O Say Can You See?

My summer with the First Ladies

When I arrived at orientation and received my internship guide, featuring an image of First Lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown, I could not have imagined the picture’s significance to my summer experience. I had come to work in the Division of Political History on a separate project, processing a new collection the Division had acquired, when I began cataloging images in the First Ladies Collection. This supplementary activity soon developed into an extensive project that has greatly enriched my internship experience.

Summer 2012 Internship Guide.

In my work cataloging images in the First Ladies Collection, I have been amazed by the quantity of slides and photo media that exist to document both the public and private aspects of the First Ladies’ lives, including their dresses, possessions, and political memorabilia. I compiled and organized the images generated over a century of First Ladies exhibitions, as well as assessed the material to decide which images should be prepared to go on the web. By helping to improve the breadth of the visual records, I am excited to increase access to the collection itself.

Cataloging materials.

I began the cataloging process by searching binders and digital records to find relevant images. These ranged from pictures of the famed gowns to a harp (belonging to Louisa Catherine Adams), campaign buttons (Mamie Eisenhower), and even a perfume house (Julia Grant). I then sorted these by First Lady, often researching and comparing photos to discover to whom each object belonged, before entering the images into the database. The final stages of the project involved entering each item in spreadsheets according to First Lady and object category, as well as producing a guide to a file drawer of photos illustrating the history of the exhibition.

I strove to ensure that each object record contains the full complement of images available, since artifacts are often re-photographed to satisfy project needs and utilize new technologies. We wanted to maintain the photographic history and therefore avoid discarding earlier versions. In fact, by comparing the photographic styling of earlier and later photos, we can gain a more faceted appreciation of each artifact and how it is displayed. For example, Martha Washington’s gown has been showcased in a variety of ways in the exhibition itself, which is reflected in the photographic representation. The earliest slides depict the dress modeled on a white, statuesque mannequin. In later images, the mannequin is given a distinct hairstyle and coloring, and even displayed within a period room complete with authentic furniture. The most recent photos favor simplicity, showcasing the dress on a form rather than a mannequin to highlight the beauty of the gown itself. Not only had my own projects at NMAH evolved, but I soon discovered that over the history of the collection, the First Ladies images had evolved as well.

Slides depicting the display of Martha Washington’s dress, from earliest to most recent.

Improving the scope and accessibility of image records in one of the most prominent collections in the Smithsonian has been a thrilling experience. With the 100th anniversary of the First Ladies exhibit on the horizon next year, I look forward to sharing in a renewed appreciation of this wonderful collection to complement the many interpretations of the exhibit over the last century.

Meirah Shedlo is an Intern with the Division of Political History at the National Museum of American History.

Take a hike

In an attempt to beat the heat and get away from the infamous Washington, D.C., humidity, I recently traveled with my family to the Adirondack Mountains in New York. Although a good portion of my vacation was spent lounging lakeside, I did manage to visit a variety of museums and historical sites. I paid Fort Ticonderoga a visit, entering the same archway through which such historic figures as George Washington and Benedict Arnold had passed. I also made a stop by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, reveling in the history of our nation’s pastime.

The highlight of the trip, however, was the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. Adirondack Park was established in 1892, and is the largest protected area in the contiguous United States (approximately the size of the state of Vermont). The museum’s collections range from rustic Adirondack furniture to a variety of recreational watercraft used on the region’s many lakes and rivers.

One of my favorite exhibits at the Adirondack Museum was Woods and Waters: Outdoor Recreation in the Adirondacks, which allows visitors to explore the history of outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and climbing from the 1800s into the 20th century. The exhibit also featured several objects from the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games in 1932 and 1980. As an Eagle Scout, I have long enjoyed such outdoor activities and was fascinated by the methods and equipment used by early wilderness enthusiasts and athletes alike.

With my experience at the Adirondack Museum fresh in my mind, upon my return to work here I decided to find out what kinds of outdoor recreation objects we have in our collections. I contacted Jane Rogers, Associate Curator for the Division of Culture and the Arts and got the chance to see some interesting items.

