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This 1808 illustration of Christie's auction rooms makes you wonder what sort of documentation they provided with their sales. Buying items at auction has been going on for a very long time, and this picture from over 200 years ago really reinforces how we are just one small part of an object's total history. Image Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Importance of a Well-Documented Collection: Part 2, Purchased Items

The Importance of a Well-Documented Collection: Part 2, Purchased Items Last week’s post left you with some instructions to take a cursory look at your collection. Where and w…

Photo of “White House” once belonging to the Custis family taken on May 17, 1862. It burned down in June, 1862, prior to Henry Cole Smith’s arrival.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 42: Henry Cole Smith 8th Connecticut Infantry

Henry Cole Smith was born in 1845 to Marcus DeForest Smith and Harriet (Cole) Smith of Kent, Connecticut. He was just fifteen years old when he enlisted in Company E of the…

The bundle of old photos is a great example of a pile of history that has lost its context. Without the information of who these people were, this stack of at one time significant memories, becomes nearly worthless as it is reduced to just photographs. A well-documented collection can help prevent that.

The Importance of a Well-Documented Private Collection: Part 1

The Importance of a Well-Documented Private Collection: Part 1 I have discussed the importance of cataloging your collection over the course of a few blog posts in the past,…

Photo of the remains of the building after the explosion in 1864 at the Washington Arsenal.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 41: William Prince Ordnance Department

William Prince was the son of a well-known horticulturalist, William Robert Prince, and Charlotte Goodwin (Collins) Prince of Flushing, New York. William Prince initially…

Illustration of New Year's Day by Thomas Nast for the January 1864 Harper's Weekly issue.

New Year’s During the Civil War

“Another Year in the War”: New Year’s During the Civil War As the calendar turned during the Civil War, Americans greeted the New Year not with champagne and fireworks, but wi…

Christmas during the Civil War was a difficult time for both soldiers and civilians as they were often separated from their loved ones during the time of year that is often represented by families spending time together. The one thing that the vast majority of them could not do during the war. "Christmas Eve," Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1863.

Christmas During the Civil War: Voices from the Front and Home

Christmas During the Civil War: Voices from the Front and Home The Civil War did not pause for the holidays, yet Christmas still came. For soldiers and families separated by…

Photo of fortifications along the Petersburg lines.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 40: Benjamin Hulburd 2nd Vermont Infantry

Benjamin Hulburd was born in 1822 in Waterville, Vermont. He was 40 years old when he first enlisted in the 7th Vermont Infantry in 1862. He was discharged for disability…

Camp of the 100th New York Infantry on Morris Island.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 39: Samuel Huntingdon 100th New York Infantry

Samuel Huntingdon was born in 1829 and lived in Carrollton, New York. He was married to Elizabeth “Libby” Desire (Fuller) Huntingdon and the couple had three children: Adele, …

This painting depicts a rather subdued version of events of the West Point Eggnog Riot.

The Great West Point Eggnog Riot of 1826

The Great West Point Eggnog Riot of 1826 The night of December 24–25, 1826, at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, was anything but silent. What began …

Illustration of the Battle of Secessionville showing a bayonet charge of Union troops. Originally appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper dated 12 July 1862 via Wikimedia Commons.

Research Arsenal Spotlight 38: Amasa Hammond 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery

Amasa Hammond was born in Rhode Island in 1846. At the age of 16, he enlisted in the 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery as private in Company K. Because of his youth, Amasa…

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