The U.S. National Archives - 1940 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42

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• published: 29 Apr 2016
• views: 610

In Washington, the beautiful Archives building stands as a living memorial to the patriots who made and preserved our democracy. It contains the living record of their great works. Two fine statues guard the approach. They represent heritage and vigilance. Americans of the past, men who considered their everyday job to be the furtherance and preservation of our democracy, might well have nodded their heads in solemn approval as the sculptors chisel cut these words in the living rock: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” – a warning that our heritage of freedom and liberty must be preserved. The Archives building became the consolidating force to bring order out of chaos. Here, in the Division of Repair and Preservation, the historical records of our government shed the dust of their years and are transformed and preserved as a precious heritage. Trundled on special trucks, our vital state papers take their first step from shoddy obscurity. In these large fumigating tanks, all papers entering the custody of the National Archives are placed for more than three hours – science making sure that all organic life is destroyed. Now the documents are carefully removed from the fumigating tanks, checked as to condition, and pass on to the next step. Experts using specially devised machines remove by compressed air every particle of dust and dirt which long years of neglect and oblivion have deposited. The stream of air even pries in between pages, separating brittle sheets more delicately than human hands. When the Archives building was first opened, these men had to wear gas masks to protect themselves from the dust. Now each table is equipped with specially designed suction fans, by means of which the dust-laden air is conveyed to a filtering system, enabling the experts to work under healthful and comfortable conditions. Cleaned and sterilized, the manuscripts and books go to the desks of expert binders. With their trained hands and specially adapted tools, these highly skilled men separate pages. And perhaps see for the first time in 100 years some document of state signed by John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, or one of the many other great patriots who figured prominently in the establishment of our liberty. The tender care with which these men handle the documents shows how extremely fragile many of these old papers are. It is often necessary to employ humidifying processes before further treatment is possible. After which, under carefully controlled heat and pressure, the papers are smoothed and the faded ink is made more vivid, easier to read. This is known as the ironing process, necessary for the flat filing of records. This important work of reconditioning state documents, some already in a dangerously poor state of preservation, goes on behind the scenes. But everyone who uses the Archives sees the results of the meticulous care exercised. Besides preserving the written and printed memorabilia of the United States, the Archives has undertaken to perpetuate the spoken word through recordings and the visual documents of progress through motion pictures. Here in fireproof vaults, ventilated by controlled, conditioned air, are stored thousands of feet of important films. Trained technicians maintain this film laboratory, selecting and editing all films before they’re filed away in the vaults. These pictures are available to any responsible citizen upon the fulfillment of certain necessary requirements. Through the use of motion pictures, the Archives is taking full advantage of science in keeping records of the social and cultural life of America as it progresses. In the motion pictures is preserved an active mirror of our country’s history in the making. In the Sound Department, the recorded utterances of our nation’s leaders are carefully preserved. Tomorrow’s younger generation will have not only pictures of our president; they will hear him speak. WDTVLIVE42 - Transport, technology, and general interest movies from the past - newsreels, documentaries & publicity films from my archives.

The U.S. National Archives - 1940 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42

• Report rights infringement
• published: 29 Apr 2016
• views: 610

In Washington, the beautiful Archives building stands as a living memorial to the patriots who made and preserved our democracy. It contains the living record of their great works. Two fine statues guard the approach. They represent heritage and vigilance. Americans of the past, men who considered their everyday job to be the furtherance and preservation of our democracy, might well have nodded their heads in solemn approval as the sculptors chisel cut these words in the living rock: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty” – a warning that our heritage of freedom and liberty must be preserved. The Archives building became the consolidating force to bring order out of chaos. Here, in the Division of Repair and Preservation, the historical records of our government shed the dust of their years and are transformed and preserved as a precious heritage. Trundled on special trucks, our vital state papers take their first step from shoddy obscurity. In these large fumigating tanks, all papers entering the custody of the National Archives are placed for more than three hours – science making sure that all organic life is destroyed. Now the documents are carefully removed from the fumigating tanks, checked as to condition, and pass on to the next step. Experts using specially devised machines remove by compressed air every particle of dust and dirt which long years of neglect and oblivion have deposited. The stream of air even pries in between pages, separating brittle sheets more delicately than human hands. When the Archives building was first opened, these men had to wear gas masks to protect themselves from the dust. Now each table is equipped with specially designed suction fans, by means of which the dust-laden air is conveyed to a filtering system, enabling the experts to work under healthful and comfortable conditions. Cleaned and sterilized, the manuscripts and books go to the desks of expert binders. With their trained hands and specially adapted tools, these highly skilled men separate pages. And perhaps see for the first time in 100 years some document of state signed by John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, or one of the many other great patriots who figured prominently in the establishment of our liberty. The tender care with which these men handle the documents shows how extremely fragile many of these old papers are. It is often necessary to employ humidifying processes before further treatment is possible. After which, under carefully controlled heat and pressure, the papers are smoothed and the faded ink is made more vivid, easier to read. This is known as the ironing process, necessary for the flat filing of records. This important work of reconditioning state documents, some already in a dangerously poor state of preservation, goes on behind the scenes. But everyone who uses the Archives sees the results of the meticulous care exercised. Besides preserving the written and printed memorabilia of the United States, the Archives has undertaken to perpetuate the spoken word through recordings and the visual documents of progress through motion pictures. Here in fireproof vaults, ventilated by controlled, conditioned air, are stored thousands of feet of important films. Trained technicians maintain this film laboratory, selecting and editing all films before they’re filed away in the vaults. These pictures are available to any responsible citizen upon the fulfillment of certain necessary requirements. Through the use of motion pictures, the Archives is taking full advantage of science in keeping records of the social and cultural life of America as it progresses. In the motion pictures is preserved an active mirror of our country’s history in the making. In the Sound Department, the recorded utterances of our nation’s leaders are carefully preserved. Tomorrow’s younger generation will have not only pictures of our president; they will hear him speak. WDTVLIVE42 - Transport, technology, and general interest movies from the past - newsreels, documentaries & publicity films from my archives.