Early outdoorsmen (and women) relied on pack-baskets, essentially woven baskets with backpack straps, to carry their gear. Objects in the museum’s collections reflect modern improvements, like this cloth backpack with an external metal frame used by Earl Shaffer in his hikes along the Appalachian Trail. Even more recently, innovations like nylon straps, seen here on this Boy Scouts backpack, have allowed outdoor enthusiasts to carry more gear into the wild.

A backpack used by Earl Shaffer in his hikes on the Appalachian Trail (top) and a 1960s Boy Scout backpack (bottom).

People in the 1920s and 30s who wanted to enjoy the outdoors in style might have brought along one of these state-of-the-art picnic baskets. The stylish red, as well as the sturdy metal components surely made this a must-have piece of equipment for any outdoor enthusiast.

In the vein of winter athletes, the museum currently has a snowboarding display in the Artifact Walls on the first floor. The display features early and modern snowboards, as well as objects from Winter Olympians Shaun White and Hannah Teter. While snowboarding was not present at either of the Lake Placid games, today it has grown into a popular component of the Winter Olympics.

Outdoor recreation is a fascinating facet of this country’s history and culture, and one that you can experience anywhere from your own backyard, to local and national parks, to museums like the Adirondack Museum and the National Museum of American History.

Adam Frost is an intern in the New Media Department at the National Museum of American History.

It's getting "hot" in here

The 11-day heat wave of summer 2012 that had residents of DC and much of the nation sweltering has finally ended. Interns at the Smithsonian were warned about D.C.’s notorious heat and humidity when we first moved here in June, and having now experienced it, we’ve been officially initiated into a Beltway summer– a baptism by fire if you will.

Dr. Hasse’s jazz interns

However, despite the cooler temperatures, the 4th floor research rooms of NMAH are still hot with the sounds of jazz. Dr. John Hasse’s team of 5 interns have delved into this world, researching the Jazz Wars project, which analyzes controversies and differing perspectives of jazz and its socio-cultural significance. Part of our task has been to read music magazines and other primary publications in order to gather an accurate sense of this music as it existed in historical time, and the stories being uncovered are quite thrilling.

Before the term “jazz” became popular, this music was referred to as simply “hot”, and that word has a long history in jazz culture. Louis Armstrong’s first band, formed in 1925, was the Hot Five, and his infamous Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions have gone down in jazz history as the first recorded glimpse into the musical genius that would define Armstrong’s career. In 1931 a jazz appreciation society formed in Paris called the Hot Club de France, and Billie Holiday declared in the 1937 Count Basie-backed number “Swing Brother, Swing” that “hot rhythms stimulate me.”

Flyer promoting battle of the bands at the Savoy Ballroom.

That particular song was part of a live radio broadcast recorded at the Savoy Ballroom, birthplace of the Lindy Hop and hotbed of jazz activity in 1920s and ’30s Harlem. The Savoy was one of the few integrated nightclubs in New York at that time, and hordes of jazz enthusiasts from all social backgrounds crowded the hardwood floor to dance the night away to the best jazz and swing performers. Many of these bands faced off in what were called “cutting contests” and on the wintry night of January

Feb 1938 Downbeat article describing the cutting contest.

16, 1938, the Savoy was decidedly the hottest place in Harlem as drummer Chick Webb and his big band battled against Basie and his orchestra. Representing the vocal side of Webb’s band was Ella Fitzgerald, who Downbeat magazine reported as having the “whole crowd rocking with her” when she sang. Basie’s vocalist was Holiday, who “thrilled her fans” with her unique vocal stylings. Adding to the heat of the night was Benny Goodman’s band, including drummer Gene Krupa, who arrived after playing their own concert at Carnegie Hall, and Duke Ellington, who wound up swinging along with Basie on the piano after being persuaded to play impromptu. Both bands dazzled the crowd but Webb’s band emerged on top; however, everyone who experienced this tour de force of jazz left a winner.

