This week, rather than diving into a unique subject heading from the Lester Levy Sheet Music Collection, I decided to share a teaser for an upcoming map project. Before Times Square and Harlem were the centers of entertainment in New York City, Manhattan had at least two other major entertainment districts. One was Union Square […]
This June, we at the libraries encourage you to celebrate your identity, your community, and your people! In honor of Pride Month, here is a list of projects, resources, materials and events that serve LGBTQ people on the Johns Hopkins campus. Education: Safe zone trainings are available for students, staff, and faculty of the Johns […]
In 1793, Jean-Pierre Blanchard became the first to fly a balloon over the English channel. 8 years later, he took off from a Philadelphia prison yard in the first manned balloon flight in the United States. The rise of ballooning quickly captured the imaginations of composers and lithographers. El Globo Contradanza has no publisher or […]
Written by Reina Murray Congratulations to all Johns Hopkins University 2021 graduates! Before you move onto exciting new adventures, don’t forget about all the work you’ve created during your time here at Hopkins. In particular, did you use JHU’s ArcGIS Online platform? JHU affiliates have access to the JHU ArcGIS Online organization as long as they have an active JHED […]
An April post described how the NERL Consortium (Johns Hopkins University is a Core Member) issued a public statement describing how they will negotiate with publishers for a better deal for researchers and libraries. They outlined five principles they would use in their work with publishers and vendors: Transparency: NERL commits to transparency of the negotiating process and […]
The original Ferris wheel was unveiled at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. Leading up to the fair, the revolutionary attraction was heavily advertised in the Chicago Daily Tribune– it first appeared in print on February 25, 1893 (2 months before the fair opened): “On the Midway Plaisance […]
The temperance movement in the United States started in the 18th century, advocating for the abstention from alcohol and drugs. Organizations including the Anti Saloon League and Womens Christian Temperance Union campaigned successfully for the 18th amendment to the constitution, which prohibited the possession and manufacture of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Prohibition songs can […]
During my sophomore year of music school, I took a class in earth science. There I learned about the loudest sound in recorded history—the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano that was heard 3,000 miles away. To put the distance into perspective, that would be the equivalent of an explosion in Seattle being heard in […]
With Spring flowers in full bloom, this week’s deep dive celebrates the many floral lithograph covers in the Levy Sheet Music Collection. It took a while to choose my favorites (almost 500 songs are tagged with the subject heading “flowers,”) and as I’m far from a florist, I’ll refrain from trying to identify any of […]
Now that it’s Spring in Baltimore and cicadas are starting to emerge from their seventeen-year sleep, I thought this week would be a good time to dive into the collection’s holdings on insects. Not surprisingly, insects have made their way onto quite a few lithograph covers. This ornate flower basket printed in 1860 has at […]