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.
John's Place Table
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
To kick it off we present this beautiful table. It has ornate floral and bird mother-of-pearl marquetry on its legs, apron and the frame around the off-white marble slab top.
The table was used at Yuen Faung Low [or "John's Place"], the first Chinese restaurant in Minneapolis, between 1903 and 1960.
National Cartoonists Day!
Today, May 5, is National Cartoonist Day.
Minnesota has been home to cartoonists of many types over the years, from funny to arty to political.
Two of our favorites have to be Charles Shultz, world-famous creator of the beloved Peanuts comic strip, and Robert Sweeney, who is the reason we are the Gopher state.
Learn more about each of them here!
Charles Schulz: https://libguides.mnhs.org/schulz/ov
Robert Sweeney: https://www.mnhs.org/blog/collectionsupclose/why-is-minnesota-the-gopher-state
Bach Society
This year is the 90th anniversary of the Bach Society of Minnesota!
The Bach Festival hosted by the Society continues until the end of May.
We are happy to make available their manuscript collection here at MNHS.
Learn more: http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00375.xml
Mill Explosion
This photos shows the ruins of Washburn A Mill and other mills after explosion in 1878.
Learn more about this disaster here: https://www.mnopedia.org/event/washburn-mill-explosion-1878
Waterfall
Although it has not felt very spring-like here recently, we have heard that the waterfalls along the North Shore are roaring, which is a sure indicator of spring!
This photograph is of the High Falls at the Pigeon River, taken in 1940.
Poison Ivy!
In this photo a National Audubon Society ranger is pointing out poison ivy to two hikers near Lake Itasca in 1947.
It forms part of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Newspaper Negative Collection.
First Minnesota Newspaper
On April 28, 1849 James Madison Goodhue printed the Territory's first newspaper, the "Minnesota Pioneer," on this press. It is a cast-iron hand press and weighs nearly 1,800 pounds.
Also shown is a digitized edition of that first edition. Find this and more in our Newspaper Hub! https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/hub
First Minnesota Newspaper
On April 28, 1849 James Madison Goodhue printed the Territory's first newspaper, "The Minnesota Pioneer," on this press. It is a cast-iron hand press and weighs nearly 1,800 pounds.
Also shown is a digitized edition of that first edition. Find this and more in our Newspaper Hub! https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/hub
Recent Acquisitions Newsletter - March 2022
Recent Acquisitions Update - March 2022
Welcome to the Minnesota Historical Society’s recent acquisitions update. Our goal here is to share new things coming into the collection to excite, inspire, and maybe even surprise you.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS - COMING SOON!
Publications
When The World Was Asked to Shelter: the first 365 days. This fine press book was created by artist Julie Baugnet, based on her COVID journals (which we also have). It has cardcover with dust jacket and hard shell case; unpaginated; screenprinted illustrations with printed text throughout; hand numbered 1/8 and signed by artist on colophon page.
Uncle Sam's Farm. This broadside features lyrics to a popular 19th century American folksong composed by Jesse Hutchinson, member of the abolitionist Hutchinson Family Singers. Set to the tune "Walk in de Parlor and hear de banjo play," the song celebrates the "glorious Yankee nation" and promotes inclusiveness and expansion to the West.
3D Objects
Bison hide painting by Fern Cloud - This buffalo hide painting was made by Dakota artist Fern Cloud (Upper Sioux and Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate), circa 2015. It was purchased by MNHS Exhibits Department for Then, Now, Wow exhibit and removed for bathroom expansion project circa 2020. Transferred to Collections in 2021.
2020 Craziness Quilt by Rachel King-Siert, using scraps from her masks making in early stages of COVID. From her artist’s statement: “I don’t usually make quilts, I DO hate wasting anything. The 2020 Craziness Quilt was made with some of the scraps for the “frantic Rachel making thousands of masks” stage of 2020 COVID and protests in Minneapolis. COVID freaked me out… then friends and family were out protesting, which also sent me into a new state of worry. The only thing I could think of to be helpful was to keep making masks and donating them…”
Manuscripts
Boone and Erickson Show collection - Papers of radio personalities Charlie Boone and Roger Erickson. Collection includes radio and stage scripts (bulk); topical files; photographs; audio/visual materials; and other ephemera.
Moving Images
Rick Fuller produced materials. This donation consists of two main parts. Part one is 47 - 3/4" Umatic tapes and 3 - 1" tapes that were source material for the original “Koerner, Ray & Glover - Blues, Rags and Hollers” documentary. Also contains 1 VHS and 1DVD of the most recent iteration of the completed documentary. The second part consists of Harder/Fuller Films and First Avenue DVD archives. This contains a mix of videos of MN artists in the 1980s and 90s and a smattering of national artists where Harder/Fuller Films did the work. Before his death, Tony Glover asked that these materials be donated to MNHS. Also includes a few related MN music DVDs.
State Archives
1. Education Department. Published records and reports dated 1982-1994, primarily regarding music and art education testing, assessments and learner outcomes. 13 folders.
2. Education Department. Development and Partnership Division. Records (dated 1970-2004) of Assistant Commissioner Nan Skelton, including AIDS prevention files, legislation files, secondary vocational education restructuring files, The Whole Child Initiative program files, and selected subject files. 2 boxes.
3. Freeborn County. District Court. Adoption case files dated 1950 and 1952. Two tri-folded case files.
4. Hubbard County Soil and Water Conservation District. Erosion control project files dated 1990-1994. 3 folders.
5. Minnesota Experimental City Authority. Otto A. Silha subject files, undated, 1966-1988, 1996-1998. 1 box.
6. Ramsey County. Independent School District No. 625 (St. Paul). Wilson High School. Photograph album, dated 1957, of Richard A. Arndt. 1 volume.
NOW AVAILABLE
Newspaper added the Digital Hub!
A content update to the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub today added 3,235 new issues and 19,723 new pages.
Newly publicly available titles & date spans:
Ely miner (Ely, Minn.) 1897-1915
Brainerd tribune (Brainerd, Minn.) 1872-1882
Red River star (Moorhead, Minn.) 1872-1877
Moorhead advocate (Moorhead, Minn.) 1877-1878
Clay County advocate (Moorhead, Minn.) 1878-1880
Moorhead advocate (Moorhead, Minn.) 1880
Moorhead weekly Argonaut (Moorhead, Minn.) 1881
Buffalo gazette (Delano, Minn.) 1891-1901
Rock County herald (Luverne, Minn.) 1876-1883
Bemidji pioneer (Bemidji, Minn.) 1903-1904 added
Bemidji daily pioneer (Bemidji, Minn.) 1923 added
Minnesota messenger (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1923-1924 added
National advocate (Minneapolis, Minn.; St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924 added
Labor world (Duluth, Minn.) 1923 added
Cook County news-herald (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1923 added
Echo de l'ouest (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1923 added
Fergus Falls ugeblad (Fergus Falls, Minn.) 1923 added
Redwood gazette and the Redwood County sun (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1940
Sauk Centre herald and Melrose record (Sauk Centre, Minn.) 1886
Your thoughts?
Are you interested in specific Minnesota topics or resources you’d like to consider? Let us know! collections@mnhs.org
Hmong Textile Art
Today's Item of the Day is this piece of Hmong paj ntaub (pa ndau) textile art. It is a reverse appliqué wall hanging with complex repeated patterns of pinwheel snail houses with sawtooth borders.
It was made by Cher Lee and sold at Hmong Handwork in Saint Paul between 1981 - 1998.