Archive of the Past

Image: “Plan of Civic Center” by Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett (1905). From the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet...)

Burnham’s plan was completed in 1905. The next year, San Francisco was destroyed by an earthquake, and in the wake of that disaster, Burnham’s plan was never brought to life.

In 1904, San Francisco hired Daniel Burnham to create a plan to redo the city with new roadways and civic buildings. Burnham was part of the City Beautiful movement, which sought to remake America’s cities into Beaux-Arts marvels.

Image: “Paris – Armistice” (c. 1918). From the Penn State University Libraries (digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/coll...)

On November 11, 1918, the Armistice with Germany was signed, which ended the fighting of World War I. This photograph shows people celebrating the end of the war. November 11 became a federal holiday named Armistice Day, but after World War II, the holiday’s name was changed to Veterans Day.

Image: [Magic Lantern Slide of the Château of Blois] (date unknown). From the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection.

The Château of Blois is an amalgamation of several French era, with the oldest surviving pieces being medieval and the newest being from the 17th century. This image shows the Louis XII Wing, built from 1498 to 1500 in a French Gothic style.

Rowland’s book chronicles why these finds were so important, what prompted the forgery, and how he was ultimately discovered. In the 1980s, the Scarith were stolen by thieves who thought they were real, and they have never been seen since.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/80...

These writings offered a window into Etruscan life, language, and religion at a time it was being subsumed by the Ancient Romans. News of these important documents, dubbed the Scarith of Scornelo, soon spread across Europe. There was just one problem: all of them were forged by Inghirami.

Book review: “The Scarith of Scornelo: A Tale of Renaissance Forgery” by Ingrid D. Rowland

In 1637, Tuscan teenager Curzio Inghirami made the discovery of a lifetime. Surrounding his family’s hilltop villa were ancient writings from an Etruscan priest in the 1st century BC.

Image: “The Cathedral, Truro” published by “E.S.” (c. 1910). From the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection.

England’s Truro Cathedral looks like its medieval counterparts, but was actually built between 1880 and 1910. It was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, a noted Gothic Revival architect of the Victorian Era. Parts of the design are based on Lincoln Cathedral, which was built from 1185 to 1311.

Marion Crossing the Peedee

More information about Marion can be found in “The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution” by John Oller.

Image: “Marion Crossing the Peedee” by William Tylee Ranney (1850). From the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (www.cartermuseum.org/collection/m...)

General Francis Marion, A.K.A. the Swamp Fox, was a hero of the American Revolution. He is best known for his exploits in South Carolina and is considered one of the creators of guerrilla warfare. He was made famous by Parson Weems (creator of the story of Washington and the cherry tree).

The Rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer The text at the top of this print states in German: “On 1 May 1513 was brought from India to the great and powerful king Emanuel of Portugal to Lisbon such a live animal called a rhinoceros.” As we ca...

Image: “A Rhinoceros” by Albrecht Durer (1515). From the National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov/collection/a...).

This woodcut of a Rhinoceros was made by German artist Albrecht Durer in 1515. The animal shown was a gift rhinoceros of Manuel I of Portugal and was the only rhinoceros in Europe during the Middle Ages. It was killed in a shipwreck on its way to Rome.

The Ames Monument, Sherman, Wyo. Call Number: Z-1044 | Creator: Heliotype Printing Co. | Date: 1882-1902 | Read the full record details for Photograph: The Ames Monument, Sherman, Wyo.

Image: “The Ames Monument, Sherman, Wyo.” (c. 1882-1902). From the Denver Public Library (digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1...)

Both Ames brothers died in the 1870s. From 1880 to 1882, this monument to the Ames was erected in Albany County, Wyoming. It was designed by noted Gilded Age architect Henry Hobson Richardson.

Oakes and Oliver Ames were brothers and leaders of the Union Pacific Railroad during its construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Oakes Ames served in Congress and is remembered for his prominent role in the Crédit Mobilier bribery scandal.

Salerno, Italy by Gustave de Beaucorps

Image: “Salerno, Italy” by Gustave de Beaucorps (c. 1856). From the National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov/artworks/212...)

Located along the coast southeast of Naples, Salerno, Italy, dates back to the year 197 BCE. In the Middle Ages, Salerno was home to the first medical school in Europe. This photograph of the city was made in 1856. Today, much of the bay shown in the foreground is a major seaport.

Image: [Lantern Slide of the Portsmouth Athenæum, New Hampshire] (date unknown). From the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection.

Located in New Hampshire, the Portsmouth Athenæum was established in 1817 as an intellectual society. This building was built in 1805 as an insurance office and was purchased by the Athenæum in 1823. It remains an important part of Portsmouth.

Ellen Axson Wilson: First Lady Between Two Worlds (Supp… Book by Saunders, Frances W.

The book shows how Ellen Wilson played a role in many of Woodrow Wilson’s essential decisions that set him on the path to the White House, and presents Ellen as her husband’s intellectual equal. It is a fascinating look at a woman history has somewhat forgotten.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...

This book chronicles Ellen Wilson’s life from her birth in Rome, Georgia, to standing by her husband’s side as he rose through university life, and then into the White House.

Book review: “Ellen Axson Wilson: First Lady Between Two Worlds” by Frances Wright Saunders

Ellen Axson Wilson was only the first lady for two years, but her almost thirty-year marriage to Woodrow Wilson made him an important part of his life.

Image: “Library and Walsh Memorial Building, University of the South. SEWANEE, Tenn.” published by the University Supply Store, Sewanee (c. 1907). From the Andrew J. Bramlett Collection.

Due to construction delays and the Civil War, the school would not open until 1868. Most of the campus is stone in a neo-Gothic style.

The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee (often referred to as Sewanee) was founded in 1857 as an Episcopal seminary. Many of its founders would go on to serve in the Confederate Army.

The exhibit can be found here: archiveofthepast.wixsite.com/archive-of-t...

Image: “Alexander: the Man Who Knows” (c. 1915-1924). From the Library of Congress (www.loc.gov/resource/var...)