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Conner Prairie Historic Clothing Collection

Clothing is often a little studied area of American history, but what people wore, how it was made and who made it can offer important insights into a nation's social history. Though clothes do not the man make, they can tell you much about the men, women and children who wore them, and about the society in which they lived. Conner Prairie, an Interactive History Park located in Fishers, Indiana, holds a valuable and substantial collection of historic clothing and accessories. Heretofore, the fragile condition of many of the garments has limited their access to the public. Now, thanks to the partnership of IUPUI University Library and Conner Prairie, these objects may be seen and studied the world over.

Historic Indiana Plat Books

The Plat Books of Indiana Counties are historic guides to the communities of Indiana, showing townships, roads and section numbers. These geographic resources were originally created by Sidwell Studio and W. W. Hixson & Co. between approximately 1925 and 1941. Only approximate dates are available as the publisher neglected to date the books. The original books are owned by and scanned in collaboration with the Indiana State Library through a grant from the Library Fund of Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

Historic Indiana Atlases

The resources in this collection are historical atlases of various Indiana counties including Hamilton, Henry, Madison and Putnam. These books not only provide maps of Hoosier areas dating from 1875 to 1901, but also provide rich historical details of the central Indiana region. Within this collection there are narrative histories, biographical information about Indiana pioneers, detailed illustrations of people and places, statistical tables, and much more. Historians and hobbyists alike should find this collection both information rich and entertaining.

Fourthwrite

Fourthwrite: For a Democratic Socialist Republic offers commentary from a number of Irish Republican authors.

Climate Data: Indianapolis, IN 1940-present

In collaboration with the Indianapolis Public Library, IUPUI University Library digitized a collection of Local Climate Data dating from 1940 to present. The data is recorded from the Indianapolis International Airport (NOAA) and is now available via the web. Also available are several weather related newspaper articles ranging from 1936-1971. Additionally, you can view a dynamic weather calendar to view precipitation and temperature dating back to the late 1800s.

Conner Prairie Museum Textile Collection

Conner Prairie preserves these textile legacies of the past for present and future generations of families to enjoy. The collection was founded in the 1940s by Ruth and Eli Lilly.

Conner Prairie Transferware Collection

Transferware was an 18th-century English innovation in ceramic decoration in which copper-plate engravings were "transferred" to items via a "tissue." No longer was it necessary to laboriously hand-decorate ceramics like tableware, basins or tiles. This early form of mass production was an immediate success and demand grew over the early nineteenth century. Manufacturers like Spode and Wedgewood found eager markets for their deocorative, durable goods, particularly in the United States.

Hamilton County History

Originally entitled Hamilton County in 1900: Through a Young Person's Lens, this collection includes the photographs of Earl Brooks (1883-1968), who acquired a camera as a young man and took pictures between approximately 1897 and 1904 of friends, teachers, the countryside and events in central Indiana, California, Kentucky and Ohio.  Photographs of the Hamilton County Township Schools taken between 1892 and 1909 are also included. At the turn of the century, County School Superintendent Ellis A. Hutchens announced his wish to have a photograph taken of every Hamilton County school and here are 68 of those photographs.

Also included is the Inter-State Directory Company's directory of Noblesville and Hamilton County Gazetteer for the years 1907-1908, a countywide residential and business directory. These projects were made possible by a joint project between the Hamilton County Historical Society and the Hamilton East Public Library.

Umbrella

Umbrella is an art journal that began publication by Judith Hoffberg in 1978. The journal covers news and reviews of artist books, mail art and contemporary art and photography tradebooks. It includes interviews with leading book artists, alternative spaces as well as Fluxus artists. The journal ended print-copy publication in 2005. Soon after ceasing hard-copy publication, permission was granted to the Herron Art Library of IUPUI University Library to digitize the 1978-2005 journal run and provide access over the World Wide Web.

Conner Prairie Historical Almanac Collection

Almanacs, with their calendars, weather forecasts and astronomical information, were often coveted possessions in early American households. Indeed, one 19th-century historian claimed that almanacs and bibles "were the two books most likely to be found in Christian" homes. Though now lost to history one of the very first books thought to be printed in North America was an almanac published in Boston 1639.