Collecting pieces of Minnesota's past for the future
About
The Minnesota Historical Society preserves and makes available a wide range of materials chronicling Minnesota's history and culture. The goals of the Collections Department are to collect and preserve; provide access and interpretation; and engage in education and outreach. This blog is a tool to share these stories and let people know what is happening in the department.
Tiny Prohibition Era Button
This button advocating "Bread not Beer" was created in 1918, two years before Prohibition started in 1920. There is a lot happening on this button: in addition to the plea for bread it also urges "No Repeal;" shows a mountain named "Mount Progress;" and has an eagle with the message "the Eagle Never Flies Backwards."
Bear in mind that this button is only .75 inches in diameter, which would have made it very difficult to read while one was wearing it to make a point!
National Handwriting Day
Today is National Handwriting Day!
As we know, primary sources are the lifeblood of historical research, and many of these primary sources are handwritten.
This is a letter from Lawrence Taliaferro to Alexis Bailly, written on March 2, 1829.
Taliaferro (U.S. Indian Agent to the Dakota) wrote in response to a letter Alexis Bailly sent Taliaferro on the same day. Taliaferro addresses Bailly's concerns about unfair trading practices and assures Bailly that he treats all of the fur traders in the area equally.
See the letter and its transcription here: http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10614509&return=brand%3Dcms%26q%3Dhandwriting
Learn more about Lawrence Taliaferro here: https://www.mnopedia.org/person/taliaferro-lawrence-1794-1871
Parking Ticket
This is a parking ticket from Saint Paul, 1931.
The front of the rectangular cardstock tag reads, "YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE TRAFFIC ORDINANCE" and contains fields related to the offense for the officer to fill in. There is a list of offences and their corresponding penalties on the back of the tag.
Snow Scene
This photograph shows a snow scene in 1932.
It forms part of Norton & Peel photograph collection.
Honoring Martin Luther King
This year, members of Dr. King's immediate family ask that communities forgo celebrations of MLK Day unless federal leaders take up the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. To honor that, we simply post this reminder of the importance of voting rights.
This is the cover for the program to the Proceedings of the Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Minnesota from 1869. This program was presented at the first political convention Black Minnesotans held after gaining the right to vote. The celebration held on January 1, 1869 in St. Paul also marked the creation of the Sons of Freedom, the first African American civil rights group in Minnesota.
At the time this only applied to Black men, not Black women.
Learn More: https://www.mnopedia.org/event/african-american-suffrage-minnesota-1868
Map of the United States
Winter Hat
This is women's tall, faux fur winter hat,with red and black satin lining. It was worn by a member of the LeDuc family in Hastings between 1920-50.
Ann Bancroft
This time of year thinking about Antarctica really puts things in perspective.
On January 14, 1993, Ann Bancroft of Saint Paul reached the South Pole by skis, becoming the first woman to travel overland to both the North and South Poles.
MNHS is proud to have an extensive collection of materials Bancroft used and in some cases invented to document her important story. Bancroft is an explorer, educator, and philanthropist who started the Ann Bancroft Foundation dedicated to inspiring and supporting girls in fulfilling their dreams.
Seen here are a pair of cross-country skis used by Ann Bancroft of Minnesota during the 2000-2001 Bancroft-Arnesen Expedition to Antarctica.
Learn More about Minnesota’s Polar Explorers: https://libguides.mnhs.org/polarex
Dress your pet up Day!
It has come to our attention that January 14, this coming Friday, is National Dress Your Pet Up Day. This naturally led us to wonder what we might have to share along these lines; here is just one example.
This photo show an unidentified man holding a dog in a sweater. This forms part of the Rondo Neighborhood photograph collection. The photo taken by Marvin Anderson in 1964.
We encourage you to share photos of your fur friends here if you would like!
Artillery Observer's Kit
United States Army artillery observer's kit owned by Charles P. Clark. It includes a map case, ruler, and trajectory scale. The leather map case folds out to reveal an interior lined with yellowed transparent celluloid, under which maps can be inserted. It is dated 1917 and used in World War I.
An Artillery Observer is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire in battle.