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Category: Photographs

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

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 …

An outstanding picture of 1937 – tragedy. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.31771

Amelia Earhart: In the Cockpit and in the Public Eye

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Given her accomplishments as an aviator, including becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, it should come as no surprise that Amelia Earhart was frequently photographed. The Prints & Photographs Division’s collections include a number of images of Earhart, including some photographs of her sitting in a cockpit looking relaxed and self-assured. …

Susie King Taylor, known as the first African American Army nurse. Photo, published 1902. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.57593

Susie King Taylor: The Courage of an African American Nurse and Teacher

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Below is an interview with Elizabeth Lindqwister, the summer 2019 Liljenquist Family Fellow, and Prints & Photographs Division staff members, Karen Chittenden and Micah Messenheimer, about creating a Story Map focusing on the Civil War experience of Susie King Taylor. Many courageous people are pulling double and triple duty in this time of quarantine for …

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

“The Arts” and Kenyon Cox: A Mural in the Thomas Jefferson Building

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The following is a post by Kristi Finefield, Reference Specialist in the Prints & Photographs Division, and member of the Picture This blog team. As the Library of Congress marks its 220th year, we take the opportunity to explore one example of its efforts to sustain and celebrate the arts in its physical spaces. Above …