James Smithson wasn't an American, had never even visited the country, in fact. But when he died in 1829, the English scientist left his fortune, in the event that his nephew died without heirs, to the United States to establish an institution for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge."
Even then, when the nephew died, the U.S. wasn't sure it could or should accept the bequest. It took an Act of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution was founded on Aug. 10, 1846.To commemorate it's 150th anniversary, the Smithsonian has planned a year-long celebration, including a traveling exhibition, television shows and spots, a stamp, new brightly illustrated guides to the museum and other events and memorials. In addition, the Smithsonian Institution Press has published two lavishly illustrated books.
1846: Portrait of the Nation, by Margaret C.S. Christman, Smithsonian Institution Press, 224 pp., paper.
Pick a year, any year, and you can likely find enough interesting things about it to fill a book. But some years are more exciting than others, and 1846 was such a year. Yes, it was the year when the Smithsonian was founded, but it was more. Historian Bernard DeVoto called it the "Year of Decision," a year when the nation began to move in a new direction that would eventually not only produce a civil war but also lead to the emergence of a transcontinental power of great economic strength.
"1846" provides a look at some of those trends and the people behind them in a very readable way. Heavily illustrated with portraits and paintings and photographs and maps drawn from the National Portrait Gallery and other Smithsonian museums, it evokes the texture of daily life, thought and politics in a pivotal year. The text considers such events as the westward trek (including the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo), the Mexican conflict (sometimes known as Mr. Polk's War), the voices of reform (it was still a time when compromise could work) and the currents of art and culture (nature was being discovered in a big way).
And it shows us both how much we've changed and how much we haven't. For example, one Phillip Hone complained that "I never take up a paper that does not contain accounts of loss of life, dreadfdul mutilation of limbs and destruction of property, with which these reckless, dangerous, murderous modes of locomotion are attended."
AMERICA'S SMITHSONIAN: Celebrating 150 Years, forward by I. Michael Heyman, Smithsonian Institution Press, 288 pp. $24.95 paper.
Designed as a guide to the traveling exhibit, this book easily stands on its own merits. With a forward by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian and a brief history of the institution to put things in perspective, it offers the reader a chance to enjoy and understand the national experience as reflected by the objects we have collectively preserved.
"Since its inception," notes Heyman, "the Smithsonian Institution has grown and developed to reflect and respond to the ever-changing needs of our society. Curators, scientists and specialists conduct research in a multitude of disciplines and have collected more than 140 million objects - historic artifacts, scientific specimens and works of art - held in trust for the American people."
Some of those objects - dinosaur fossils, Lewis and Clark's compass, Audubon drawings, an Apollo lunar module, handmade quilts, Navajo pottery, to name a few - were gathered for a traveling exhibit that will be visiting Kansas City, New York, Providence and Houston during this sesquicentennial year.
But this book is more than a catalog of those objects. Divided into sections that pay homage to discovering, imagining and remembering, it provides a wonderful sense of what we can love about and learn from the past and our world. Looking at everything from prehistory to space exploration, it offers up lessons of the natural world and examples of human achievement in a lively, fast-paced style.
The objects of our past are many and varied, and each a treasure in its own way. "They reveal to us the common cultural bonds that unite human beings and reinforce our sense of belonging to a shared community," notes the book. Not a bad idea to ponder in an evening's reading.