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  • Visit Nature of the Book

    Visit Nature of the Book

    Visit Nature of the Book
  • Visit Music HerStory

    Visit Music HerStory

    Visit Music HerStory
  • Several people in 19th century clothes explore a forest of giant plants and look upon a female fairy sleeping on a giant flower.

    Visit our Image Gallery

    Visit our Image Gallery
clown wearing an orange hat and polka dotted costume cranking a peanut machine

Latest from our blog Unbound

Snacking While Out and About a Century Ago

What do you do when you are out and about and have a craving for a quick snack? Shoppers, picnickers, theatregoers, or someone simply out for a stroll in the early 20th Century might have stumbled across a popcorn and peanut machine like one shown in this trade catalog. The trade catalog is by C. Cretors & Co. and is both untitled and undated....
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Featured Collections and Exhibitions

Photo of a page of an artists book depicting a stylized drawing of people, animals, and flowers.
Artists' Books and Africa
Trade card of seed company depicting a carrot with top hat and cane
Cultivating America’s Gardens
Once There Were Billions- Vanished Birds of North America
Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America
Screen capture from the old website showing the title Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web
Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web
Color in a New Light
Color in a New Light
A Jules Verne Centennial- 1905 - 2005
A Jules Verne Centennial: 1905 - 2005
Hull of a wooden ship being carried by one large balloon and many smaller balloons filled with people on the deck and dressed in 19th formal clothing.
Fantastic Worlds
Whales- From Bone to Book
Whales: From Bone to Book
Vibrant Visions- Pochoir Prints in the Cooper-Hewitt
Vibrant Visions: Pochoir Prints in the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library
Doodles, Drafts & Designs- Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian
Doodles, Drafts & Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian
Chasing Venus- Observing the Transits of Venus 1631-2004
Chasing Venus: Observing the Transits of Venus 1631-2004
Fold, Pull, Pop and Turn
Fold, Pull, Pop and Turn

Adopt-a-Book

Support the conservation, acquisition, and digitization of books and manuscripts.
  • Kurtze Betrachtung derer Kräuterabdrücke im Steinreiche
    Kurtze Betrachtung Derer Kräuterabdrücke im Steinreiche
    Geology
  • Sammlung der wichtigsten europäischen Nutzhölzer in characterischen Schnitten
    Burkart's Sammlung der Wichtigsten Europäischen Nutzhölzer in Characterischen Schnitten
    Agriculture
  • Paradisus batavus, continens plus centum plantas affabre aere incises & descriptionibus illustratas.
    Paradisus Batavus, Continens Plus Centum Plantas Affabre Aere Incises & Descriptionibus...
    Botany
  • North American Indian costumes (1564-1950) v. 2
    North American Indian Costumes (1564-1950)
    Indians of North America
  • Initia doctrinae physicae- dictata in Academia VVitebergensi...; iterum edita cum indice & annotationibus.
    Initia Doctrinae Physicae
    Philosophy
  • Geometriae pars universalis- inserviens quantitatum curvarum transmutationi & mensurae.
    Geometriae pars Universalis
    Mathematics
  • Epistola de praecipuis naturae et artis curiosis speciminibus musei...
    Epistola de Praecipuis Naturae et Artis Curiosis Speciminibus Musei
    Natural History
  • Family education and government- a discourse in the Choctaw language.
    Family Education and Government
    Language and Literature
  • Four years in a government expedition... .
    Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition
    Science
  • Isagoges in rem haerbarium libri duo.
    Isagoges in Rem Herbariam Libri Duo
    Botany
  • Engraved plate from Icones piscium featuring three fish
    Icones Piscium : Indicem Systematicum
    Fishes
  • Handbuch fur Naturaliensammler oder grundliche Anweisung die Naturkorper aller drei Reiche zu sammeln,...
    Handbuch fur Naturaliensammler oder Grundliche Anweisung die Naturkorper Aller Drei Reiche zu...
    Natural History
  • Histoire naturelle des Lepidoptères exotiques
    Histoire Naturelle des Lepidoptères Exotiques
    Insects
  • Les trochilidées, ou, les colibris et les oiseaux-mouches
    Les Trochilidées, ou, les Colibris et les Oiseaux-Mouches
    Birds
  • Les robes de Paul Poiret racontées par Paul Iribe
    Les Robes de Paul Poiret
    Handicraft
  • Histoire naturelle et médicale des casses, et particulièrement de la casse et des sénés employés en médecine
    Histoire Naturelle et Médicale des Casses : et Particulièrement de la Casse et des Sénés Employés...
    Pharmacy
  • Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie. Zoologie. Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés (3 vols. and atlas)
    Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie. Zoologie. Histoire naturelle des animaux articulés (3...
    Science