The curator notes for this source read: Parker Brothers produced the 1889 board game Office Boy during the heyday of Horatio Alger’s popular stories of plucky lads reaching success through hard work and determination. The player can advance from stock boy to sweeping out and on to head of sales, trying to avoid carelessness, which will send…
Zoom into a larger image of this political cartoon. What is the setting of this cartoon? Make a list of details that you see. Then describe the story that you think this source tells using the details you noted as evidence. Now read the summary and notes in the bibliographic record. What more did you…
Click the newspaper above to zoom in to the page. First read the center article, “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” What was the editor’s claim and what arguments did he make to support that claim? Now read what the citizens of Rock Island had to say about Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit….
Click the newspaper above to zoom in and read the article. Make a chart that lists the name of each scientist or inventor mentioned in the article, whether the expert was quoted directly or indirectly, and the expert’s view of the possibility of communication with other planets. Find out more information about the publisher of this newspaper, then…
Zoom into a larger image of this political cartoon. Make a list of details that you see. Then describe the story you think this source tells using the details you noted as evidence. Compare and contrast this source with a similar political cartoon by Edward W. Clay (view larger image). What similarities and differences do you…
Zoom into this newspaper page online or download a larger image. Use the shopping insert to help craft a Thanksgiving menu. What would you serve based on the items offered for sale? Look closely at the illustrations surrounding the advertisements. Add speech bubbles to bring the scene depicted at the top of the page to life. Compare and contrast…
For each of the following questions, use specific details from the map to support your conclusions (zoom into this map online or download a larger image). Who created this map? How do you know? Why do you think this map was created? Who do you think the audience might have been when it was published…
How does this source present the state of Florida? What details from the source support your response (see larger image)? Who is sponsoring this map? Why do you think so? What might that company hope to gain? Does the company still exist today? What more can you discover? Do a bit of research about the Spanish-American…
Read the summary of the Lunar Narrative from the Museum of Hoaxes. What details from the articles do you see evidence of in this illustration? Why do you think the illustrator created an inset, or a picture within a picture? Access this .pdf to see the image in more detail. Compare and contrast the information about…
This source represents a game board. Look closely (larger image) to find a picture clue that tells you what game pieces you need to be able to play this game. Take a look at the 64 scenes and choose three to investigate more closely. If you were to happen upon each scene in real life, how would…
Use only details from the illustrations and text to determine what the author of this print wanted the audience to know (view larger image) about these people and their relation to an important historical event. Use evidence from the source to support your conclusions. Now review the bibliographic record from a copy of this source and read…
Look closely at the illustration. What can you determine about this broadside from the art? What more do you learn from the summary of this primary source? Do you think the illustration supports the summary? Why or why not? Look at both the front and back of this broadside. How does each stanza end? Why…