Holidays and Special Occasions

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library has nearly 2,000 movable and pop-up books, that are made with a variety of paper construction types and mechanisms that control the movement of the action on the pages. One type of movable book form is a carousel book. A carousel looks like an ordinary flat two dimensional book, but when opened, it unfolds into a 360 degree circle when stood upright.

The holiday season has kitchens humming around the world, whether it’s churning out a favorite cookie recipe or prepping a celebratory meal with loved ones. In the 1700s, kitchens in England regularly consulted Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy for tried-and-true recipes. Among Glasse’s readers was a food lover near and dear to our hearts: Smithsonian founder James Smithson. Whether he knew it or not, Smithson had a bit in common with Glasse.

We’re celebrating new publications, exciting exhibitions, and the festive holiday season with another round of digital jigsaw puzzles. This collection of images highlights a few winter favorites as well as recent Smithsonian Libraries and Archives projects.

Play them right here on our blog or use the links to play full screen. Each puzzle is set to be 100 pieces but they are customizable to any skill set. Click the grid icon in the center to adjust the number of pieces.

It’s been a busy year! Indulge us as we take a trip down memory lane and highlight our top blog posts of 2022.

In no particular order, here are five of our most-read posts of the year:

An Interview with Director Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives  by Liz O’Brien

You asked and we delivered. A new set of digital jigsaw puzzles is finally here! We’re so glad you enjoyed our last round of puzzles and hope you find these equally entertaining.

Families have different Thanksgiving traditions. Some may prefer a casual dinner while others plan formal events. Either way, a Thanksgiving meal requires many pieces, everything from individual place settings to serving dishes. How might Great Grandma have set her table for a special occasion in 1915? This trade catalog may give us a glimpse.

As the holidays approach, children often dream of that perfect gift. What did a child dream of in the early 20th Century? Is it very different from today? Perhaps there are some similarities. We may find a few possibilities in this trade catalog.

A garden is a place to rest, relax, rejuvenate. It also provides an opportunity to learn about nature. Staff at Smithsonian Libraries and Archives are also learning and developing new skills. Some of these new skills are related to digitization and accessibility of biodiversity literature.

What comes to mind when you think of Thanksgiving? Family gatherings, time with friends, relaxing, traveling, or maybe a delicious meal? Those meals require work, and today we have the luxury of modern kitchen appliances. But imagine the time it took to prepare a meal in the 19th Century. This 1868 trade catalog gives us a small glimpse into possible kitchens of the past.

That time of year is upon us. The season when we see lots of gift bags stuffed with brightly colored tissue paper. The simple act of fluffing a piece of tissue paper and placing it in a bag seems to brighten any present. But how about using tissue paper to create art? This trade catalog from over a century ago might spark our creativity.

“It’s alive!” During the spooky season celebrated around Halloween, decorations and costumes of classic pop culture creatures abound, like Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s monster himself. Our modern conception of Frankenstein is a loveable zombie, tall and dopey with green skin and spiky hair, bolts and stitches. Originally published in 1818, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus actually tells the story of Dr.