The collection documents in photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, correspondence, stock ledgers, annual reports, and financial records, the evolution of the telegraph, the development of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the beginning of the communications revolution. The collection materials describe both the history of the company and of the telegraph industry in general, particularly its importance to the development of the technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection is useful for researchers interested in the development of technology, economic history, and the impact of technology on American social and cultural life.

This collection consists of 72 linear feet of the papers of Benjamin O. Davis. Included are the following types of material: programs, invitations, certificates, correspondence, published material, and photographs.

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

This accession consists of records that document the Special Exhibition Fund (SEF) that distributes grants for significant exhibitions at the Smithsonian. These records date back to when SEF was first established by the Board of Regents and later administered by the offices of the Assistant Secretary for Museums, 1986-1992, the Assistant ...

The papers of painter Elizabeth Gardner Bouguereau measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1977, with the bulk of the material dating from 1864 to 1920. Found within the papers are correspondence written to Bouguereau's immediate family; clippings and miscellaneous printed material; and photographs of Bouguereau and her husband Adolphe.

Also in the Archives are papers lent for microfilming on reel 3135 and returned to Bouguereau's grandniece, Miriam Dunnan. These papers are not described in the container listing of this finding aid and are available only on microfilm. Included are photographs of Elizabeth and Adolphe Bouguereau and Imogene Robinson Morrell.

The scattered papers of painter Ernest Lawson measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1967. The papers consist of family correspondence with daughter Margaret, and between Margaret and her mother Ella Lawson; a dismantled scrapbook containing exhibition announcements, catalogs, and clippings; and a 1937 photograph of a group of artists at a dinner at the Salmagundi Club honoring Lawson along with a photograph of a work of art by Lawson signed by the numerous artists attending the dinner, including Victor C. Anderson, George Elmer Browne, Gordon Grant, Eugene Higgens, Ivan G. Olinsky, Eugene Speicher, Guy Wiggens, and Keith Shaw Williams, among others.

This accession consists of information files, original reports and correspondence, papers and articles, and other background material on Smithsonian buildings. These records were compiled by the Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation (OAHP), research associates, and volunteers. Items in brackets describe cross-references ...

Robert Moody Laughlin is an American ethnologist specializing in the study of Mayan language, history, customs, and folklore. He spent the majority of his career working for the Smithsonian Institution, first with the Bureau of American Ethnology, then with the Department of Anthropology. He has been a curator emeritus with the department since his retirement in 2006. The Robert Moody Laughlin papers (1899-2016, bulk 1954-2016) document his research and professional activities and primarily deal with language and folktales he recorded and studied, as well as the culture and history of the Tzotzil and other Mayan groups in the Chiapas region. His involvement in language education and training, advocacy for the Tzotzil and language and cultural revitalization, and administrative matters at the Smithsonian are also represented. The collection consists of materials created for books and other publications, field notes, research materials, correspondence, administrative files, sound recordings, video recordings, photographs, and electronic records.

Papers of William Mason of Taunton, Massachusetts--engine builder, machinist, and manufacturer of locomotives and cotton machinery. The papers consist of bills, receipts, and correspondence concerning the operation of his household, the construction of his residence, and several incidental papers dealing with his business affairs.

The records of the Dorothy Weiss Gallery measure 18.7 linear feet and date from circa 1964 to 2001 (bulk 1984-2000). The collection documents the gallery's relationships with approximately three hundred artists, through artist files, exhibition files, and subject files, and is an excellent source of information on the work of contemporary ceramic and glass sculptors.