DUSLA NYC Trip to the Special Collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society

Last Friday, DUSLA visited NYC to take tours of the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Historical Society special collections. Both tours were amazing! At the Museum of Natural History, we were introduced to the library, the photo archive, and the rare book room. Our tour guide Mai- also an iSchool alum- showed us some choice rare books from their collection, photos of which can be seen below the cut. A notable photo shows a scientific collection of ocean creatures from the 16th century- including a mermaid!

At the New York Historical Society, our tour guide Maureen walked us through the beautiful book room into the special collections department and were able to speak with many of the staff about their positions at the Historical Society. We were also shown some interesting artifacts from their collection, such as tattoo flash from the early 20th century, seen in a photo below. Other items included charming and poignant letters from a WWI solider to friends, and a very old recipe for eggnog!

All in all, we had a great time. Thanks to everyone that made it out, thank you to our fantastic tour guides, and thank you to the Museum and Historical Society for having us. Stay tuned for future similar events!