In order to improve our internal workflows, the IDHH migrated to a new aggregation server in the October 2024 quarterly harvest. If your library is a contributor to the IDHH, you do not need to do anything to your collections, metadata, or your OAI feed. The IDHH will continue our usual workflow, where we harvest and aggregate collection metadata from all contributing institutions into a single stream of metadata for DPLA to ingest into the DPLA and IDHH catalogs.
However, this migration will change direct links to item records in the DPLA and IDHH sites (for example, a URL like https://idhh.dp.la/item/7bcdb6b16968d22a6457bbffbfa7d1fd). While it is unlikely, if you have any direct links in your social media or websites to specific items using DPLA or IDHH URLs, you will need to update them now that the October harvest has concluded.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to the IDHH with any questions!
Staley Library – 1985. 1985. Millikin University. Big Blue Photograph Collection. Courtesy of Millikin University.
The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.
As the month of October draws to an end, we enter the festivities of Halloween, Samhain, Allhallowtide, and Día de los Muertos. For some it’s spooky season, a time to delight in the macabre and darker side of life and death (and free candy); for others, it’s a time of religious rites and celebrations, including feasting, prayer and fasting, and remembrance.
Here are a few of our favorite Halloween-related images from IDHH contributors:
John Comstock, Skeleton reader. March 06, 1922. West Chicago Public Library District. Cornelia Neltnor Anthony and Frank D. Anthony Book Plate Collection. Courtesy of the West Chicago Public Library District.Mount Greenwood Park (0251) Events – Holiday celebrations – Halloween, 1971. 1971. Chicago Public Library. Chicago Park District Records: Photographs. Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library.Halloween party stereo cards, 1899 [page 1]. 1899. Bensenville Community Public Library. Bensenville Historical Collection. Courtesy of the Bensenville Community Public Library.Independence Park (0083) Events – Holiday celebrations – Halloween, undated. Chicago Public Library. Chicago Park District Records: Photographs. Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, both of which feature historic correspondence. These handwritten letters (as well as photographs in one collection) give us an intimate look into the personal and professional lives of the writers and the recipients, as well as the culture and period in which they lived.
Charles E. Mudie Papers: An English author and publisher, Charles Edward Mudie (1818–1890) founded “Mudie’s Select Library,” an innovative library that introduced the concept of lending books through a circulating system operated by subscription membership. The letters in this digital collection are not only between Mudie and his family (including his wife and son who helped the Library run smoothly), but also between Mudie and contemporary writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Carlyle, Wilkie Collins, and Robert Browning.
William Allingham Papers: William Allingham (1824–1889) was an Irish poet and editor who, along with his wife Helen Allingham (née Patterson), a watercolorist and illustrator, were well-acquainted with the members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and collaborated with some in the publication of Allingham’s poems. In addition to letters between Henry and Helen Allingham, the letters in this digital collection are also between Mudie and Pre-Raphaelites and contemporary writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Everett Millais, Anne Isabella Ritchie (née Thackeray), and William Michael Rossetti.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Letter from Harriet Beecher Stowe to Charles E. Mudie, October 3, unknown year [page 1]. 18uu-10-03. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from Alfred Tennyson to Charles E. Mudie, undated. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from Wilkie Collins to Charles E. Mudie, December 5, 1860. 1850-12-05. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from William Michael Rossetti to William Allingham, December 14, unknown year [sheet 1, pages 1 and 4]. 18uu-12-14. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. William Allingham Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie to William Allingham, undated [sheet 1, pages 1 and 4]. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. William Allingham Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.
In recognition of Labor Day, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of labor movements, worker advocacy, and labor strikes in Illinois:
Recordings of the Illinois Labor History Society (Roosevelt University): explore oral history audio recordings that tell stories related to labor unions and movements, marginalized communities and worker advocacy, and labor strikes in Illinois.
Mary G. Harris Jones: explore images and text related to “Mother Jones,” an Irish-born school teacher, seamstress, labor organizer, activist, and self-described “hell-raiser”.
Labor and Industry: explore images, texts, and audio recordings from multiple IDHH collections and institutions related to labor, industry, and organization and advocacy for workers.
You can also view the IDHH’s previous posts with topics related to Labor Day:
Local Union No. 183 in parade. 1903. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Picture Chicago. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.History of Local 208, American Federation of Musicians [page 1]. Louise Henry, creator. October 23, 1939. Chicago Public Library. Illinois Writers Project: Negro in Illinois Collection. Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
Want to learn about the history of Aurora, Illinois, and its surrounding area? In addition to a previous collection, you can explore the new collection from the Aurora Public Library District, which includes over 200 images from photographs and postcards in their Community History Collection, including images of libraries, the downtown area, and historic buildings:
Want to learn more about the history of Marshall, Illinois, and its surrounding area? In addition to two previous collections, you can explore the new collection from the Marshall Public Library, which includes over 350 historic photographs, letters, and maps contributed by library users and digitized by the Illinois Heartland Library System’s Mobile Memory Lab:
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Aurora Public Library Main Floor circa 1904. circa 1904. Aurora Public Library District. Aurora Historic Photographs. Courtesy of the Aurora Public Library District.
Vandalia R.R. Depot. Marshall Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Marshall Public Library. Courtesy of the Marshall Public Library.
