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Category Archives: Columns

Exploring Antique Technologies: Leather Fire Buckets – Painted Americana at its Most Helpful 

1. Club fire buckets were decorated with their chosen logo, and few examples are as impressive as this Adroit Fire Club example from Salem, MA, ca. 1820. Emblazoned with the club’s name, the owner’s name, and the motto “Delay Not,” this striking example depicts men fighting to save a Federal-style house from burning. According to Sotheby’s, which sold the bucket for $40,000 in 2020, other examples from the Adroit Fire Club carry on the theme of the burning house surviving. photo: Sotheby’s, Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh, 2020

by Kary Pardy Imagine you lived in the 17th or 18th century. Chances are good that you would be surrounded by wooden buildings and that you would be very wary […]

Harvesting History: While seeds lie at the root of our national and international food supply and agricultural economy, technology continues to be the game-changer when it comes to planting and harvesting.

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The legend of Johnny Appleseed as an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to the Midwest and beyond is a uniquely American story that to this day continues to […]

A History of National Service: Over the past half-century, U.S. public policy has sought to increase the number of Americans engaged in service activities and volunteering.

AmeriCorps group

In John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961, the President called on all Americans to commit themselves to service and sacrifice: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not […]