SHARK WEEK! Even at the National Archives!
Yes, even archivists love Shark Week! Especially during a pandemic, when we can only rewatch JAWS! and dream of returning to the beach.
These highlights from our records show that the National Archives holds far more than just annual reports, briefing papers, and admin logs!
Soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the ‘Flying Tigers,’ at a flying field, 1942. From Pieces of History blog post by Hilary Parkinson.
FDR with a Shark he Caught on a Cruise on the USS Houston, 8/1/1938
OOPS! Hammerhead shark caught while minesweeping 1/30/1919
Filet-O-Shark! “If meats are high and scarce why not try a filet of SHARK? Part of Hoover’s suggested meatless, wheatless meals, 1917-1919.
An Unsuspected Foe: Shark Attacks during World War II, Text Message blog post by archivist Megan Dwyre
Warning about loan sharks in the Army and National Guard, from US Army Balloon School Regulations, p. 34.
See also: Shark Fishing film, circa 1919, with footage of: “crew unloading sharks - pressing tanned sharkskin - leather hanging from racks - workers cutting leather - hands of workers fashioning billfolds - hauling sharks and turtle - unloading sharks at dock - pile of sharks on dock - workers skin sharks, flesh the hides - pile of shark fins.
