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Archive: 2014 (52 Posts)

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

Eadweard Muybridge: Birth of a Photographic Pioneer

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

Today we mark the birth of British photographer, inventor and innovator Eadweard Muybridge. Born April 9, 1830, Muybridge was one of the early pioneers of photography, whose work documenting the movements of animals and humans continues to inform and influence today. What the human eye could not capture at the time, Muybridge’s series of cameras, …

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

A Look Back at Board Games

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

Like many kids – and lots of adults – I love playing board games. I’ve spent many an hour rolling dice and moving around a board in a race against my opponents to either the finish line or to some other goal, like accumulating the most wealth or properties. But I have not yet tried …

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

Althea Gibson Points the Way

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

I admire this photograph of Althea Gibson—and the notable woman it depicts–for several reasons. A news photo from our New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, it shows Gibson at a tennis clinic reportedly attended by 500 students at Midwood High School. Tennis racket in hand, index finger extended, Gibson is literally giving pointers to …

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

St. Patrick’s Day in the Army

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

My celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, despite my Irish roots, was simply to wear a bit of green. During the American Civil War, the Union soldiers from the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac had much bigger plans. Sketch artist Edwin Forbes was there to capture the action on March 17, 1863 as …

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

Feast Your Eyes: Sold on Chocolate!

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The following is a  guest post for the Feast Your Eyes series by Mary Mundy, Cataloging Specialist, and Kristen Sosinski, Processing Technician, both of the Prints and Photographs Division. Two advertisements caught our eyes while searching for images of our favorite sweet treat. This photograph advertising H. McCobb’s Cocoa & Chocolate is interesting for its …

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

Caught Our Eyes: A Leaning Lighthouse

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

Reference specialist Marilyn Ibach caught sight of this photo in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation for the Cape Saint George Lighthouse, Cape St. George, Apalachicola, Franklin County, Florida. Marilyn remarked: This 1852 lighthouse caught my eye because it’s at such an angle! (275 degrees off north).  This November 1998 photo shows the lighthouse …

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

Du Bois’s American Negro Exhibit for the 1900 Paris Exposition

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

In this exhibit there are, of course, the usual paraphenalia for catching the eye — photographs, models, industrial work, and pictures. But it does not stop here; beneath all this is a carefully thought-out plan, according to which the exhibitors have tried to show: (a) The history of the American Negro. (b) His present condition. …