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Category: Communication and Technology

Engraving of a view down a dirt street with the three early buildings of Hobart College on the right side.

Sarah Bradford and the History of Geneva, Part 5

Excerpt from Sarah Bradford’s 1862 history of Geneva, New York .
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Inside James Bogert's print shop with a printing press, cabinet of type and a man examining a paper, newspapers on the floor and hanging on the wall.

Sarah Bradford and the History of Geneva, Part 4

Excerpt from Sarah Bradford’s 1862 history of Geneva, New York .
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Sketch of the Geneva Hotel established by Charles Williamson

Sarah Bradford and the History of Geneva, Part 3

Excerpt from Sarah Bradford’s 1862 history of Geneva, New York.
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1790 Map Of Phelps And Gorham Purchase

Sarah Bradford and the History of Geneva, Part 2

Excerpt from Sarah Bradford’s 1862 history of Geneva, New York.
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Earl Lautenslager’s last letter with envelope

Last Words: Last Letters of Earl Lautenslager and Catherine Chew Kennedy.

Reflecting on the last letters of Earl Lautenslager and Catherine Chew Kennedy.
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Objects from Historic Geneva Collections - a black rotary dial telephone.

Objects and Experiences

The importance of recording stories associated with objects.
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Photograph of Sarah Bradford.

Sarah Bradford and the History of Geneva, Part 1

Excerpt from Sarah Bradford’s 1862 history of Geneva, New York.
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Photo of a of young Robert Swan.

Doing History: Lessons from Robert Swan’s Journals and Social Media

Whether its Robert Swans’ 19th century journals or contemporary social media posts, doing history is recording everyday life.
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Crayon print of an unknown young black man in suit

Crayon Prints

Brief history of crayon prints (faint photographic enlargements enhanced with chalks, pastels, or paints).
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Five male members of the Area Mayors Plan Campaign to Clean up Comics

Objectionable Comics or Freedom of the Press

Examining the court case involving Louis Budgar, owner of a news agency, over censorship and comic books in the 1950s.
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A group of mostly black men and women wearing shawls and hats stand on a sidewalk outside a white clapboard building with a lampost.

An 1837 View of Geneva

A view of Geneva published in the October 14, 1837, issue of the Colored American.
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Newspaper headline baskets full of christmas good cheer

December 1922

Happening in and around Geneva in December 1922 based on local newspapers.
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Advertisement by Geneva Chamber of Commerce to call for voters to make their voices known about daylight saving time.

100 Years Ago: Daylight Savings

A look back at saving daylight, or not so much, in Geneva,
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Request for donations to our exhibit "LIft Every Voice"

A Digital Dark Age

A continued discussion on the digital world in the context of archiving
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A two columns of names

On the Importance of City Directories

Brief history of city directories and the usefulness of directories in conducting research
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square shaped radiator on a stand with rows of circles

“Modern” Heating: The Mattress Steam Radiator at Rose Hill Mansion

A chronicle of the mattress steam radiator at Rose Hill Mansion
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Geneva 100 Years Ago

Geneva in 1918 through the local newspaper
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Symbols New and Old in Use in Geneva and Elsewhere

Brief history of the use of symbols
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‘Twas Always Thus: Record Cylinders

Brief history of early recorded music
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Why a woman’s work is never done!!

Discussion on how technology has changed women's work
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The Sounds of Music

Through National Jukebox, sample sound recordings can be found of various musicians who performed in Geneva in the early 1900s.
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Ho! for California, Part 1

Reports of the California Gold Rush from the Geneva Gazette
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An example of the Boys in the Service column from the February 23, 1945 Geneva Daily Times newspaper.

World War II in the Geneva Daily Times

When we did our World War II project in the early 1990s, Kathryn Grover was hired to research, write, and lay out the exhibit and book, Close to the Heart of the War. As part of her contract, we received all her research notes for our archives. I recently pulled out one of the large boxes to look at her source material. Any project, i.e. an exhibit, book, or documentary, reflects the creator’s selection of what to include or leave out; it’s good to look at the research with fresh eyes.
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An advertisement for Union Carbide gas urging people to install it before winter.

Lighting at Rose Hill

Discussion of the early the electrical system at Rose Hill.
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The Arrival of the Consumer Economy

The rise of modern consumer culture as seen in Geneva.
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Lighting the Scene

Development of gas and electrical lighting.
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Freezing Fingers, Toasted Toes: Heating in America

A comfortable house in winter was a rare thing in much of the United States prior to the late 19th century. According to one English visitor to Cayuga, NY in 1827, American houses were built “expressly for summer, without the slightest reference to the six months’ winter that they suffer.”
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