Matthew Revitt has shared a new staff favorite, explaining, “As we prepare to commemorate Veterans Day, this program from the 1936 Armistice Day is a reminder that November 11th marks the day fighting ended in the First World War. Seeing this program is also poignant because only a few years later, in 1939, the Second […]

So much of today’s environment is digital that it’s hard to believe it has been less than 40 years since the libraries of the University of Maine system were linked to share a computer system.  This article caught Paul Smitherman’s eye as he was posting issues of the Maine Campus newspaper to DigitalCommons@UMaine.  He says, “the article […]

University Archivist Matthew Revitt has a new favorite, and has shared these details: I recently processed an unusual addition to the University Archive: a set of WW2 propaganda publications that had been transferred to Special Collections by the then UMaine Department of History & Government. Being originally from the UK, but now living in the […]

This 1929 Maine Development Commission guide provides a glimpse of Maine roadways in the early days of motor travel. The text reports, “Maine’s good roads are the result of a progressive program of highway construction, improvement and maintenance that has been consistently adhered to for many years. During the last fourteen years $84,000,000 has been […]

Albert W. Stevens was an aerial photographer, balloonist and U.S. Army officer. Born in Belfast, Maine in 1886, he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1907 and a master’s degree in 1909 from the University of Maine. Stevens, a U.S. Army officer, balloonist, and early aerial photographer, took the first photograph of Earth’s […]

Special Collections at the University of Southern Maine recently transferred to our department two oversized aerial views of the Orono campus that were taken in the 1960s. These photos have become a favorite of several visitors, including students, staff, and community members, as well as our interim Department Head, Greg Curtis. Particularly at their size, […]

With all the news about the demise of shopping malls, it’s interesting to look back at the history of one of Maine’s malls. This aerial photograph from the Sewall Company Aerial Photographs Collection shows the Bangor Mall construction site on November 1, 1977. The Mall opened the following year in October of 1978. Access and […]

As photography seems like a great activity to pursue this fall, our books on photography are Desiree’s new favorite.  Our collection includes books on the history of photography, travel guides on scenic places, guidebooks on improving techniques, artist collaborations that may serve as models for similar projects, and books about renowned Maine photographers Berenice Abbott, […]

Books on the topic of fairy houses are definitely one of Elaine’s favorites. Stories differ on how the tradition began of building fairy houses in the woods of Maine, an activity associated particularly with Monhegan Island and other coastal islands. Some sources speculate that Irish, British, and German folklore and settlement patterns may have sparked […]

While working on the Maine Women’s History Collection, Paul noticed that the newsletters of the League of Women Voters of Maine covered an impressive variety of topics to help voters make informed choices, including topics in the 1980s on nuclear disarmament.  These included the details of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in January, 1988, […]