Research & Collections News

Recent News

January 22, 2018
It’s all Downhill from Here!
If I look out of the windows of the Hagley Library reading room, the long hill behind the building is covered in snow!  Even though Wilmington, Delaware only received four inches of snow, my thoughts turned to sledding!
January 22, 2018
Ken White’s designs for the Government Printing Office
This week while I was processing the Ken White collection I came across a box labeled “GPO Bookstore.” Although I had no idea what GPO stood for, I assumed it was nothing special - perhaps the initials of the bookstore owner?
January 22, 2018
The First "Viral" Super Bowl Commercial
During Super Bowl XI in 1977, Xerox debuted perhaps the first “viral” commercial – one that featured “Brother Dominic” – and remains one of the most popular Super Bowl commercials to this day.
November 20, 2017
Patent Models: Inventions to Predict the Weather
Winter weather changes are fast approaching – and it won’t be too long before we see our first big storm. I thought it would be an appropriate time to introduce you to an inventor whose curiosity was focused on predicting those changes and weather events.
November 20, 2017
NHPRC Project: Introduction to the Ken White and Marshall Johnson Collections
Last month I began a new project in the Hagley Manuscript and Archives Department: processing the collections of two influential men in the history of industrial design: Ken White and Marshall Johnson. This project is made possible through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Rec
November 20, 2017
Conservation: A Whip and a Camel Thong
Researchers interested in all sorts of topics come from far and wide to use Hagley’s collections. While printed matter can explain a lot about historical objects, there are times when examining the real thing is most useful.
November 20, 2017
'SHOT' in the Stacks
In October, I had the opportunity to take a group of 28 historians of technology on a behind-the-scenes tour of Hagley, from the bookshelves to the powder yards. The tour was one of the field trips associated with the Society for the History of Techno
November 20, 2017
New Digital Collection: Women's Handicraft in the 19th Century
Last month, the Audiovisual Collections & Digital Initiatives Department added a new collection to its digital archive.

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