Desiree’s new favorite is the story of Eliza Allen of Eastport, Maine, who published a memoir in 1851 of many adventures, including disguising herself as a man to serve during the Mexican-American War. An original copy of the publication, The Female volunteer, or, The life, and wonderful adventures of Miss Eliza Allen, a young lady […]

Paul discovered that a portion of the aerial photographs recently donated by Sewall Company include flight paths over Vietnam from the era of the late 1960s. His new favorite is this one, Song Dong Nai River, Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, February 10, 1966. This image is available for download, and many other photographs are being […]

This Maine Militia Flag is a favorite, particularly during this year of celebration of Maine’s Bicentennial of Statehood. After separating from Massachusetts in 1820, new flags were needed to represent each of Maine’s approximately 100 military companies. Inspired by an elegant design that had previously been created for the Westbook Light Infantry Company by the […]

Kari found this favorite, an “All the Way with LBJ” license plate, as she was processing the David C. Smith papers. She explains, “Historically speaking, this license plate caught my attention because during the 1960s most states only required one license plate, so most citizens could display their political party of choice on their car. […]

Elaine chooses as her new favorite our several resources related to the Maine clam industry.  These include scientific and economic studies in our state documents collection, theses and dissertations, and fun books in our children’s and juvenile literature collections, like Newberry: The Life and Times of a Maine Clam. The Northeast Archive of Folklore and […]

Paul’s latest favorite is this image of Mount Katahdin from the Sewall Company aerial photographs recently donated to the University of Maine and Raymond H. Fogler Library. Founded in 1880, Sewall began offering aerial photography services in 1948. Since this image of Mount Katahdin was taken that year, it was probably among the earliest aerial […]

Our books on netting are among Elaine’s favorites, particularly because she was given her mother-in-law’s netting needle.  At one time, netting was a major industry for coastal Maine.  Techniques were used create and repair fishermen’s nets and glass float bags, and also for lace and many other decorative handicrafts.  Books within our collections on this […]

Last year, a diligent researcher asked whether the Great Northern Paper Company Records included anything about a group of Tibetan workers who had been recruited in 1967 to be trained as loggers in the Maine woods. The Great Northern Paper Company Records have been one of our most popular collections for several years, but as […]

Matthew’s current favorite is this replica 1960 UMaine sports jacket donated by the University of Maine Alumni Association. This thick wool jacket is both retro cool and would do a good job of keeping out the cold of a Maine winter. While collecting for the University Archive is focused primarily on written or printed records, […]

When thinking on our favorites, Elaine wanted to be sure to highlight one of Raymond F. Vigue’s models, like this 1947 Air Propelled Sled. Vigue was born in Winslow, Maine in 1913 and worked in the lumber industry until 1951. He then worked for Mack Trucks designing highly specialized machines and trailers used in off-highway […]