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By: Kristi Finefield
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the spectator sport of pedestrianism, or what we might today call racewalking, saw its greatest popularity. This post takes a look at some of the celebrated pedestrians of the late 19th and even early 20th century through photos and prints.
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
A piece of Hardanger embroidery in a recent Flickr album on needlework inspires a deeper dive into the collections for more images of this regional style of embroidery, specific to the Hardanger area of western Norway.
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
We celebrate National Pencil Day on March 30. This post in our occasional series, Profiling Portraits, focuses on portraits where the subject has a pencil in hand, and it is connected to their identity as writer, journalist, and artist.
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
A series of six prints in our Popular Graphic Arts Collection have always intrigued me. As one is themed around decorating a Victorian era Christmas tree, I thought it timely to share. Many folks are busily wrestling live trees into place or unboxing their artificial trees in this early part of December. This print from …
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
Included in my most recent Flickr album on aerial views was the postcard below. This particular card is a photomechanical color print of Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the site of the annual Sugar Bowl college football game for its first few decades, until it moved to the Superdome. Finding it sent …
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
The vast majority of the items in the Prints & Photographs Division’s collections are works of art on paper, such as photographs, posters, and architectural drawings. However, there are exceptions. In my latest Flickr album heralding the coming of autumn, there are two items featured that are not on paper at all, but are instead …
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
“Greetings and Hearty Good Wishes for the New Year from Frances Benjamin Johnston” reads this combination business card, greeting card, and 1904 calendar from photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston. In 1904, Johnston was thirty years old, had a home photo studio in Washington, D.C., at 1332 V Street, and was already well-established in the capital city. …
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
Take a tour through sunsets in different time periods and countries, as well as expressed using different media such as photography and painting, all from the collections of the Prints & Photographs Division.
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
See chromolithographic illustrations of fashion designs for men, women and children through advertisements produced by dressmakers and tailoring companies from the 1880s and 1890s.
Posted in: Picture This
By: Kristi Finefield
Join reference librarian Jon Eaker and associate curator of photography Michelle Smiley this Wednesday, September 20th at 3:00pm EDT for an illustrated tour through the many facets of Civil War medicine seen in the collections of the Library of Congress. Register here for the virtual presentation. This talk will be recorded, so if you cannot …
Posted in: Picture This