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Television

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Television collections at the Smithsonian Institution span near-all museums and research centers, attesting to the medium's profound impact on American and global society. From Nam June Paik's iconic and unmistakable cathode ray tube sculptures and installations (like 1995's "Megatron/Matrix" held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)), to artefactual props from iconic TV programs (like The Muppets, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Star Trek), to the vast moving image collections of shows like the landmark arts and culture series Black Journal and early kinescope records of broadcasts from the DuMont network, the Smithsonian is tuned into TV!

To celebrate the United Nations' "World Television Day" on November 21st, here are some of our favorite online TV-related collections as selected by staff of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives Audiovisual Media Preservation Initiative.


  • National Museum of African American History and Culture 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of American History 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 16mm (photographic film size) 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photographs 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • sound films 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Button (Pinback) 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Cosmetics 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Pins (fasteners) 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Rings (jewelry) 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Sign, Neon 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Signs (declaratory or advertising artifacts) 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • black-and-white films (visual works) 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • African Americans 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Muslims 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1930s 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1940s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1950s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1960s 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1980s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1990s 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • United States 9 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • North and Central America 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • New York 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • New York County 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Astoria, Queens 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Atlanta 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Fulton County 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Georgia 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Harlem, Manhattan 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Culture and the Arts: Entertainment 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Black Journal 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Eyejammie Hip-Hop Photography Collection 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Pearl Bowser Collection 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photographs and Still Images 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Popular Entertainment 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Time-based Media - Moving Images 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • American Enterprise 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Beauty and Health 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Hip-hop (Music) 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Rappers (Musicians) 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Television 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Amusements 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Civil rights 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photography 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Public television 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • U.S. History, 1961-1969 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Activism 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Beauty and Health 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Usage conditions apply 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Not determined 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus

Filter Settings

Included:

  • Remove Place: New York City close

Black Journal: 9; Tribute to Malcolm X

Sesame Street Sign

Neon sign from set of Late Night with David Letterman

Black Journal: 5; The World of Julian Bond

1939-1940 New York World's Fair Souvenir Button, "I Have Seen the Future"

Halo Shampoo

Photograph of MC Lyte performing in the "Sisters in the Name of Rap" tv special

Ring with gold and diamond "MTV" design owned by Fab 5 Freddy

Photograph of Ol' Dirty Bastard on the set of the "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" video

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