Fox Street Postcard 1910s. circa 1910. Aurora Public Library District. Aurora Historic Photographs. Courtesy of the Aurora Public Library District.
Letter from P. F. May 22, 1864. Thornburgh to Daughter [page 1]. Marshall Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Marshall Public Library. Courtesy of the Marshall Public Library.
With Memorial Day and military march concerts around in the corner in the United States, the IDHH is featuring a collection related to the “American March King”: the Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932), known as the “American March King,” was a conductor and composer best known for his military marches. Some of his well-known marches are “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (the National March of the United States of America) and “The Liberty Bell” (used as the theme for the television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus). In addition to his music, Sousa helped to develop the sousaphone, a brass instrument related to the tuba that is easier to perform while marching.
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music (SACAM) seeks to document America’s diverse music heritage through the acquisition and preservation of archival records and historical artifacts in multiple formats. Their Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection is a collection of images of photographs taken from multiple viewpoints of musical instruments in the Center’s physicalcollections, ranging from flutes to trumpets to guitars; some of the instruments also have a 3D digital model constructed that can be viewed online as well.
Here are a few of our favorite instruments:
Clarinet [front side view]. [undated] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Heckelphone [front side view]. 1926. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Cornet [right side view]. 1880. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Saxophone (soprano) [right side view]. 1947. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Sousa Archives Music Instrument Digital Image and 3D Model Collection. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow with new collections and contributors added each quarterly harvest!
Want to learn about the history of instrumental music education? Explore three new collections from the VanderCook College of Music, which contain images, sheet music, documents, and narratives about the founders Hale A. VanderCook and Hubert E. Nutt and the students who have passed through the halls of VanderCook College:
Want to learn about the history of the Alton, Illinois, and its neighbor cities, villages, and townships? Explore the new collection from the Hayner Public Library District, which includes over 5,000 images from photographs and postcards, including images originally taken for the Alton Telegraph newspaper:
The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of women in Illinois:
Jane Addams: explore photographs and documents related to Jane Addams, social reformer, and settlement and women’s suffrage activist, who co-founded Chicago-settlement Hull House in 1889 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Gwendolyn Brooks: explore photographs related to Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
The Creative Woman (Governors State University): a collection containing issues of GSU’s quarterly feminist journal The Creative Woman, which featured articles, essays, and creative writings on the lives and experiences of women.
The Woman’s Study Club of Joliet (Lewis University): a collection containing documents and records of the Women’s Study Club of Joliet, a club with the goal of educating women members which grew from the Columbian Clubs and The Woman’s Building organized by Bertha Palmer for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.
You can also visit the IDHH’s Digital Exhibits to learn about the life and career of two turn-of-the-twentieth-century Illinois women: Rachel Crothers, a playwright from Bloomington, Illinois, and Fanny Butcher, Literary Editor at the Chicago Tribune.
You can also view the IDHH’s previous posts with topics related to Women’s History Month:
The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.
In recognition of Black History Month, the IDHH would like to highlight several collections from our contributors and curated searches of IDHH items that tell different stories about the history of Black people in Illinois:
Gwendolyn Brooks: explore photographs related to Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate of Illinois and the first African American poet to win the Pulitzer Prize.
EBR African American Cultural Life (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville): a collection containing photographs, posters, and pamphlets centered around Eugene B. Redmond, Poet Laureate of East St. Louis whose work is connected to the Black Arts Movement and Professor Emeritus at SIUE.
EBR Million Man March (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville): a collection containing photographs about the Million Man March, a demonstration by Black men marching to Washington on October 16, 1995, and its second Anniversary celebration.
Timuel D. Black, Jr., Digital Collection (Chicago Public Library): a collection containing handwritten and typed letters and speeches by Timuel D. Black, Jr., civil rights activist, educator, and historian of Black life and politics in Chicago.
With our most recent harvest, the IDHH welcomes a new contributor, Chicago Theological Seminary! Established in 1855, Chicago Theological Seminary is a multi-faith seminary affiliated with the United Church of Christ and committed to “racial and social justice, to gender equality and LGBTQ rights, and to deep interreligious engagement.”¹ This new contributor shares with the IDHH two new collections: Triennial Conventions and Challenge and Response.
Triennial Conventions features the minutes and proceedings of the Triennial Conventions, a convention of the Ministers and Delegates of the Congregational Churches in the Midwest held every three years in association with the Chicago Theological Seminary. The collection contains the Triennial Conventions from 1858 through 1930.
1st Triennial Convention, October 1858 [page 2]. 1858. Chicago Theological Seminary. Triennial Conventions. Courtesy of Chicago Theological Seminary.1st Triennial Convention, October 1858 [page 4]. 1858. Chicago Theological Seminary. Triennial Conventions. Courtesy of Chicago Theological Seminary.Challenge and Response features the flagship magazine, Challenge & Response, published by the CTS Office of Advancement beginning in 2012. The magazine publishes news from the seminary faculty and staff, as well as students and alums.
Challenge & Response Fall 2012 [page 1]. 2012. Chicago Theological Seminary. Challenge and Response. Courtesy of Chicago Theological Seminary.¹ From Chicago Theological Seminary’s Statement of Mission & Commitments.