Norma Miller, a member of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, the Savoy’s resident dance troupe, recalled this battle of the bands in her memoir Swingin’ At The Savoy, stating “everything was jumping, the floor was crowded with dancers.” Those dancers, much like the Smithsonian’s interns, were probably sweaty and knew a thing or two about what was “hot.”

James Padilioni is a Jazz Research Intern at the National Museum of American History.

Working with the American Double Eagle

Curator’s Note: Jennica Rzepka added three hundred images of Double Eagles (20 dollar gold coins) into the National Numismatic Collection database. To do this she had to research the objects using specific numismatic references, create or complete database records, and learn proper coin handling methods. Jennica became so passionate on her subject that she wrote this post about her newfound knowledge.

When I first accepted my internship with the National Museum of American History in the National Numismatic Collection (NNC), I had no idea what “numismatic” meant. I discovered that “numismatics” was the “study of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects.” My excitement for interning at the museum was somewhat diminished upon realizing that I’d be far from working with the Muppets or World War II memorabilia. To my surprise, however, it turns out that coins and tokens have as much beauty, mystery, and intrigue as the rest of the amazing collection at the museum.

I worked primarily with the “Double Eagle” 20-dollar gold pieces that date from 1849 to 1933. Right off the bat, I heard the word “gold” and was captivated. What girl doesn’t love shiny things? But my interest stalled there; they were still just coins. My lovely intern supervisor, Robyn Einhorn, opened my eyes to see the Double Eagles not merely as coins, but as miniature works of art. Gradually, I began to appreciate that these were little tokens of history (please excuse the pun!).

In 1848, the Gold Rush turned America on its head, and the gold pouring out of California was quickly turned into currency. The excess of gold allowed for a new denomination—the 20 dollar gold coin.

Double Eagles are extraordinary not only in their rarity, but in their design as well. From 1849 to 1907, the image on the obverse, or “head’s side,” of the Double Eagle was of Lady Liberty’s head facing left, with her hair gathered up, and surrounded by 13 stars. James Barton Longacre, chief engraver for the United States Mint from 1844 to 1869, designed the first Double Eagles, which highlighted his mastery of portrait engraving.

United States, 20 dollars, 1849, designer James Barton Longacre. This is one of two trial pattern coins struck in February 1850, but back dated to show the date 1849, when Congress authorized the striking of the first 20 dollar coins.

Although I think the Longacre design absolutely beautiful, President Roosevelt felt otherwise. In 1907, he enlisted famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create a design that was reminiscent of the beauty and high relief of ancient Greek coins. What Saint-Gaudens came up with is truly remarkable. Lady Liberty is shown striding forward, holding a torch in one hand and an olive branch in another. Her Grecian gown flows out and around her body, with sunbeams radiating from beneath her feet. The romanticism and the magnificence President Roosevelt believed American coinage lacked was found in the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and eventually the mines were depleted. Due to massive gold and capital outflows, the United States departed from an exclusive gold reserve in 1931. By April 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all Americans to surrender their gold, instantly making the 20 dollar gold pieces rare and even more valuable. So rare, in fact, that of the 445,000 Double Eagles produced in 1933, only three are known to exist in private and public collections. In 2001, one of the three went up for auction and fetched a record-breaking $7.5 million dollars. Talk about impressive! Where are the other two? Right here in the National Museum of American History.

United States, 20 dollars, 1933, designer Augustus Saint-Gaudens. This is of the two 1933 (the year most gold coins were called back to the mint and melted) Double Eagles in the collections of the National Museum of American History.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with such a significant part of American history, and I encourage you to visit Stories on Money to see these legendary coins for yourself!

Jennica Rzepka is an Intern for the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.

