Who Made It?
Look for the creator, publisher, date, and intended audience.
PRIMARY SOURCES & THE COLLECTION
The Past,
in Plain Sight.
Newspapers, magazines, books, maps, and artefacts invite us to examine the evidence—and the stories people choose to tell.
Start with a detail. A headline. A date. A mark on a map. Select any image to open the full photograph.
45 PHOTOGRAPHS · FROM OUR COLLECTION
Sir Southeast Wearing a Plague Mask
Sir Southeast wearing a plague mask.
Political Pins
Political pins.
Money from Around the World
Money from around the world.
Plate from Russia
A plate from Russia.
Word on the Street
From the Sesame Street archives.
Aztec Calendar
Aztec calendar.
Material Culture from the Global Tea Trade
A samovar.
World War II Japanese Uniform Hat
World War II Japanese uniform hat.
Hat from Russia with Soviet Pins
Hat from Russia with Soviet pins.
Islamic Literature from a Russian Tatar
Islamic literature from a Russian Tatar.
Taíno Sculpture of the God of Strength
A Taíno sculpture of the God of Strength.
LIFE Magazines
LIFE magazines.
Historical Magnets
Historical magnets from around the world.
US Civil War Battle Flag Pins
Battle flag pins collection from the US Civil War.
Tin Box from Germany
A tin box from Germany.
Historical Magnets
More historical magnets.
Books & Maps
An open dictionary and framed maps arranged on a table.
A Fragment of the DMZ
A framed display labeled “The Wire Fence from DMZ,” with a wire fragment and map.
LIFE, August 25, 1941
A LIFE magazine cover featuring Fred Astaire and his son, dated August 25, 1941.
The Front Page
A Dallas Morning News front page with the headline “The tyrant is a prisoner.”
Music Becomes History
A Rolling Stone “Immortals” cover in the collection.
Remembering Tulsa
A Tulsa World retrospective on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This is a commemorative publication, not a newspaper printed in 1921.
Words Across Generations
Webster’s New International Dictionary displayed in front of framed maps.
Science in Print
A Cyrillic-language science and technology magazine cover.
The Saturday Evening Post
A Saturday Evening Post cover preserved in a sleeve.
Conservation in Print
A Sierra Club conservation poster in the collection.
Mapping an Imagined World
“The Giver Quartet World,” a literary map.
Maps & City Views
Historical maps and city views displayed at the Center for History and Culture.
The Black Chronicle
A Black Chronicle display at the Center for History and Culture.
Print on the Shelf
A stack of newspapers and periodicals beside books on a shelf in the Center.
Images in Conversation
Art reproductions and a framed picture displayed beside a patterned hanging in the Center.
Global Art on the Wall
A long decorated wooden artefact and a colorful rectangular artwork displayed on a wall.
Putting the Map Together
A framed puzzle depicting a map of North America.
The Cacao Cup
A decorated cup pictured on the original Center page under the label “Cacao Cup.”
A Brick of Chinese Tea
A decorated tea brick on a stand, labeled “A Brick of Chinese Tea” on the original Center page.
A World on the Wall
A world map and a framed map displayed beside the Center’s bookshelves.
Reading the Image
Reproductions of illustrated title pages from works on navigation, displayed as teaching materials.
Sesame Street & Popular Culture
Children’s television is part of cultural history too. Familiar characters open up conversations about learning, media, and childhood.
Reading Culture Critically
Afrikan People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide, Book One, by Ishakamusa Barashango, from the collection.
Form, Material & Meaning
A tall carved wooden artefact displayed beside a decorative plate and a wall quotation.
Music in Print
A Goldmine magazine cover featuring Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, preserved with other periodicals in the collection.
Louisiana in the Map Collection
A framed map of Louisiana, identified by the collection as dating to 1893.
Maryland & Delaware in the Map Collection
A framed map of Maryland and Delaware, identified by the collection as dating to 1893.
Comics as Cultural History
A Marvel Star Wars comic from the Center’s comic-book collection.
Global Art on the Wall
Carved masks, decorative pieces, and popular-culture artefacts share a wall in the Center.
Every Source Has a Context.
This gallery includes period publications, artefacts, and later commemorative or teaching materials. A photograph opens a line of inquiry; it does not establish an artefact’s full provenance. Dates and descriptions are included where they can be read or confirmed.
LOOK. QUESTION. CONNECT.
What Does the
Evidence Say?
What Does It Reveal?
Notice the language, images, and assumptions that frame its story.
What Is Missing?
Ask whose perspective is absent, and what other sources could help.