History Detectives

A peculiar phonograph acquired at an antiques auction. A cryptic World War II letter from a soldier to another military man. And a watch fob commemorating Francisco "Pancho" Villa's murderous raid on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.

An invention that may have been used in the atomic bomb. A 23-pound block of beeswax with strange markings. And a French manuscript kept by an American family for 160 years.

A gun that may have belonged to a member of Al Capone's gang. A letter allegedly written by John Wilkes Booth's father. And a device meant to guard against grave robbers.

A child who may have been exhibited in an incubator at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. An early movie mogul's dramatic rise and fall. And a controversial design woven into a Navajo rug.

A recording that may have played a part in the World War II treason trial of Tokyo Rose. A photo ostensibly of Crazy Horse. And the poignant diary of a World War II pilot.

A fragment that may been a piece of Amelia Earhart's plane. A letter from President Millard Fillmore commuting the death sentence of a Native American. And a Colorado home whose supports may have been constructed from a railroad boxcar.

An instrument that may have been recovered from the Hindenburg. A book that may have been a gift from John Adams to his son. And a home in the Bronx that may have been the birthplace of hip hop.

A dagger that may have belonged to dictator Benito Mussolini. Letters from a man who may have been part of the post-slavery exodus to Liberia. And a device that could have had something to do with nuclear attack preparedness.

Mural studies that may have been commissioned by the WPA in the 1930s or 1940s. A miniature painting that may depict George Washington. And a balloon scrap that may be a missing piece of a secret weapon.

A portrait created in a German prisoner of war camp. A floating airport anchored to the ocean floor where trans-Atlantic flights could refuel. And an intact artillery shell that may have been part of an attack on the U.S. during World War I.

The site where a bridge may have been burned to thwart General Sherman. A penny stamp that may be connected to a landmark civil rights case. And metal sheets that look like printing plates for Billy Strayhorn's "Take the A Train."