August Hashtag Party: Gather around the warm glow of your computers for #ArchivesCampfire on 8/2 on X and Instagram.

Gather ‘round, history buffs! It’s time to kindle your creativity and fan the flames of your archival passions. A spark of community! The glow of history! The warmth of shared stories! Join us for the next #ArchivesHashtagParty, #ArchivesCampfire, set to blaze on Friday, August 2, 2024. ⛺

With the National Archives inviting you to a day of virtual storytelling and shared history, we’re sparking conversations about summer camps, memorable outdoor adventures, and historic campfire gatherings. And rumor has it, Smokey the Bear might make a guest appearance to remind us to share archival flames responsibly!

For this #ArchivesCampfire event, we’re on the hunt for materials that capture the essence of the great outdoors and the magic of a campfire. Share photos, letters, documents, and artifacts that reflect the nostalgia, camaraderie, and timeless tradition of camping. Let’s see those snapshots that warm the heart, tell a story, or make us s’more curious about history.

Let’s make this #ArchivesCampfire Hashtag Party a night to rem-ember! Here are some ideas to spark your posts:

-Vintage photos postcards from summer camps and outdoor adventures.

-Letters or diary entries recounting memorable campfire stories or outdoor experiences.

-Artifacts or memorabilia from historic camping trips or famous campgrounds.

-Anecdotes about famous campers, historic campfire tales, or traditions.

Don’t miss out - it’s going to be lit! Thank you for joining us at the #ArchivesGoForGold finish line in July! Here are some stats:

Total mentions: 954
Total reach: 5.7M
Total impressions: 74M
Unique authors: 446

Remember, only YOU can prevent boring posts!

“I’m taking pictures of the history of today.” —Russell Lee

Come visit the new exhibit to see more than 200 of Russell Lee’s photographs of coal miners, their families, and their communities. 💡

A letter from Sergeant William H. Carney acknowledging his receipt of the Congressional #MedalofHonor in 1900 for his actions in the assault on Fort Wagner in 1863.

Mission specialist Don Thomas enjoys a hot dog in a tortilla (fewer floating crumbs!) 🌭

We’re pleased to announce that 256,444 photographs from NASA’s Glenn Research Center have recently been added to the National Archives Catalog. The photos document facilities, personnel, and aeronautic and space technology development at the Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio and at Plum Brook Station1 in Sandusky, Ohio. Also included are publicity photos, as well as images documenting various types of accidents. The photographs in this series were taken between 1943 and 2004; as such, many of the photos are credited to NASA in addition to its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

Happy National Ice Cream Month! President Reagan declared July National Ice Cream Month and July 15 (the third Sunday in July) National Ice Cream Day in 1984. Here are some sweet documents from our holdings. 🍦🍨

Patent file for ice cream confection known as “Eskimo Pie.” (NARA ID 1404539)

This is the January 1922 patent of the now-iconic Eskimo Pie, an ice cream bar covered in chocolate. It was invented by Christian K. Nelson and the patent was co-assigned to Russell Stover.

Good Humor Truck. (NARA ID 5916725)

Harry B. Burt created the Good Humor Bar, a chocolate-covered ice cream bar on a stick. To grow his business, he operated this Good Humor Truck that circulated until the 1970s.

“Good Humor” Ice Cream Suckers Ad (NARA ID 5916723)

This Good Humor ad served as evidence in Good Humor Corporation of America v. The Popsicle Corporation of the United States and Joe Lowe Corporation. It was generally understood that Good Humor and Popsicle were distinct products. In 1925, the companies reached a licensing agreement that stated Popsicle could make products under 4.5 percent butter fat as a form of sherbet, although that term had no official definition. When Popsicle made a “Milk Popsicle” in 1931 containing 4.48 percent butter fat, Good Humor sued. Who won the heated competition? Find out in Prologue.

Happy July 4th from the National Archives! Check out this video of this year’s festivities.

July 4th at the National Archives is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of John Hancock and Dykema.

Ghosts from the Past

While working on the WWI record of serviceman Hugh Edmiston, Jr., a staff member in the St. Louis Paper Lab came across this “ghostly” image of the serviceman, which is the result of a chemical reaction between the original photograph, called a platinotype, and the neighboring document. The original image has been enhanced and darkened to show greater detail from the original image.

True platinotypes, popular from 1880 to 1930, are made from metallic platinum particles that hold up well under consistent environmental conditions. If these platinotypes are housed in an unstable environment in direct contact with another paper form, platinotypes do have a tendency to transfer their image to the next document in contact with them, forming a “ghostly” image. In addition to maintaining a stable environment, interweaving acid-free paper between these photographs will prevent transfer images to other documents in the file from occurring.

It’s extremely fortunate that this photo’s image transferred to the adjacent document. The file the photo was housed in was damaged by water in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. The photograph itself was an entire loss, with a complete and total removal of the emulsion. Without this ghostly image transfer, we would have no image at all and only a blank photographic mount. Now with the help of digital technology used by our Reformatting Lab, we can capture and preserve the image even though the original photograph was lost.

How did the colonists learn about the Declaration of Independence? They might have seen this large poster, known as the Dunlap Broadside. Only 26 copies are now known to exist, and the National Archives has one!