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Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
How have women and automobiles been depicted together? The image I conjured in my mind’s eye involved attractive women draped across a car in a purely decorative fashion–something like the image below, where the finer features of the bathing beauties are more on view than the Columbia Six Sport they are presumably helping to advertise. …
Posted in: Prints, Women's History
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” — The Water Rat, in The Wind in the Willows The following is a guest post by Marilyn Ibach, Reference Specialist, Prints and Photographs Division. It is part of the Pictures to Go series of posts …
Posted in: Photographs, Posters, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
The following is a guest post by Martha H. Kennedy, Curator of Popular & Applied Graphic Arts, Prints and Photographs Division. Travel by train, or what some called the “Iron horse,” dominated other forms of transport in America for nearly fifty years. During this “golden age” of railroads that began in 1865, public fascination with …
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Get your scissors, glue, and a lot of patience ready, because today I bring you a D.I.Y. project from the 19th century. (A basic grasp of French – or access to an online translator – might also come in handy!) Part of a series of “Petites Constructions” created by the French company Pellerin & Cie, …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
When I think about roller skating as a kid, I remember fun Friday nights at the skating rink with friends, pop music and treats at the snack bar. There was the joy of going fast, and the occasional wipe out from going a bit too fast. Not a problem for 4-year-old Betty Buck, since the …
Posted in: Photographs, Posters, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Jeff Bridgers
I don’t want a pickle Just want to ride on my motorsickle And I don’t want a tickle ‘Cause I’d rather ride on my motorsickle — Arlo Guthrie, “The Motorcycle Song” Arlo Guthrie’s simple lyrics sum up the appeal of motorcycles which goes far beyond a vehicle for getting from place to place. Both the experience …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
The sight of a single car on the road in traffic-heavy Washington, D.C. was enough to catch my eye, but this photo was intriguing for other reasons as well. The car is front and center, but clearly the U.S. Capitol rising prominently behind it is key to the composition. And the photographer seems to be …
Posted in: Architecture, Photographs, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
My fascination with hot air balloons dates back to childhood, and the first time I saw one in the movie The Wizard of Oz. I’m not sure if it was because of my youth or because the balloon belonged to the “Wizard of Oz,” but it seemed pretty magical to me that there existed balloons …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
One of the wonders of modern transportation that advertisers at the turn of the twentieth century communicated through pictures was the compact luxury of railroad sleeping cars, stressing how they offered the comforts of home and more. Often shown as a side feature are the porters who tended to passengers’ needs. African-American sleeping car porters, …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints