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- paul daniels on Armed Services Editions: A quest for a complete collection
- Joan Hollins carter on The Culinary Arts of Clementine Hunter, Louisiana’s Black “Grandma Moses”
- paul daniels on Armed Services Editions: A quest for a complete collection
- paul daniels on Armed Services Editions: A quest for a complete collection
- paul daniels on Armed Services Editions: A quest for a complete collection
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Category Archives: Southern History
How to Shoot an American Quilt
When Digital Services was asked to provide images for an upcoming book on longtime donor Wade Hall’s amazing array of archival collections, most of the requests were fairly standard: book covers, documents, and photos. Even the occasional 8-Track box or daguerreotype wasn’t all … Continue reading
February 1956: When the Eyes of the World Were on Us
Sixty years ago, the first major step was made toward desegregating the University of Alabama. Autherine Lucy, a black woman from Shiloh, Alabama, was enrolled – and a few days later suspended, eventually expelled, though she had done nothing wrong. … Continue reading
The World of Camp Aliceville
Like hundreds of other communities in the U.S. during WWII, Aliceville, Alabama, was home to a prisoner of war camp. Between June 1943 and September 1945, Camp Aliceville saw hundreds of thousands of German soldiers come and go, a time which left an … Continue reading
Fleeting Sounds
Usually when we think of ephemera — items that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles [source] — we think of documents. Paper is the medium of choice for these transitory items, from ticket … Continue reading
Roland Harper’s Southern churches, 1901-1958
Roland Harper (1878-1966) was a lot of things, notably a geologist and botanist. According to a biographical sketch published two years after his death (see end of post for reference), “Roland Harper was intent. He botanized, observed, photographed, walked, editorialized, criticized, lived, … Continue reading
Alabama’s Jewish History
Did you know May is Jewish American Heritage Month? You may not: it’s a new commemoration, proclaimed by President Bush in 2006. Alabama, like much of the South, is not known for having a large Jewish population, yet Jewish Americans have … Continue reading
New and Notable in Acumen, Fall ’14 – Spring ’15
A lot has come through the digitization pipeline in the last six months or so. Here are some highlights. Diaries Martha Jane Coleman Banks commonplace book Contains diary entries, miscellaneous writings (some appear to be school related), newspaper clippings, recipes, and … Continue reading
Guardians of Mobile Bay
During the Civil War, Mobile Bay was protected by not one but two fortifications: to the west — Fort Gaines, on Dauphin Island to the east — Fort Morgan, down the beach from Gulf Shores From these strategic points, Confederate soldiers could … Continue reading
Hidden Gem: Pictorial History of Fort Marion
Lately, we’ve been combing through Google Analytics data for our collections, and one thing it’s done is alert us to some popular items we didn’t know about, in part because they were not in particularly well-used collections. The Durst Family Papers is … Continue reading
Everyday mysteries of the archives
Part of the fun of looking through archival material is solving mysteries. When we don’t know much about the provenance of the collection –when there’s only the material itself to go on –that mystery is even more challenging, but potentially more fun. … Continue reading