The Season of New Life

Spring is the season of new life.   At my house  I have baby bunnies munching on my columbines,  baby birds sitting on the feeder begging to be fed by their parents , baby dandelions sprouting,  and a fresh new crop of mosquitos trying to get  their first meal from ME.    New arrivals in the human world are not limited to spring,  but the abundance of youngsters of all species  this month led me to search on the word “baby” in Nebraska Memories   to   find out what would be revealed.   People love babies and love taking their pictures,  so it was not a surprise to find  nearly  90 images.  Many of them are studio portraits. Rudolph NuttelmanI confess to being guilty of taking a few “nearly naked” baby pictures of my own children, although not at a studio.   Young Rudolph Nuttelman of Rising City, clad only in his diaper,  is at ease and smiling in this 1906 photo from the Boston Studio  Project.   I am always amazed by the clarity of scanned images from glass plate negatives and can count each one of his toes.   Perhaps a parent was standing behind the photographer doing something silly to make him smile. Agnes BirkelThis portrait of Agnes Birkel, age 21 months when the photo was taken in 1908, is also from the Boston Studio Project.   She and the puppy beside her are an adorable pair.   Agnes is looking at someone who is making her smile, but the puppy looks rather sleepy to me.   I hope they enjoyed growing up together! Babies can be hard to get to sleep,  but singing to them helps.     Croonings of the Winds  is a collection of 12 “slumber songs”  in the  Polley Music Library  collection.   This verse from Summer Lullaby by Eudora S. Bumstead really evokes a  Nebraska summer evening. Croonings of the WindsThe sun has gone from the shining skies,  Bye  baby, bye  The dandelions have closed their eyes, Bye baby, bye And  stars are lighting their lamps to see If babe and birdy and squir’l all three Are sound asleep as they ought to be Bye, baby, bye   Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials. Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.
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