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Archive: 2020 (21 Posts)

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

Revisiting Rights-Free: WPA Posters—Perennial Favorites on Enduring Themes

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The Prints & Photographs Division’s collection of posters produced for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and 1940s is one of many highlights among the division’s extensive poster holdings. These posters touch on a number of themes, including public health and occupational safety, travel and tourism, recreation and educational programs and World War …

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

Rediscovering Drive-Ins with the Vogel Collection

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The following is a guest post by Gillian Mahoney, Technical Services Technician in the Prints & Photographs Division. Are drive-in theaters making a comeback? Because of the current pandemic, many are seeking socially distant yet still sociable activities, and drive-in movie theaters offer a perfect combination. In the 1950s and 60s drive-ins were wildly popular, …

Miss Janette [i.e., Jeannette] Rankin. Photo by National Photo Company, between 1909 and 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.20183

Jeannette Rankin: First Woman Elected to Congress

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

On November 7, 1916, nearly four years before the Nineteenth Amendment gave American women the right to vote nationally, Jeannette Rankin was elected to represent Montana in the United States House of Representatives. Images of Rankin in the Prints & Photographs Division’s collections portray her both in her role as congresswoman and as activist for …

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

Revisiting Rights-Free: Popular Graphic Art Prints

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

This is one in a series of blog posts devoted to highlighting digitized content that has long been available on the Library’s web site and is worth revisiting. The Prints & Photographs Division holds tens of thousands of popular graphic art prints showing every subject imaginable, from military battles to sentimental vignettes, from expansive city …

Collecting cards with pictures of events in ballooning history from 1795 to 1846. Chromolithographic prints by Romanet & cie., imp., between 1890 and 1900. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.02561

Taking Flight with the Tissandier Collection: Exploring Early Aviation in Pictures

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The value of providing online access to collection material has never been more apparent than during this challenging time. Opportunities for remote learning and vicarious experience are in high demand, and while we are doubling down on our efforts to digitize more materials all the time, we also want to take the opportunity to highlight …

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

Celebrating a Voting Victory

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the thirty-sixth state to ratify the 19th Amendment, reaching the threshold of state approval required to extend the vote to women across the United States. Below, National Woman’s Party co-founder Alice Paul is shown at the organization’s headquarters unfurling a completed ratification banner, which sported a star to represent each …

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

Behind the Scenes: an Archivist Draws on Myriad Experiences

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Below is an interview with Kristen Sosinski, Archivist in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress. Melissa: Can you tell us about your background, and how you came to work as an archivist in the Prints & Photographs Division? Kristen: Yes, I got my start in college where I had a work-study …

Documenting a Step Toward Marriage Equality

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

In 1970, working for LOOK magazine, Charlotte Brooks traveled to Minnesota to photograph Michael McConnell and Jack Baker for a profile on committed same-sex relationships. Activists for gay rights, McConnell and Baker can be seen in these photographs enjoying domestic life, relaxing in a park, attending church, socializing with friends, and carrying signs and leaflets …