You are invited to meet author Silvio Calabi for a book signing on Thursday, December 11!

Author Silvio Calabi will be signing books and meeting guests on Thursday, December 11.
Author Silvio Calabi will be signing books and meeting guests on Thursday, December 11.

Silvio Calabi was an editor of sporting magazines for 30 years. He is a Knight of the International Order of St. Hubertus, a member of Safari Club International, and the Namibian Professional Hunting Association, and was a director of the California Side by Side Society. With Roger Sanger, he co-founded the Gold Medal Concours d’Elegance of Fine Guns. With Sanger and Steve Helsley, he also co-authored Rigby: A Grand Tradition and a series of acclaimed guidebooks: The Gun Book for Boys, The Gun Book for Girls, and The Gun Book for Parents. From his home on the Maine coast, Mr. Calabi travels and writes widely, and creates and hosts high-end hunting adventures around the world.

Mr. Calabi’s book, Hemingway’s Guns: The Sporting Arms of Ernest Hemingway will be available for purchase at the event.

John Connolly
George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Librarian


Event Details

Reception – 6:00 p.m.
Lecture – 7:00 p.m.

Admission $10, all NSLM Members free

RSVP by December 10 via (540) 687-6542 ext. 26 or dkingsburysmith@nsl.org

I came in early today to help host a two-day teacher’s seminar from Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) at the Library. The seminar is titled Engaging Students with the National Civil War Memorial Teacher Seminar, and provides a great opportunity for educators to receive professional development and curriculum ideas, as well as access to online family history tools. It’s always exciting to work with educators. It’s even better to work with educators when we can help facilitate their success and serve as a resource for their students.

Teacher-Seminar-Bars-5_large

The seminar is connected with the Living Legacy Program, an initiative to commemorate each of the 620,000 soldiers that died in the American Civil War by planting a tree for each one. After planting, each tree is geotagged, allowing visitors the opportunity to learn the name and story of the young man for whom the tree is planted, with photos, diary entries, and letters home also shared through JTHG interactive map.

The seminar took place in the Founders' Room, with most attendees arriving early to take a brief look around early-morning Middleburg.
The seminar took place in the Founders’ Room, with most attendees arriving early to take a brief look around early-morning Middleburg.

As a Civil War geek and technophile, I find the whole concept to be incredibly cool. But as a librarian, I can also appreciate the massive potential as a research resource as well. The program is a collaboration with Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and AncestryK12.com; the goal is to provide students around the country with the resources necessary to conduct primary source-based research on the fallen from their community.

JTHG brought a selection of items from their Gift Shop, including special materials from the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg.
JTHG brought a selection of items from their Gift Shop, including special materials commemorating the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg.

The event hosted teachers from across the region: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and beyond. It’s a thrill to have our Library be a part of bringing these resources to students. The day got started with an overview from Brock Bierman, Senior Director for Ancestry Education, Ancestry.com’s initiative to provide classroom resources to teachers. Teachers can apply for a grant and receive one year of access to Ancestry’s U.S. content, Fold3 (Ancestry’s military history database), and Newspapers.com (Ancestry’s newspapers archive).

Brock Bierman tells teachers how to apply to get a free year of Ancestry products for their schools.
Ancestry.com’s Brock Bierman tells teachers how to apply to get a free year of Ancestry products for their schools.

JTHG is a partner of the Ancestry Education initiative, and the JTHG lesson plans are available for download here. Another free initiative through Ancestry’s Fold3 service is the Wall of Honor, compiling records of individual fallen soldiers from every U.S. conflict.

Ancestry's Fold3 Wall of Honor service allows users to upload information about their relatives who served to share information about their military service. The uploaded information is freely available.
Ancestry’s Fold3 Wall of Honor service allows users to upload information about their relatives who served to share information about their military service. The uploaded information is freely available.Ancestry has a free downloadable e-book, , which guides educators on how to use their tools in the classroom.

Ancestry has a free downloadable e-book, Family History in the Classroom, which guides educators on how to use their tools in the classroom.

Following the Ancestry presentation, I took attendees on a tour of the Library. I had pulled several objects to show them: Mary Cochrane’s Middleburg Civil War Diary (from our Archival Collections), and some of our  rare manuscripts and books from the F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room.

Teachers on the Library tour were intrigued by objects pulled from the F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room...
Teachers on the Library tour were intrigued by objects pulled from the F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room…
...before digging in and poring over each object, including close inspection of Mary Cochran's Civil War-era diary from the Archival Collections.
…before digging in and poring over and snapping phone photos of each object (without flash, of course!), including a close inspection of Mary Cochran’s Civil War-era diary from the Archival Collections.
JTHG's Jessie Aucoin gives and overview of the Living Legacy Program
JTHG’s Jessie Aucoin gives an overview of the Living Legacy Program.

John Connolly
George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Librarian

I’m pleased to begin this blog for the NSLM Library. As I’ve settled in at NSLM over the past ten months, I’ve come across some amazing materials that are only rarely seen and appreciated by our guests and researchers. As I continue to work on the many ongoing projects at NSLM, I’m delighted at the prospect of sharing it with our members, donors and admirers through an online platform.

The name, “Drawing Covert,” refers to the practice in foxhunting of putting hounds in a covert (pronounced like “cover”), a thicket or wooded brush area, to find the fox. It’s my hope that I can bring forward many of NSLM’s most intriguing and historical items for your appreciation.

To get things off on a good note, I would like to share something I recently found in the F. Ambrose Clark Rare Book Room while exploring for materials I could share with the librarians at Mount Vernon. Entirely by accident, I found a fascinating little ledger book in the manuscripts collection.

The book is titled, "Livre Journal de Depenses des Equipages et des Ecuries." I don't know French, but Google Translate tells me means "Expenditure Logbook of Crews and Stables."
The book is titled, Livre Journal de Depenses des Equipages et des Ecuries. I don’t know French, but Google Translate tells me it means Expenditure Logbook of Crews and Stables.
A small modern note was tipped in with the item. It reads "Manuscript account book of the upkeep of the horses and carriages of a wealthy Paris household. 1752-1766."
The ledger book begins in 1752 and ends in 1766. It was acquired by NSLM from Justin Croft in 2009 via the Library’s Book Acquisitions Fund.
Again, with more help from Google: "paille" means "straw." The word "auoinne" is likely the modern "avoine," meaning "oats."
Again, with more help from Google: paille means “straw.” The word auoinne is likely the modern avoine, meaning “oats.”
The accounts show annual expenditures ranging from a low of 1,470 livres in 1764 to the enormous sum of 4,646 livres in 1755.
The cover says that the ledger begins in January 1752. It is bound in a brittle leather.
The cover notes the ledger beginning in January 1752. It is bound in now-brittle vellum.
Near the end of the book, a second style of handwriting appears. This second style appears to have more flow and elegance.
Near the end of the book, a second style of handwriting appears. This second style interweaves with entries from the first hand.
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