Fun Finds (Not) Friday! Thanksgiving Edition!

Welcome to Fun Finds Friday! An ongoing series where we share some of the fun and unique items we come across in the library and archives collections.

This week, we take a quick look at a few Thanksgiving themed items from the collections!

Much like the ads on Facebook you might see encouraging you to send a holiday greeting, telegram companies had stickers encouraging you to do the same. They even offered decorative telegrams for special occasions, like the post office has special stamps or packages. This example in the Central Archives comes from Western Union.

Cropped image of Thanksgiving-themed seasonal Western Union stamp from Central Archives, circa 1940s

Thanksgiving-themed seasonal Western Union stamp, from the Central Archives, circa 1940s.
L. VanDenBerg/© AMNH

And with Thanksgiving, of course, comes the Thanksgiving Day Parade and some of my favorite photos! From the centennial year of the museum, the wonderful stegosaurus float sporting a jaunty birthday cake hat!

Image of dinosaur balloon and float, Macy's Parade, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 77th Street, November 1969.

Dinosaur balloon and float, Macy's Parade, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 77th Street, November 1969.
F. Stone/@AMNH

Image of AMNH dinosaur balloon and float, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, American Museum of Natural History, 77th Street, November 1969.

Dinosaur balloon and float, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, American Museum of Natural History, 77th Street, November 1969.
F. Stone/@AMNH

Dino the dinosaur balloon, seen behind the AMNH centennial float, ‘retired’ from parade performances in 1977. That year he was filled with regular air and displayed in the Museum’s Rotunda!

Image of Dino the Dinosaur, Macy's Parade balloon, American Museum of Natural History, November, 1977.

Dino the Dinosaur, Macy's Parade balloon, American Museum of Natural History, November, 1977.
J. Coxe/@AMNH

Happy Thanksgiving!

This entry was written by Lauren VanDenBerg, Shelby White & Leon Levy Project Archivist.

Explore Digital Collections »