A daguerreotype showing a view of St. Paul and the First Baptist Church. Taken in 1851.

For details, view this photograph in our collections database.

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An oil on canvas painting of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul made by Ben Swanson in 1936.

For details, view this painting in our collections database.

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President Truman touring St. Paul during a visit to St. Paul on November 3, 1949.

Photographed by a Minneapolis newspaper photographer on November 3, 1949.

For details, view this photograph in our collections database.

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Steel and Stone by Robert Edwards

Gouache on board painting of the Chicago Great Western Railway Bridge and the Robert Street Bridge in downtown St. Paul, 1987.

For details, view this painting in our collections database.

Rice steamer (in Hmong,  lauj ncuab ncus mov or pot making rice) consisting of two parts:  a spittoon-like aluminum vessel and a woven bamboo basket in an elongated cone shape. Purchased in 1995 and used by members of the Hmong community in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

For details, view the rice steamer in our online collections database.

Firefighter’s helmet used by Oscar J. Pederson, Assistant Chief of the St. Paul Fire Department, circa 1940.

For details, view the helmet in our online collections database.

To view more historical firefighting objects, and to learn about the dedication of the Minnesota Fallen Firefighter Memorial on September 30, 2012, watch our podcast Firefighting in Minnesota: A Salute to the Fallen.

Uncirculated, unsigned, one-sided banknote issued by the Dayton Bank of St. Paul, Minnesota in the 1850s.  The denomination is one dollar.  In black ink at top center is a portrait of a man within a vertical oval. The portrait is flanked by a scene of a mother and child at left and a teacher and children at right.  At bottom left is an image of two Native Americans, one kneeling and both holding bows. At bottom right is a street scene with cattle. Printed by Danforth, Wright & Company of New York and Philadelphia.

Pair of late nineteenth men’s leather shoes with side buckle for everyday wear.   The mark of the St. Paul shoemaker Gotzian is stamped on each sole.

Contact print made by amateur photographer Sadie Ray circa 1908.  Ray appears at left in the first image on the second row, along with her husband, Elmer, and daughter, Emma.  The Ray family lived in St. Paul and Excelsior, Minnesota.

Watch the podcast What a Picture is Worth:  The Sadie and Emma Ray Photography Collection for more information about the Rays and the dozens of photographs taken by mother and daughter.  To view additional pictures, visit our online collections database.

Nursery school children attend a Thanksgiving party at St. Paul’s Hallie Q. Brown Center on November 1, 1937.

View the photograph in our Visual Resources Database here.