Giant Chinese Pistache Tree with Famous Plant Explorer

From American Fruits, October, 1916

Two favorites here: large trees and Frank N. Meyer.

We have many Chinese Pistache trees planted around Fremont.

Stereoscopes and Stereopticons - what the difference?

Stereopticon show from Art History

I see these words used interchangeably.

Stereopticon is special two-lamp magic lantern, that allows operator to have dissolves. It is not 3D.

Stereoscope is a viewer that allow you to look at two stereo pairs in 3D.

How much did that palm tree weigh, did you say?

As much as:
A. the New York state "Big Cheese"
B. the "Mammoth Typewriter" by Underwood
C. An actual Wooly Mammoth
D. 1915 Model T Ford
E. None of the above
F. All of the above

Sepia, what is it, really?

Leonardo da Vinci used sepia ink, according to wikipedia

I really didn't know what sepia is, except that old photos are often brown. I assumed that was from age. The color "sepia" is the red-brown color of cuttlefish ink. The word "sepia" comes from the Greek word for cuttlefish. So what does this have to do with photographs?

Secrets of Librarians

Usually I just stumble across stuff with Google, but there some places that Secrets that I've learned about from my favorite librarians and elsewhere:

• Archivegrid
• Digital Public Library of America DPLA
• Worldcat
• Internet archives
• The New NARA catalog
• NUCMC
• Link+
• google books
• Hathitrust
• Old phone books online
• Pacific Telephone and Telegraph
• Daily Pacific Builder
• Pacific Rural Press at State Library
• Google scholar
• Tips on property research in SCV, including access to Sanborn maps.
• History of San Jose Collection
• Sanborn maps:

1. SFPL Sanborn maps  Sanborn Maps California; go to home page, www.sfpl.org ;  click on the eLibrary tab on blue bar at top; select Articles and Databases from the dropdown menu.  You then have an option to select databases from an A-Z listing, click on that, and Sanborn is under S.  You do need an SFPL card to access the databases remotely.
2. SJPL Sanborn maps - accessed 2018

• The California Digital Newspaper Collection, but no Butte County newspapers
• Butte County digital resources
• CSU Chico, Digital Reel
• Oakland papers - Newspapers.com
• Berkeley Daily Gazette
• San Francisco and Oakland papers (SF Chron and Examiner) - use your SFPL library card. Bulletin is on microfilm.
• Discover America's Story
• Google News Archive
• Webcite
• Pacific Rural Press is on the Internet Archive and can be downloaded as PDF.
• The American Horticultural Society publications from 1920-2010.
• The new NARA (2022)
• The New York Times
• Bancroft Library tips

Google search tips:

• Adding site:edu or site:gov or site:org to a search. 
• Use site:website, like site:www.fs.fed.us 
• exclude sites like site:website, use -site:www.fs.fed.us 
• Use quotes, like "wild fire"
• To find the best robotic vacuum, use inanchor: like inanchor:best "robotic vacuum"
• Use together, like inanchor:best "robotic vacuum" site:consumerreports.org

DPLA tips: efficient, searches across various libraries, unexpected places, use different names, groups and organizations, Civil War research, name of Vet & regiment, start at home, oral histories, family bibles, family papers, military records, photos & yearbook, ebooks

Miniature Electric Vehicles in 1915

The George Roeding family from Fresno visited the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Among their snapshots of the PPIE was this photo of a little three-wheeled wicker cart.  The cart is traveling along the Avenue of Palms, on its own power, in front of the Horticultural Building.

The Exposition provided various ways for tired visitors to get around the exposition grounds. You could pay a fare to get on an auto train or a miniature steam train and go where they took you. Or you could rent one of these "Miniature Electric Vehicles" and motor about wherever you wanted to go (within reason of course).

The electric wicker chairs, also called "Electriquettes", were not completely safe. However, they were very popular and it sounds as if it was worth the risk.

North Carolina history and garden exhibits

The Doris Duke Garden combines photos, text, leaves, QR code.
Divided into thirds or fourths depending on how you count it.

Checking out what North Carolina has in the way of exhibits for history and gardens.