Category Archives: Collections Highlights

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”: The Enduring Appeal of a Holiday Hit

As we enter the holiday season, it’s nearly impossible to escape the sounds of holiday standards warbling through PA systems and speakers wherever you go. Holiday music is an incredibly lucrative industry with a wide-ranging and enduring appeal, and many … Continue reading

Posted in Collections Highlights, Holidays, Music History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AHC and Grand Encampment Museum Unite to Share Lora Webb Nichols’s Remarkable Wyoming Archive

Lora Webb Nichols (1883-1962) was a prolific diarist and photographer who lived most of her life in southcentral Wyoming. She accumulated more than 24,000 negatives, representing the many shades of life in the frontier mining town of Encampment. Today, the … Continue reading

Posted in Collections Highlights, Photography, Uncategorized, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Carroll Baker – More Than a Sex Symbol of the Silver Screen

With her large blue eyes and lithe figure, Carroll Baker was a Hollywood sensation. Papers of the day described her as “a little like Marilyn Monroe, a little like Jean Harlow, and altogether a platinum blonde.” She earned millions from … Continue reading

Posted in Biography and profiles, Collections Highlights, Film History, Hollywood history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Turkey to Timbales: Thanksgiving Traditions in the Toppan Rare Book Library

As Thanksgiving approaches, here a look at some culinary treasures at the Toppan Rare Book Library—two cookbooks that show how Americans have celebrated the holiday across different eras. A Child’s Party Paradise Let’s start with the more playful of our … Continue reading

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Territory Girl, Statehood Pioneer: Mary Godat Bellamy’s Wyoming Story

Imagine hearing the actual voice of someone who watched Civil War soldiers march past her childhood home, then lived to see the atomic age. That’s exactly what you can experience with Mary Godat Bellamy’s 1947 recordings—a remarkable audio document from … Continue reading

Posted in Collections Highlights, Oral history, Uncategorized, Women in History, Wyoming history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond Prissy: The Literary Ambitions of Butterfly McQueen

In a small collection at the American Heritage Center – apparently the only archival collection of her papers anywhere – actress Butterfly McQueen preserved a series of typescript works that made me wonder: of all her experiences, why did she … Continue reading

Posted in American Social History, Black History Month, Collections Highlights, Entertainment history, Uncategorized, women's history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment