The following is guest post by Micah Messenheimer, Assistant Curator of Photography, Prints and Photographs Division. Over the span of nearly forty years, John Margolies took more than eleven thousand color slide photographs of vernacular structures across America’s highways, byways, and main streets. Traversing the country, he was drawn to the architecture that came to …
Since today, Flag Day, is dedicated to our grand old flag, it seems a perfect time to share eye-catching images from our collections that feature the nation’s Old Glory. You might not always see the colors red, white, and blue, but you’ll undoubtedly recognize the stars and stripes! I was surprised to come across many …
The following is an interview featuring Sara W. Duke, Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Arts, Prints and Photographs Division. Running through October 28, a new exhibit at the Library of Congress, “Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration,” showcases extensive collections of original courtroom art held by the Prints and Photographs Division. Represented are …
On a recent trip to Japan, I was on a tour bus from Nikko to Tokyo. At one point, the driver suddenly lowered the overhead television screens and the tour guide began to narrate the final match of the March Sumo Wrestling Tournament taking place in Osaka. She explained the intricacies of Shinto traditions that …
“The Greatest Show on Earth” closed up shop this past Sunday, May 21, as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus put on its last show. “The Greatest Show on Earth” moniker is a good example of the type of hyperbole circuses have always used in their advertising to lure visitors. The Prints and …
The following is a guest post by Jonathan Eaker, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division. On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American National Red Cross to provide relief services during times of war and disaster. In honor of its Founder’s Day, I would like to highlight some newly digitized images from our American …
The following is a guest post by Melissa Lindberg, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division. Melissa joined the reference section in February 2017. In my first week as a reference librarian in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, I was told by several colleagues that it takes at least a decade …
Welcome to May–a month of sunshine, colorful blooms, and excitement for the summer! When the first of the month, May Day, rolls around, I think of flowers, ribbon poles, and a Renaissance fair vibe. As fortune would have it, I found these ideas encapsulated in a single photograph, below. As I continued browsing the Prints …
“…the great success of Mr. Bell is due to his suavity of manner coupled with high artistic ability, and to the gentlemanly deportment observed by his corps of assistants. The rule is, politeness to everybody.” –Photographic Times and American Photographer, Sept. 1, 1883. From the 1870s until the 1910s, tens of thousands of people in …
