(Missourinet) – Conservation experts from the Missouri State Archives carefully opened this morning the 100-year-old time capsule that was removed last week from the cornerstone of the Missouri Capitol, and removed its contents.
The Capsule contained dozens of books, manuals, newspapers, a Bible, and at least one unexpected item – a metal tube that reads, “East Gate Lodge # 630 – A.F. & A.M. Kansas City, Missouri.”
The tube was not opened, nor were the books or the newspapers, so that archivists can begin work to preserve them for future display. One commented that the contents were in better shape than he had expected.
“I expected them to be a lot drier and crisper,” he commented. “The challenge is going to be opening them up and flattening them. We have a procedure in the conservation lab where we gently introduce humidity in a vapor form so that we very slowly open them up without cracking them.”
Below is a series of screen caps taken from a Periscope live feed that the Missouri Office of Administration offered this morning of the opening. Those streams can still be viewed for a time on a smart phone or tablet by finding @MOGov on the Periscope app.
The office also reminds the public they can still offer submissions for what should be put in the capsule that will be sealed July 3 in the Capitol cornerstone. Those ideas can be submitted by going tomo.gov/timecapsule or using the hashtag #MOTimeCapsule on Twitter, until midnight Saturday night.
- This image (courtesy of the State of Missouri’s Twitter feed) was taken after archivists cut open the copper time capsule, and was taken before any contents were removed.
- Among the top stories for newspapers in 1915 were the latest developments in World War 1.
- A series of photos taken from the groundbreaking for the Capitol was saved.
- Several newspapers, most for sale for a penny in their cities of origin in 1915, were included in the capsule.
- A copy of the journals from the 1911 Missouri State Legislature.
- A copy of a Bible offered by the Gideons (black cover) was among more than a dozen books and manuals in the capsule.
- A 1911-12 copy of the “Blue Book,” Missouri’s official state manual.
- More than a dozen books and manuals were included in the capsule.
- A archivist called this a “mystery” item in the capsule’s contents.
- An ad for Pevely Dairy on one of the newspapers stored in the capsule.
- An image captured of the inside of the capsule while items were still being removed.
- This is one in a series of photos taken when ground was broken for the new Capitol, that were stored in the capsule.
- Many of the newspapers in the capsule were from the day prior to it being sealed in the Capitol cornerstone. At least one was from the morning it was placed, June 24, 1915.
- This newspaper previewed the placing of the cornerstone.
(All photos courtesy Missourinet)