LIFE Photo Archives Online
LIFE Magazine was famous for its own photography. In addition, it had one heck of a photo archive. Now some of that work
is available online, stretching as far back as the 1870s (long before the publication came into existence).
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.
I'm finding that the description doesn't quite mesh with what I can see on the site. No matter how I search, whether by decade, year, or topic, the maximum number of photos that come back seems to be 200. For those who need old pictures for projects, remember that in the U.S., anything from before 1923 is in the public domain.
Labels: archives, historic, LIFE, photographs
The Late Robert Heinlein Goes Online
A cooperative project between The Heinlein Prize Trust and the UC Santa Cruz Archives have put the
Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Archives online. That means all the published works with the associated notes, research, drafts, and edits. You can actually see evidence of his creative approach. These are all digitized versions of his files. An example is
Time Enough for Love, which has the following:
- Part 1, 184 pages, contains 66 pages of working notes, mostly calculation of genetic scenario. Manuscript pages listed “Discarded Pages” (but the content is included in the book; not new content). Pages of bugle calls music sheets (as used in the index of the book). A calendar picture of an attractive young lady, unclothed (looks like the book’s descriptions of Dora & Minerva). Article about cloning.
- Part 2, 199 pages, contains notecards for story.
- Part 3, 200 pages, contains notecards for story.
- Part 4, 200 pages, contains notecards for story.
- Part 5, 200 pages, contains notecards for story.
- Part 6, 119 pages, contains notecards for story.
- Part 7, 230 pages, contains first draft of novel (titled “Lazarus Long”, no edits, manuscript pages 1-216.
- Part 8, 234 pages, contains first draft of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 216-453.
- Part 9, 240 pages, contains first draft of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 454-692.
- Part 10, 245 pages, contains first draft of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 693-936, end.
- Part 11, 230 pages, contains first draft of novel (titled “Time Enough For Love”) with extensive hand edits, manuscript pages 1-219.
- Part 12, 231 pages, contains first draft of novel with extensive hand edits, manuscript pages 220-453.
- Part 13, 240 pages, contains first draft of novel with extensive hand edits, manuscript pages 454-692.
- Part 14, 240 pages, contains first draft of novel with extensive hand edits, manuscript pages 693-936, end.
- Part 15, 220 pages, contains first edited, retyped draft of novel with numerous hand edits, manuscript pages 1-218.
- Part 16, 226 pages, contains first edited, retyped draft of novel with numerous hand edits, manuscript pages 219-450.
- Part 17, 230 pages, contains first edited, retyped draft of novel with numerous hand edits, manuscript pages 451-676.
- Part 18, 223 pages, contains first edited, retyped draft of novel with numerous hand edits, manuscript pages 677-902, end.
- Part 19, 210 pages, contains master copy of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 1-204.
- Part 20, 211 pages, contains master copy of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 205-413.
- Part 21, 210 pages, contains master copy of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 414-621.
- Part 22, 221 pages, contains master copy of novel, no edits, manuscript pages 622-841, end.
- Part 23, 307 pages, contains proof copy of novel, no edits.
But don't head for the browser yet, because there are a couple of catches. One: it still costs money. The
Time Enough for Love files are $69, though not everything is that expensive. For example, the novella
The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, with 4 pages of typed and handwritten notes as well as 186 pages of typewritten manuscript are $3. The other catch is that you'd better have a fast Internet connection:
Most of these files are extremely large. The largest files--such as "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" at 2194 pages--have been broken down into files of less than 300 pages each. These will still result in downloadable files of 80-200mb. A broadband connection is strongly recommended. Don’t try this with a dial-up. Dial-up download speeds are not supported.
You have been warned.
Labels: archives, Heinlein, online
National Archives Find Lincoln Note
The Associated Press
reports that the National Archives stumbled upon an important historic document:
a handwritten note by Abraham Lincoln exhorting his generals to pursue Robert E. Lee's army after the battle of Gettysburg, underscoring one of the great missed opportunities for an early end to the Civil War.
The text had been public knowledge because it was addressed to a general who then telegraphed the contents to the front lines at Gettysburg. Archivist Trevor Plante had literally been looking for something else when he came across this paper stuck in a desk drawer.
Labels: archives, Gettysburg, history, Lincoln
