope Smith shares the heartbreaking story behind this selfless act.

You can call him a shoemaker, you can call him a cordwainer; you can even call him Al. But one thing you must never call him is a cobbler. Master boot and shoemaker Al Saguto discusses his trade in this week’s show.

Debates over eternal American values are reborn with every generation. Co-creators Bill White and Bill Wagner help make the connections on a new interactive website.

You can’t build a town without wood. Master Carpenter Garland Wood describes a Williamsburg built completely by hand.