Historical Documents
You Can Listen to a Lost Chopin Waltz That Hasn't Been Heard for Nearly Two Centuries
The one-minute composition, which dates to the 1830s, was found on a piece of paper about the size of an index card at a museum in New York City
Surrealism Is Turning 100. See the Dreamlike Paintings That Made the Movement So Revolutionary
A blockbuster exhibition in Paris is showcasing 500 artifacts and artworks in honor of the Surrealist Manifesto, which sparked a new artistic style that spread around the world
Amateur Historian Discovers Lost Story by 'Dracula' Author Bram Stoker Hiding in Plain Sight at a Dublin Library
History forgot about "Gibbet Hill" for more than a century—until a fan of the Gothic horror writer stumbled upon the haunting tale at the National Library of Ireland
Explore Abraham Lincoln's Life and Legacy Through Rare Copies of Historic Books and Documents
A new exhibition in New York City uses more than 200 texts and artifacts to contemplate Lincoln's rise to the nation's highest office
Students Stumble Upon a Message in a Bottle Written by a French Archaeologist 200 Years Ago
The mysterious missive was written by P.J. Féret, who conducted an archaeological dig at the same site in northern France in 1825
This Lost Mozart Composition Hasn't Been Heard for Centuries. Now, You Can Listen to It
More than 250 years after a teenage Mozart wrote "Serenade in C," a copy of the piece has surfaced in the collections of a German library
This Forgotten Copy of the Constitution Discovered in a Filing Cabinet Could Sell for Millions
The historic text, which bears the signature of Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, was one of 100 copies ordered on September 28, 1787
Workers Find Mysterious Letter Hidden Inside a Concrete Column at London's National Gallery
John Sainsbury hoped the note would be found when the "unnecessary columns" were finally demolished
Hebrew Bible From Medieval Spain Could Sell for $7 Million
After years of painstaking work, Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon finished the illustrated manuscript in 1312
See a Mysterious Postcard That Was Delivered 121 Years Late
The handwritten note, which bears a 1903 postmark, recently arrived at a building society in Wales
British Government Places Export Ban on Alan Turing's World War II-Era Notebooks
The mathematician took careful notes while working on a portable voice encryption system in the mid-1940s
Ancestry Releases Records of 183,000 Enslaved Individuals in America
The genealogy company has digitized and published 38,000 newspaper articles from between 1788 and 1867—before Black Americans were counted as citizens in the U.S. census
Climate Activists Chip the Case Protecting the Magna Carta
The two protesters, who are both in their 80s, held up a sign that read, "The government is breaking the law"
Mail Carrier Drives for Five Hours to Hand Deliver Lost World War II-Era Letters
When Alvin Gauthier found several letters written by a veteran in the 1940s, he went on a mission to return them
Overdue Book Returned to Colorado Library After 105 Years
The Fort Collins library waived the fine, which totaled over $14,000 when adjusted for inflation
This Is What Being in Your Twenties Was Like in 18th-Century London
A newly restored collection of letters describes a 27-year-old's office job, social life and financial concerns beginning in 1719
One of the World's Oldest Surviving Books Is for Sale
The rare early Christian text was written in a monastery in Egypt between 250 and 350 C.E.
Sunken British Warship That Left Crew Marooned for 66 Days Has Been Identified
Found off the coast of Florida, the HMS "Tyger" left some 300 crew members stranded on Garden Key in 1742
The Broken Seal of a Pope's 14th-Century Decree Has Been Found in Poland
The metal fragment was once part of a papal bull, an official communication distributed by the Catholic Church
Manhattan Project Report Signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer Sells at Auction
The document was "likely the very first publicly available report on the creation of the bomb," according to RR Auction
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