Collection Spotlights

View curated sets of collection items. Many of the collection items feature stories from our experts and curators.

Marriage in a balloon. Aeronaut, James Allen, with bride and groom at State Fair Grounds, Providence, Rhode Island

Balloonamania: Up, Up, and Away

Red box labeled "Davis' Menthol Rub" and a dark blue bottle labeled "Davis' Menthol Rub." The lid of the bottle is ajar.

Balm of America: Patent Medicine Collection

Five-Stringed Banjo

Banjos

Chicago basketball photograph.

Basketball: Smithsonian's Got Game

Valentine Votes for Women

Be Mine: Vintage Valentines and Expressions of Love

Woman with hat standing next to a yellow rose bush outside

Because of HERstory

vintage ad shows woman drinking beer

Beer in the Smithsonian's Collections

bronze bell

Bells of Ancient China and Beyond

Becky Sharp's gown from the play Hamilton.

Best Dressed: Fashion Trends and Famous Wearers

Tiffany embellished bicycle

Bicycles: Icons of Innovation and Mobility

Ma Rainey 29 cent postage stamp

Black Women in American Music History

Vase

Blue and White Ceramics

B.B. King in concert 1973.

Blues Music: Iconic Instruments, Images, and Sounds

bob dylan portrait with sunglasses

Bob Dylan: Musician and Poet

Bodhisattva statue

Bodhisattva

White silk with a pattern of black stripes and black dots. Within the dots are white birds, and in between the stripes are black ants.

Bolling Crest Silks

Dark gray bookkeeping machine.

Bookkeeping Machines

A Portion of the IAS Computer, Designed by John von Neumann

Brain Drain – The European Holocaust and American Technical Expertise

Handheld microscope with wooden handle.

Bristol-Myers Squibb European Apothecary

seated Buddha

Buddhism in Asian Art

White pinback button with blue text reading "I am an Anacostian"

Buttons and Pins

Calculating Machines

Postcard of Mission San Carlos in Monterey, California

California Mission Postcards

Capitol building

Capital City: Washington, D.C.

Cash and Credit Registers

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