Collections Search is blooming with springtime additions! They join the thousands of paintings, photos, and artifacts that are already available online.
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Take a look at newly digitized artifacts in Collections Search. They join the thousands already available online, from portraits to ribbons.
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Art on February 22, 2022
When the capital gets a snowstorm, Washingtonians famously lose their cool: runs on milk and bread, kids eager for school closures, and drivers sliding and slipping on icy streets. The House Collection contains more than 150 years’ worth of images of Capitol Hill covered in snow.
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Dive into America’s infamous dry period with our new primary source set on Prohibition, geared to teachers and students.
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Art on December 2, 2021
All year, newly digitized artifacts join the thousands already available online. Take a look at a few added this autumn, and browse more of the House’s most eye-catching and recognizable objects at Collections Search.
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Art on September 16, 2021
Congressional license plates may have been just thin strips of metal affixed to the top of a regular license plate, but the plates ended up giving Members of Congress motoring superpowers.
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Home to more than 13,000 artifacts and works of art, the House Collection encompasses the institution’s history. This Edition for Educators highlights pieces that reflect the relationship between material culture and the history of the nation’s legislature.
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In November 1899, Washington, DC, loaned the Architect of the Capitol a fire engine, along with its firemen, for a special task: to give the Capitol a bath. As House Collection photographs show, the custom continued for more than 60 years.
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Art on January 25, 2021
Civil rights, Congress, and the performances of jazz pianist Hazel Scott coincided in the late 1940s and early 1950s. “I’ve been brash all my life, and it’s gotten me into a lot of trouble,” Scott said. “But at the same time, speaking out has sustained me and given meaning to my life.”
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Art on December 3, 2020
The Parliamentarian's index finger rests on one precise spot in his scrapbook of precedents—the important reference file of a man known for his influence.
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Art on September 2, 2020
The year 1913 dawned with a conundrum. There were 401 desks and chairs in the crowded House Chamber and 440 people who needed a seat when Congress convened in the spring. How could each Member of Congress claim a chair?
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When the dust settled after construction of the first House and Senate Office Buildings, only the Senate had a subway line. Representatives had to wait—and walk—until the Rayburn House Office Building opened in 1965.
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