Highlights Archives
Happy Holidays! Shop for History Gifts Online!
In 1855, as Lyman Copeland Draper labored in his barn, which at the time doubled as the home of the Wisconsin Historical Society, it would have been impossible for him to envision a world interconnected by electronic marvels called computers. As the Historical Society's first director, Draper embraced the duty of preserving the history of a very young state. But when he founded the library with some 50 volumes, it is doubtful Draper could have envisioned what his then-fledgling institution would look like 150 years later. He surely saw, however, a future in which the Society preserves and shares Wisconsin's story with all of its citizens. Today the Wisconsin Historical Society's mission remains faithful to Draper's vision: to help people connect to the past. And in its continuing efforts to make the state's history widely and easily available, the Society has just unveiled its online shopping site — shop.wisconsinhistory.org.
Sharing the history of this great state has never been easier. With this new online shopping capability the Society's goods and services are just a few mouse clicks away. The Wisconsin Historical Museum store features a wide variety of Wisconsin-related and historically themed books for all ages as well as unique Wisconsin gifts and Native American crafts. You can order a hand-made Frank Lloyd Wright marionette, an Ojibwe-made dreamcatcher, or the 2005 Commemorative Capitol Ornament. And if you want to learn about Wisconsin history, the Wisconsin Historical Society Press is your best source.
You can obtain prints from the Wisconsin Historical Images online collection as well. This collection provides a rich pictorial view of Wisconsin and United States history. The collection consists of 19th- and 20th-century photographs, paintings, posters, advertising material, ephemera, and political cartoons. While the selection is vast, the images online represent only a fraction of the three million images in the Society's archives.
From the Wisconsin Genealogical Research Service you can obtain birth, marriage, death, and Civil War service records. You can also access the Wisconsin Name Index, featuring more than 100,000 obituaries, personal sketches and other short biographies of Wisconsin people. You can purchase microfilm of newspapers, magazines and other material in the Society's collections as well. The sales catalog currently lists 12,000 titles, with more added monthly. It does not yet contain microfilm of manuscripts, archival collections or monographs, only newspapers and periodicals.
Membership has its privileges at shop.wisconsinhistory.org. As a Society member you'll enjoy a 10-percent discount on your online and in-store purchases. You'll also receive the Wisconsin Magazine of History, 50-percent discounts on admission to historic sites, free admission to the Wisconsin Historical Museum, and other fine benefits. You'll also be supporting the Society's mission to help people connect to the past through a variety of programs and services. With rates starting at $30, you can't go wrong.
:: Posted November 28, 2005
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