National Library of Australia: Hilda Rix Nicholas Collection

The cover of the latest issue of The National Library Magazine features Hilda Rix Nicholas' Portrait of a Young Girl. In An Exceptional Woman Among Others, Gwen Rankin explores the  research treasures within the Hilda Rix Nicholas Collection. Rankin describes how letters from other artists bring to life the newspaper clippings and art-related materials in the collection. For more information about Rix Nicholas, see John Pigot's Hilda Rix Nicholas: Her Life and Art (Carlton South, Vic. : Miegunyah Press, 2000). 

Image Caption: Hilda Rix Nicholas (1884–1961) Portrait of a young girl, from the sketchbook ‘In the Latin Quarter’(detail) between 1907 and 1909. Papers of Hilda Rix Nicholas Manuscripts Collection (MS9817/18/2)

Norway on Flickr Commons: County Archives in Sogn og Fjordane

The County Archives in Sogn og Fjordane is the most recent addition to the Flickr Commons. The collection offers more than 300 photos, including numerous group and individual portraits of women. In some cases, such as with this photo, the names of individuals in the photographs are not known. Fortunately, Flickr not only reaches a wide audience, but also lets users comment about specific images.


Image Caption: Three women. Photograph by Paul Stang.

Digital Collection: Jewish Women's Archive: History Makers

The Jewish Women's Archive History Makers collection features about a dozen women famous and should be famous women for their significant contributions "to creating a more just & equitable world." Photos, audio & video clips, writings and other primary sources are brought together in essays to tell each woman's story. Women featured include Bella Abzug, Emma Goldman, Anna Sokolow and more.

On This Day: Homestead Act

Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862.

See Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story from the National Park Service. This lesson plan includes maps, images, and contextual essays. Image caption: Adeline Hornbek (Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument)

The Homestead Act is one NARA's 100 Milestone Documents.

Digital Collection: Djuna Barnes Artwork

Artwork by journalist and author Djuna Barnes (1892-1982) is now available via the University of Maryland Libraries’ Digital Collections.

Image caption: Djuna Barnes, Self-portrait in earrings from Pearson’s Magazine, 1919

On This Day: The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established.

The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established on May 14, 1942.

The Women Veterans Historical Collection includes a wealth of primary sources. See the Army section (WAAC, WAC, Nurse Corps) for an excellent selection of diaries, letters, papers, photographs, published materials, posters, uniforms, artifacts, and oral histories.

Image caption/link: World War II era recruiting poster for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).


Caption: First of WAACS Arriving: Young Women of 48 States Begin Training

The Iowa Digital Library's World War II Press Clippings collection includes more than 1700 clippings about the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.

On This Day: Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Award to Virginia Hall, 05/12/1945

Document for May 12th from the National Archives: Memorandum for the President from William J. Donovan Regarding Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Award to Virginia Hall, 05/12/1945

For additional information about Hall, listen to the NPR segment, British, French Honor U.S. Spy Virginia Hall (4:32).

Academic Universe (LexisNexis) guide to Women's Studies Collections

The LexisNexis wiki includes a guide to its women's studies-related collections. It breaks things down into three categories:

• family and personal papers
• reform movements
• U.S. government archival records

New Exhibit: Gaman and the Story of the Vest with a Thousand Knots

Gaman and the Story of the Vest with a Thousand Knots
This post on the Smithsonian's Eye Level blog features a Senninbari (literally, thousand-person-stitches) vest that was made by the mother of George Matsushita while she was interned at the Amache camp in Colorado. Each of the 1,000 French-tied knots on the vest were tied by a different person in the camp.

The exhibition The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese Internment Camps, 1942-1946 continues at the Renwick Gallery through January 30, 2011. NPR's The Creative Art Of Coping In Japanese Internment (6 min 23 sec) includes additional background information and sample images from the collection.