Private Charles Samuel Addams: Creator of the Addams Family

Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an expert archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. He’s creepy and he’s cooky, mysterious and spooky, he’s altogether ooky, he’s Charles Samuel Addams. Charles Addams for Look magazine, 1952. (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress) A noted cartoonist and artist whose … Continue reading Private Charles Samuel Addams: Creator of the Addams Family

Costume inspiration from the National Archives!

Still trying to think of a clever costume to wear on Halloween? We've listed some of our favorite suggestions below. (And if anyone actually takes us up on these suggestions, please send us a picture!) I Like Ike! Are you a power couple? How about combining the the upcoming election with some historic campaign fun … Continue reading Costume inspiration from the National Archives!

Facial Hair Friday: The Death Mask of Walter Q. Gresham

Today's featured facial hair is especially appropriate for the approaching Halloween weekend. It's the plaster cast of a beard, taken of the deceased Walter Q. Gresham, who was Secretary of State at the time of his death in May of 1895. This  death mask—complete with a few beard hairs stuck in it—may seem like an oddity … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: The Death Mask of Walter Q. Gresham

Need a Halloween costume? Four food frights from our holdings

This postcard (ARC 2657925) was enclosed with several others as part of a letter from Acting Secretary of State Robert Bacon to U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Whitelaw Reid regarding postcards that were circulating in South Africa regarding the meatpacking industry. Do you like to be scared? If you do, forget about watching Halloween … Continue reading Need a Halloween costume? Four food frights from our holdings