William Notman
Horseshoe Falls from above, Niagara, ON, 1869
Musée McCord Museum: I-37300

Do you have a more recent photograph of this same view, from the same vantage point?
view + comment on Flickr

Recent uploads from the Commons:

The Musée McCord presents Irish immigrants and their contribution to the social, cultural, political and economic fabric of Quebec from the era of New France to today.

Being Irish O’Quebec – Irlandais O’Québec

Visit Tarn, France, with the Bibliothèque de Toulouse.

Tarn

See more terrific photographs of Sweden, Denmark and Germany from the Swedish National Heritage Board.

Carl Curman

The Library of Congress shares Bain News Service photographs of New York, Westpoint and various varsity crews.

News in the 1910s

The Brooklyn Museum finds a new location for the Williamsburg Murals inside the Hall of the Americas, on the 1st floor.

Williamsburg Murals

The Smithsonian Institution explores a young pulsar and a vast nebula.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

News and Notables from around and about The Commons

George Oates speaks at the Digital Lives conference at the British Library, whose aim is to explore a wide range of aspects of digital lives and the curation of personal digital archives. She attends via…. Second Life. ;-)

virtual George Oates

• Have a Valentine’s Ration Card from the Australian War Memorial!
• Victorian Valentines from the New York Public Library!
• The New York Times blogs about the Library of Congress’s Emo Lincoln.
• The Powerhouse Museum interviews a Flickr member, Shealo, about her re-mixes of their images into unique, new art.
• Learn just how big the Library of Congress is.
• Also, the LOC and Microsoft develop a new interactive experience for visitors.
• The Brooklyn Museum discusses 1stfans: An Audience-Specific Membership Program. Learn new ways to engage locals and web visitors who are interested in your institution.
• The State Library of Queensland, Australia, informs us that the first published novel set in Brisbane was the futuristic tale The Curse and Its Cure by Dr Thomas Pennington Lucas.
• Meet an astronomer, at the Smithsonian Institution’s video blog.

New Images from The Commons

Happy Valentine’s Day! from the State Library of New South Wales

Valentine’s Day

The Harper Collection, from the newest member of the Commons, the State Archives of Florida! This collection consists of the surviving glass negatives of noted portrait photographer Alvan S. Harper. Especially noteworthy are Harper’s portraits of middle class African-Americans.

Harper Collection

Also from the State Library of New South Wales, Discover Collections – Theatre in Sydney, photographs of the theatrical world of the first half of the twentieth century in Sydney, Australia.

Theatre in Sydney

RARET, Rádio Europa Livre from the Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian … and yes, I do hear the song “Radio Free Europe” playing in my head.

Rádio Europa Livre

Explore beautiful Figeac, France, courtesy of the Bibliothèque de Toulouse.

Figeac

The National Library of New Zealand adds more wonderful panoramas of Christchurch, Hawke’s Bay, and Nelson.

Panoramas of New Zealand

Go Visit!

13 Feb.: Unearthing the Truth: Egypt’s Pagan and Coptic Sculpture opens at the Brooklyn Museum; Edna Russman blogs about the exhibit and full disclosure of authenticity.

16 Feb.: The Main Reading Room is open for public viewing at the Library of Congress, for Washington’s Birthday.

Now through 05 Apr.: Freedom Sisters, the traveling show from the Smithsonian Institution, is running at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN. Check out the blog post from the Smithsonian about the exhibit.

Now through 19 Apr.: 25 Years of Photography: Celebrating the Anniversary of the National Collection, at the National Galleries of Scotland.

Ongoing: Urban Life through Two Lenses: A century apart, but the same place, and the same time: two photographers, two lenses, but the same goal. An online exhibit that brings Then-and-Now to a new level, from the Musée McCord Museum.

William McFarlane Notman
Great cedar tree, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, 1897, 1897
Musée McCord Museum: VIEW-3138

cbc.ca – July 8, 2008: 70 trees get axe from park board, but Hollow Tree wins reprieve

view + comment on Flickr

Welcome to the first Carnival of the Commons! This series explores various happenings at the Commons’ institutions, be they online or at their facilities, and collects intriguing posts from their blogs. This first carnival has everything but the kitchen sink in it, while in coming weeks we will feature more thematic selections. This is your at-a-glance report of happenings around the Commons.

Institutions’ Workflow

• George Eastman House posts an introduction to the ARTStor Digitization Process, a nonprofit online database of art images.
• The DNA (Digital Nationaal Archief) movie illustrates the Nationaal Archief’s digital ambitions.
• Informative articles from the National Library of New Zealand introduce their new Manuscripts & Pictorial website.
• The Brooklyn Museum updates us with an new installment of Purchasing a Major Work of Art for the Collection.
• Want to know how to implement an internal Wiki? Powerhouse Museum explains their process.

Blog Blog Blog!

• A wonderful post from the Australian War Memorial’s blog about Minnie Augusta Rattigan, who helped feed and entertain soldiers on leave in London during the First World War. A terrific adjunct to their currently running exhibit, Advancing to Victory, 1918.
• At Face to Face, the Smithsonian celebrates the 250th wedding anniversary of U.S. President George Washington and the first First Lady, Martha Washington.

Go Visit!

See below the fold for events at the institutions.
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