General Tso's Chicken: the most popular Hunanese dish in the USA

Curator’s Note: What started out as a simple research assignment for the Sweet & Sour Initiative turned into an interesting culinary experiment when I discovered that museum intern Nina had never had the dish before. We had to arrange for her to try it and see what she thought. The Sweet and Sour Initiative is a long term project at the National Museum of American History to further explore the culture and history of Chinese in America through food and restaurants. In doing so, we hope to tell a broader story of immigration and acculturation for all Americans. -Cedric Yeh

Hi everyone. I’m Nina and I’ve been working on the Sweet and Sour Initiative for almost five months now and every day I get so hungry researching all the Chinese food history.

One day while I was filing away papers and reviews on General Tso’s chicken, it suddenly dawned on me that I have never tasted this dish before. I told some of the others in the office and they were shocked. I have come to realize it is a staple of Chinese food in America, but having grown up in Taiwan, the dish was foreign to me. Not only had I not heard of the dish before, but what I imagined the dish to be was completely different as well. The first time my friend told me about her favorite Chinese dish with its strange name, it sounded like it came straight out of my high school history class. I thought she was talking about something similar to tsuai-gi (醉雞), which is chicken marinated in rice wine.

So in order to see what all the fuss was about, I knew I needed to try it for myself. And try it I did—TWICE—to compare the experiences of take out and dine-in recipes.


General Tso. Image credit: Jennifer Lee

The dish first appeared in the 1970s in New York City. Chef Peng Chang-Kuei is widely credited with creating the dish and coining its unusual name. He had created an earlier version in Taiwan in the 1950s after he fled the Chinese civil war on the mainland. He named his dish after General Tso, a famous military leader from Peng’s home province of Hunan, who legend says enjoyed chicken very, very much. Peng later came to the U.S. and opened a restaurant in New York. Even though years later he closed his shop and went back to Taiwan, the dish stayed and became a mainstay of Chinese food in America.

(Curator’s Note: The original Chef Peng dish has a clear sauce and contains chopped garlic and red peppers with a Chinese vegetable, not broccoli. Very different from the dishes Nina is about to mention.)

I began first with the takeout version of the dish. I prepared myself with a good Chinese movie, The Last Emperor, to go along with the food. The chicken came in a black plastic container and the rice came in the takeout boxes. I was a bit surprised. Only knowing Chinese takeout from the movies, I thought all takeout came in those signature red and white boxes. There was some broccoli in the dish, which complimented the color of the meat, red and green, almost like Christmas. The taste was sweeter than I expected, without much of the spiciness I expected from a Hunan dish.

I invited some Taiwanese students to accompany me to the restaurant tasting of General Tso’s. My companions were very surprised when I ordered this dish. When it arrived the first thing I noticed was the brightness, much brighter than the take out version with a lot more sauce. It too had some broccoli on the side. You could also see the hot pepper in the dish, a clear sign that this version retained a bit of the Hunan spiciness. The dine-in version boasted much larger pieces of chicken than the takeout version. The chicken itself was quite firm and thickly battered, so it was easy to tell where the batter ended and the meat began. Although everyone at the table seemed to like the dish, at the end of the meal it was the only dish that had leftovers.

Take Out

Layout: Broccoli on the side. Came in plastic black containers. Rice came in the red/white takeout boxes.
Sauce: Slightly sweeter
Chicken: Can’t tell the difference of the batter and the chicken. The “meat” was very crispy and crunchy.

Dine-In

Layout: Rice was served separately in little bowls.
Sauce: More spicy and sticky
Chicken: The batter was pretty thick, but chicken pieces are still visible.

So what did I think? It’s sweet and salty at the same time, with a tangy taste of spice. It goes well with rice and it reminds me of one of my favorite dishes back home, “sugar and vinegar chicken.” Unfortunately, I don’t think General Tso’s chicken has made it to the top my personal favorite dishes list, but I can see why the dish became so popular. And seeing as this dish is only found in the USA, I think I am going to have it a few more times before I leave.

Nina Mei Han Yang is an intern for the Sweet and Sour Initiative and the Division of Armed Forces History at the National Museum of American History.