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Archive: 2014 (52 Posts)

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Ringing in the New Year

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

This New Year’s cartoon published in Life in January 1917 offers a commentary on what a difference fifty years can make. Whether you plan to celebrate quietly, as though it’s 1867 (left), or in a slightly more boisterous fashion, as though it’s 1917 (right), we hope you enjoy ringing in the New Year in your …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Caught Our Eyes: Window Shopping

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

When searching for that perfect gift, many of us now turn to the computer and the convenience of online shopping. However, I can’t help but be nostalgic for a time when shopping often meant looking at elaborate window displays of the newest toys or gadgets instead of tapping on a keyboard. I can almost hear …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Neon Lights Up the Night

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

This neon caballero astride his rearing horse proved an instant favorite when featured recently on the Library’s Flickr photostream. In this season of special holiday lighting, year-round bright lights come to mind — the neon signs featured in these photographs by Carol M. Highsmith. As you’ll see below in the Learn More list, there are …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Sherman Spares Savannah

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

I beg to present you a Christmas Gift, the City of Savannah . . .                       — General Sherman to President Lincoln, telegram, December 22, 1864 One hundred fifty years ago in December 1864, General William T. Sherman and his troops completed their “March to …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Pictures to Go: Moving Forward

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

Methods of transportation, from horse-drawn carriages to helicopters, from airplanes to automobiles, and from trains to trolleys offer a seemingly endless variety of visual inspiration. Some images capture a singular moment in history, some a flight of fancy which does not last, while others show us the progression over time as clever minds invent and …

Cornucopias: Heralding Nature’s Bounty in Many Forms

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

From my earliest days of coloring school worksheets, cornucopias are the symbol I associate with the harvest season and the Thanksgiving holiday many Americans will be celebrating this week. Also known as the “horn of plenty,” the typical representation features vegetables and fruits spilling forth in abundance. In searching the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Two Veterans: George and Roy Stryker

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

Recently, photo historian Mary Jane Appel came across an interesting connection within our collections. She graciously agreed to share findings from her research in the guest post below. On a sunny August day in 1938, Russell Lee snapped this photo of Roy Stryker on a downtown city street. At the time, Stryker directed a documentary …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Rising to the Bookplate Challenge: A New Flickr Album

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

What do bookplates tell us about book owners for whom they were designed? The small labels (also known as “ex libris”) were intended to be pasted inside an individual’s books to connect the book with its owner. But what other connections regarding the owner’s personal traits or interests might they reveal? Recently, we created an …