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Category: FSA/OWI

A Few of My Favorite Things

Posted by: Jan Grenci

My latest Flickr album – A Few of My Favorite Things – will be my last. I’m retiring from the Library after 34 years. I’ve had the privilege of working with the collections of the Prints & Photographs Division and seeing a lot of great, memorable images. I’ve been able to share many of them …

Come Fly With Me – Part Two

Posted by: Jan Grenci

Last week, we started a compare/contrast journey through Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia via photographs taken by Jack Delano in July of 1941 for the Farm Security Administration and by me in April of 2024. Our journey concludes this week with four more picture sets. First up is an exterior shot: Let’s return to …

Come Fly With Me – Part One

Posted by: Jan Grenci

In July of 1941, Jack Delano photographed Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, for the Farm Security Administration. The airport had opened a month earlier. Earlier this month, I went to the airport to try to replicate some of Mr. Delano’s photos. I concentrated on what in 1941 was known as the waiting room and …

Posters Working Together

Posted by: Jan Grenci

I love to keep an eye out for photos from the P&P collections that show posters being displayed. I then search the poster collection to see if we have a copy of the actual poster. Here are some of the better examples from the World War II era. A 1942 poster by Jean Carlu, produced …

On The Ice

Posted by: Jan Grenci

I’d like to share an image that I didn’t use for my latest Flickr album – On the Ice. The photo is from the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection (FSA/OWI) and was retrieved when I searched in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) using the search term “skating”: At first glance, it …

If the Sign Fits

Posted by: Jan Grenci

I look at a lot of images in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) when I am making selections for a Flickr album. This was certainly the case when working on my latest set – If The Shoe Fits. There are always many images that don’t make it to the final group. In preparing …

When the Bench Breaks

Posted by: Jan Grenci

It’s the time of year to enjoy eating in the great outdoors! Last week, a Flickr album of images of picnics launched. I included a photo very similar to this one in the album: The photos were taken in August of 1940 by Marion Post Wolcott when she was working for the Farm Security Administration …

Here’s Looking at You, Mom

Posted by: Jan Grenci

The following is a guest post by Kate Fogle, Assistant Curator of Photography, Prints & Photographs Division. Mom. Simple to say, this monosyllabic version of ‘mother’ entered the American lexicon in the mid-1800s, and its ease of use has yet to waver, as moms throughout the U.S. can attest. It’s a palindrome that conveys comfort …

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 …