https://pastispresent.org The blog of the American Antiquarian Society Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:11:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://pastispresent.org/wp-content/uploads/cropped-Single-P-32x32.png https://pastispresent.org 32 32 224405720 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/new-online-gallery-remembering-the-revolution/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/new-online-gallery-remembering-the-revolution/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:00:05 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19950 To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, American Antiquarian Society curators created an online gallery of AAS collection materials related to the American Revolution. The featured materials include documents, newspapers, prints, maps, and books that reflect the wide-ranging opinions and positions surrounding the path to independence.   Among gallery highlights … Continue reading New Online Gallery: Remembering the Revolution]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/new-online-gallery-remembering-the-revolution/feed/ 0 19950 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-celebrate-the-250th-with-new-declarations-of-independence-online-gallery/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-celebrate-the-250th-with-new-declarations-of-independence-online-gallery/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:00:49 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19928 In celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, the American Antiquarian Society’s new online gallery showcases printings of the Declaration of Independence produced between 1776 to 1876. The selection includes the Declaration’s first appearance in a newspaper, broadsides printed in the summer of 1776, official facsimiles, and commemorative printings for the centennial.   While the original … Continue reading We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident: Celebrate the 250th with New Declarations of Independence Online Gallery]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-celebrate-the-250th-with-new-declarations-of-independence-online-gallery/feed/ 0 19928 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/building-a-bridge-of-knowledge-the-seiler-internship-experience/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/building-a-bridge-of-knowledge-the-seiler-internship-experience/#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:00:59 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19895 When I first came across the Nadia Sophie Seiler internship at the American Antiquarian Society, I was drawn to the chance to work directly with historical materials. As an art history student with an ever-growing interest in libraries, museums, and archives, I thought an internship at AAS could connect my interests with my prior work-study … Continue reading Building a Bridge of Knowledge: The Seiler Internship Experience]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/building-a-bridge-of-knowledge-the-seiler-internship-experience/feed/ 0 19895 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/starting-the-presses-new-online-gallery-showcases-first-state-newspapers/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/starting-the-presses-new-online-gallery-showcases-first-state-newspapers/#respond Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:00:32 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19888 Newspapers in early America were an essential part of connecting communities with the latest news from Europe and other colonies. They “enabled readers to imagine themselves as part of a shared culture of ideas, investments and events that spread beyond their local world,”[1] helping to unite the distinct geographic regions that would later become the … Continue reading Starting the Presses: New Online Gallery Showcases First State Newspapers]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/starting-the-presses-new-online-gallery-showcases-first-state-newspapers/feed/ 0 19888 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/conservator-as-mediator-paper-mends-on-18th-cenury-connecticut-newspapers/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/conservator-as-mediator-paper-mends-on-18th-cenury-connecticut-newspapers/#respond Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:30:17 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19857 In summer of 2025, I was fortunate and delighted to assist as a graduate intern in the conservation lab at the American Antiquarian Society. My experiences at AAS piqued my interest in serving a research collection, and I am eager to apply the techniques I learned and refined with the insight and support of Chief … Continue reading Conservator as Mediator: Paper Mends on Eighteenth-Century Connecticut Newspapers]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/conservator-as-mediator-paper-mends-on-18th-cenury-connecticut-newspapers/feed/ 0 19857 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/hold-history-with-aas-new-initiative/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/hold-history-with-aas-new-initiative/#respond Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:15:41 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19843 Did you ever wish to visit the American Antiquarian Society but have no clue where to start? Have you ever felt intimidated by the marble columns and brick building, thinking that the library is just for professors or scholars? Did you ever go on a public tour on a Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and want … Continue reading “Hold History” With AAS’ New Reading Room Initiative]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/hold-history-with-aas-new-initiative/feed/ 0 19843 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/show-me-the-money-online-gallery-features-american-revolution-currency/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/show-me-the-money-online-gallery-features-american-revolution-currency/#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:30:04 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19824 These days it is rare to see someone pay with cash. Usually debit or credit cards are swiped or phones are tapped at checkouts and funds move invisibly between accounts. Apps like Venmo mean a group can easily move digital money around in real time to split a restaurant bill. Parking meters use apps, laundromats … Continue reading Show Me the Money! Online Gallery Features American Revolution Currency]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/show-me-the-money-online-gallery-features-american-revolution-currency/feed/ 2 19824 https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/adventures-in-amateur-newspaper-cataloging-wicked-magic-at-aas/ https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/adventures-in-amateur-newspaper-cataloging-wicked-magic-at-aas/#respond Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:30:43 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19816 The recent purchase of the Western Investor, an 1890 newspaper from Aberdeen, South Dakota, brought an unusual level of excitement to the newspaper office at the American Antiquarian Society. Despite sporting a slightly whimsical masthead, the paper appeared to be a standard, somewhat dull financial newspaper interesting only for researchers of bank and stock market … Continue reading Adventures in Amateur Newspaper Cataloging: “Wicked” Magic at AAS]]> https://pastispresent.org/2026/good-sources/adventures-in-amateur-newspaper-cataloging-wicked-magic-at-aas/feed/ 0 19816 https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/a-beginners-guide-to-acquisitions/ https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/a-beginners-guide-to-acquisitions/#respond Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:35:38 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19809 The American Antiquarian Society already preserves over four million books, newspapers, graphics and manuscripts, but new acquisitions are still being added to the collection every month.  How are newly acquired collection materials made accessible to researchers in the AAS reading room? This post examines the detailed process by which AAS staff acquire, receive, process, pay … Continue reading A Beginner’s Guide to Acquisitions]]> https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/a-beginners-guide-to-acquisitions/feed/ 0 19809 https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/new-online-gallery-showcases-cloth-printings-at-aas/ https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/new-online-gallery-showcases-cloth-printings-at-aas/#respond Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:25:37 +0000 https://pastispresent.org/?p=19795 While most library collections are printed or written on paper, hundreds of historic objects at the American Antiquarian Society — including broadsides, children’s books, and ribbon badges — were printed onto cloth. Often produced as keepsakes, souvenirs, commemorative objects, or teaching tools, cloth printings in the AAS collection include texts and images printed onto silk, … Continue reading New Online Gallery Showcases Cloth Printings at AAS]]> https://pastispresent.org/2025/good-sources/new-online-gallery-showcases-cloth-printings-at-aas/feed/ 0 19795