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Hello, from the FBI

FBI Research Unit

A very hectic week in the #museumtrenches with construction underway on a new exhibit, and lots of IT upgrades. But, I still managed to squeeze in some research. Turns out J. Edgar Hoover gave a high school commencement address in 1941. Curious if we had a copy of this speech I was delighted to find this card in the folder with the text of the speech.

So very official-looking. Usually, you get a letter or maybe a boring sheet of paper. I’ve seen similar cards before, but this one struck me as kinda cool. It makes me think I need one for my museum and archive. Maybe not with borders and Federal typography, but something reflective of the institution. I may need to think about this a little.

FBI Research Unit
FBI Research Unit

About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes and works as a museum curator.

Did *You* Win This Book?

A Front Page Affair by Radha VatsalNo, you did not. UNLESS your name is Linda F. and your AOL email address starts with JDC. Thank you, Linda and everyone else that entered to win A Front Page Affair.

Linda, please get in touch! I’ve tried emailing you and it appears you’re not seeing those emails (probably because I have words like “You’ve Won!” in there.)

 

 

In The Museum: Some Days are Not Glamorous

Glasses with built in hearing aidsNot every day in the museum involves solving mysteries surrounding JFK, tracking holy relics and appearing on TV. Some days, you’re working on exhibits about hearing aids.

These hearing aids are built into a pair of glasses. I wear glasses every day and these would be awful, even tiring to wear they’re so heavy.

And no, there’s no big reveal like these were found at Area 51 or were bequeathed to Elvis from Sasquatch. These are simply one evolutionary step in our current technology that helps so many people around the world hear.

Days like these may not sound very exciting, but every day is different and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Like this post? Here’s more about life behind the scenes in museums and archives:
BINGO! At the Intersection of History and Slang
How to know Things are Bound to get Worse
How to Research History Like a Novelist
In the Museum: A JFK Autograph Mystery

About the Author: Benjamin L. Clark writes and works as a museum curator.

Book Review: Drive!

Stuck in mud

201605_goldstone_driveDrive!: Henry Ford, George Selden, and the Race to Invent the Auto Age by Lawrence Goldstone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A useful history I will return to again and again. Taking the 30,000-foot view, with plenty of details to give the history a personal feel. With the wide-angle overview approach, however, the story moves along without becoming bogged down in details most readers won’t be looking for in such a book. Goldstone weaves the early history of automobiles into a highly readable account, creating a very straight-forward narrative arc, though historical topics are anything but. Highly recommend to those interested in the later Industrial Revolution, early 20th-century history, and of course, car nuts.

If you’re looking at Lawrence Goldstone’s name and thinking it looks familiar, he and his wife wrote at least three excellent memoirs about bibliophiles and the rare book trade — that was my introduction to him as a writer.

This book was provided to me via NetGalley for review.

View all my GoodReads reviews

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