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Arts

20th Century, Collection Essays

Mister Kelly’s and Midcentury Nightclub Culture in Chicago

Color postcard showing a city street at night. The street is lined with low buildings lit with bright lights and signs advertising restaurants, bars, and entertainment.

Hugh Iglarsh
July 17, 2026

19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Exploring the History of Photography and Indigenous Peoples

Black-and-white photograph of a group of Indigenous leaders. Some wear traditional dress and some where Euro-American suits.

Analú María López
September 17, 2025

18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Collection Essays

Polar History at the Newberry Library

Woodblock print of a sailing ship moving through bay with icebergs. A polar bear is eating a seal on one of the icebergs in the foreground.

Dr. Daniella McCahey, Texas Tech University
November 14, 2024

16th Century, High School, Lesson Plans

Albrecht Dürer and Representations of Race in the Renaissance

Dr. Lia Markey, Newberry Library
June 13, 2024

Classroom Materials, Elementary School, Middle School, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Ephemera

Anti-women's-suffrage postcard showing an angry white man nursing a baby while a white woman, implied to be his wife, is protesting for women's votes outside.

Hilary Mac Austin
March 4, 2024

17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Classroom Materials, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Anatomy of a Map

Map of the United States and Indian Territory. Insets on around the edges show major cities and pieces of infrastructure.

David Wiemer, PhD
September 29, 2023

16th Century, 17th Century, Classroom Materials, Collection Essays

Spanish Golden Age Nobility Documents

Two-page spread of an open book. On the right is a full-page illumination depicting a plumed helmet above a crest on a shield. The shield is split into four parts. Clockwise from the upper left: an armed knight on top of a tower, leaves surrounding a green rectangle crossed by a diagonal orange line, five black pots within a square surrounded by black Xs on a gold background, and a pattern of gray, black, and orange and gold checkered horizontal lines. The image is bracketed on both vertical side by a floral border. The image on the left also has vertical floral borders. These bracket two illuminations stacked vertically. The upper illumination shows Jesus (white) floating in a halo above a gold tomb. Three white men wearing armor cower away from him. The lower illumination shows a white man on a rearing white horse with sword raised. A figure wearing orange lays under the horse's feet.

Elizabeth A. Neary
April 13, 2023

16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, Classroom Materials, Collection Essays

Movable Mayhem: Pop-Up Books through the Ages

Sheets of paper layered one behind the other to create a 3D scene of buildings as if they rise up a hill. At the bottom is a body of water with fountains and a decorative balustrade running along its edge. Above this is a large neo-Romanesque house. Above this is an even larger rectangular building with grand entrances on each side, domes on the corners, and many flags. Above this is a cathedral-like building with tall windows filled with light and many domed towers. A US flag flies from its central, largest dome. The buildings are surrounded by lush plants.

Dr. Suzanne Karr Schmidt, Newberry Library
March 3, 2023

Classroom Materials, Elementary School, Middle School, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Reading a Caption

Hilary Mac Austin and Kathleen Thompson
April 4, 2022

19th Century, 20th Century, Classroom Materials, Elementary School, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Types of Photographs

Hilary Mac Austin and Kathleen Thompson
April 4, 2022

Classroom Materials, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Dating a Photograph

Hilary Mac Austin and Kathleen Thompson
April 4, 2022

19th Century, 20th Century, Classroom Materials, Elementary School, Middle School, Skills Lessons

Skills Lesson: Political Cartoons

A black-and-white line drawing of a giant, wheeled machine fronted with two outstretched hands pushes crowds of people off a cliff into a valley labeled "Unemployment Dump." The machine is labeled "Modern Machinery."

Hilary Mac Austin and Kathleen Thompson
March 7, 2022