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Posted by: Kristi Finefield
A dramatic photograph of two smokestacks tumbling down in D.C. catches our eye. This blog post explores the story behind these tall structures that formerly towered over the National Mall.
Posted in: Architecture, Photographs, Series: Double Take
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
On April 24, 1800, President John Adams authorized the spending of $5000 for "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress." This act was the beginning of the Library of Congress. Look back over 225 years of the Library's history through architectural drawings, prints and photographs.
Posted in: Architecture, Drawings, News & Events, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Last week, we celebrated the 17th birthday of The Commons on Flickr. The Commons started as a partnership between Flickr and the Library of Congress, and has grown to include tens of thousands of images from over 100 different institutions. In recent years, we have been selecting images from our collections to share in our …
Posted in: Architecture, Flickr, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Former President Jimmy Carter passed away earlier this week at the age of 100. Today, I’ll highlight a few collections in the Prints & Photographs Division which include images related to the life of Carter, the longest-living President in American history. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection: Carter’s active years fall squarely in …
Posted in: Architecture, News & Events, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
The following is a guest post by Mari Nakahara, Curator of Architecture, Design & Engineering and Micah Messenheimer and Michelle Smiley, Curators of Photography, Prints & Photographs Division, drawn from a conversation with Professor David R. Hanlon. We appreciate his willingness to share his research findings and identify the photographers in the Hunt Collection to …
Posted in: Architecture, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
The work of scanning, cataloging, and sharing our collection of images with the world is never ceasing in the Prints & Photographs Division. Digitization work brings to light both recently acquired and long-held items from the collections. I periodically browse our newly digitized images to see what is now available. I was particularly taken by …
Posted in: Architecture, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
In 1906, New York photographer A.B. Phelan created several photomontages of an oversized man looming over parts of New York City. He accomplished this feat by skillfully combining two photos into one wonderful ‘trick’ photo. Lucky for us, he submitted them for copyright registration and the montage photos made their way into the Library’s permanent …
Posted in: Architecture, Photographs, Visual literacy
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
A fun feature on the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog is a link that allows you to view a selection of newly digitized images from the collections. Scanning visual materials from our collections, whether recently acquired or long-held but not yet digitized, is an ongoing task. We strive to bring as much of our collection to …
Posted in: African American History, Architecture, Photographs, Portraits, World War I
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
One of my favorite ways to explore the vast collections of the Prints & Photographs Division is to look for connections between multiple collections that span different time periods. Quite by accident while searching for another photo in the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, I found this fascinating 1942 photo of a stop …
Posted in: Architecture, Flickr, Photographs, Series: Double Take, Visual literacy