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Archive: 2023 (52 Posts)

Finding Pictures: In Celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

April is National Arab American Heritage Month. Save an hour this Wednesday afternoon to get a peek into how the Prints & Photographs Division’s collections provide visual insight into the lives and accomplishments of Arab Americans. Sara W. Duke, Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art, will share a wide array of images related to …

Library Photos by Robert Dawson

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. In celebration of National Library Week (April 23-29, 2023), please take a moment to enjoy a brand new acquisition in the Prints & Photographs Division – “The Global Library Project” by master photographer Robert Dawson. The theme of National Library Week …

Hats On For Easter

Posted by: Jan Grenci

The following is a guest post by Kate Fogle, Assistant Curator of Photography, Prints & Photographs Division. Bunnies and baskets. Two words heard often this time of year. With the Easter holiday nearly upon us, the consumer push to provide a bountiful Easter, even to the youngest of children, is felt by most parents I …

The Awakening Photomechanical print published by Puck Publishing Corporation, 1915, February 20. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ds.12369

Women in History

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, I was inspired to look back at the archives of the Picture This blog and to note the many ways we have celebrated the contributions of women in history. We have written posts about women making their mark, such as Shirley Chisholm and Amelia Earhart. And we …

Posters With a WOW Factor

Posted by: Jan Grenci

Not too long ago, I gave a presentation on posters to a group of university students studying the history of graphic design. I included this poster designed by Adolph Treidler: Treidler designed posters for a variety of organizations/causes during both world wars. During World War II, he created a number of posters for the Woman …

Of Postcards and Postage

Posted by: Jan Grenci

I love postcards. I send them, collect them, and even make them. In my latest Flickr album, You’ve Got Mail, I included a 1939 photo of what was described as the “largest postcard ever sent through the mail.” A regular postcard cost one cent to mail in that year. I spot an interesting error in …

Live at the Library: Women in Photography, Stories from the Not an Ostrich Exhibition

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

If you are in the D.C. area, please join us on Thursday, March 16, to celebrate Women’s History Month with Women in Photography, Stories from the Not an Ostrich Exhibition, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. Photojournalist Sharon Farmer, the first woman and the first African American to be director …

Shave and a Haircut: The Blog

Posted by: Jan Grenci

The barber pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the barbering trade. In my latest Flickr album, Shave and a Haircut, you will see a small selection of images of barber poles from the Prints and Photographs Division. The collections hold many more photos than I could use in the album. This is the kind …

Stacked potato barrels creating a totem pole in the main street.

You Say Potato…I Say Pototem!

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

While searching our collections for a photo, I came across the following image and my natural curiosity required me to zoom in and read the text: Because I didn’t grow up in a region known for potato farming, it was surprising to learn of potato barrel rolling as an event! I absolutely had to find …