The papers of C. Malcolm Watkins provide comprehensive documentation of his professional career from 1934 to 1980. The collection documents his interest in early American culture; his research on ceramics, historic archeology, and early California history; his curatorial and administrative activities in the Department of Anthropology, USNM, ...

This accession consists of records that document research for the major permanent exhibition in the museum, After the Revolution: Everyday Life in America, 1780-1800, which opened in 1985. Included are scripts; contracted research reports by non-museum historians; graphics files for logos and stationery; public relations and educational t...

Hundreds of stereographs and other photographic imagery, especially a large number of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia; other subjects include: the World's Columbian Exhibition (1893); the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the Great Sanitary Fair; a large number on Massachusetts, including a set of images from Old Sturbridge; buildings and scenery; miscellaneous other subjects.

The collection primarily documents the activities of the National Museum of American History's Program in African American Culture (PAAC) dating from 1979 through 2004. The Program in African American Culture (PAAC) created public programs documenting the black experience in the United States, as well as, other countries. Archival materials include photographs, programs, administrative files, magnetic tape, audiocassettes, U-matic and VHS video cassettes.

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.

The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 27 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M816. These digital surrogates reproduced 55 volumes containing signatures of and personal identification data about depositors in 29 branch offices of the Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, 1865–1874.

These records of the Department of Cultural History and its predecessor, the Department of Civil History, consist of administrative files including memoranda and correspondence concerning exhibits, general museum and departmental policies, the acquisition of objects, and the search for a curator; general correspondence with donors, researchers...

The J. Scott Odell folk music collection (1945-2016, inclusive) contains AV recordings, photographs, correspondence, writings, and other materials relating to Odell's career at the Smithsonian as a musical instrument conservator and researcher of American music traditions. The collection largely consists of materials relating to Odell's research trips (often combined with personal visits) throughout the Eastern United States. Research strengths of the collection include the history of the Appalachian dulcimer and banjo, the Smithsonian Folkways project "Black Banjo Songsters," musician and poet Burt Porter, and the Bread and Puppet Theater.

The records include incoming and outgoing correspondence and memoranda from Zora Martin-Felton and other staff of the Education Department, as well as program reports, budget justifications, and planning statements. These materials are scattered throughout the records and have many chronological gaps. The records also describe the development ...

The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.