Top of page

Category: Photographs

Blanche Scott. Photo by Bain News Service, between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.12209

Looking Beyond the Photo Finish: Women Racers

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Hanna Soltys, who arrived at the Library of Congress in June 2018 as a Librarian in Residence, making wonderful contributions and observations while working as a reference librarian in the Prints & Photographs Division. When getting acclimated to a new place, you’re encouraged to “get lost.” I pleasantly …

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

Reflecting on the Lives and Deaths of Young Civil War Soldiers

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Ben Zuercher, Liljenquist Family Fellow through the Stanford in Government program, Prints & Photographs Division, Summer 2018.  Ben helped to describe recently received items in the Liljenquist Family Collection. Working with the Liljenquist collection carries the constant feeling of wonder and intrigue, as every picture tells a story …

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

Caught Our Eyes: No Getting Past the Dog Days

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

No, this is not a post bemoaning the sultry heat of late summer (sometimes referred to, apparently for astronomical reasons, as the “dog days”). The Prints & Photographs Division’s dog days are prompted by the realization that various staff members highlighted portraits of dogs (some with accompanying humans) on the division’s “Caught Our Eyes” wall, …

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

Caught Our Eyes: In the Eye Wear of the Beholder

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

Digital Library Specialist Pete Richey spotted this intriguing photograph from the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection and added it to our “Caught Our Eyes” wall, where staff share pictorial “finds” from Prints & Photographs Division collections. “When I first saw this photograph it piqued my interest. At first glance this photograph could either …

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

“Not an Ostrich” Exhibit Image Inspires Feathery Detour

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Beverly Brannan, Curator of Photography, picking up on a thread from an earlier post about the “Not an Ostrich” exhibition in Los Angeles, California. The title of the exhibition prompts viewers to ask “What are we really looking at?” Beverly demonstrates how that question can trigger an exploration …

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

A House Hunt: Which Members of Congress Are Shown in this Panoramic Photo?

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

Many pictures come into Prints and Photographs Division collections with little or no identification on them. It’s not entirely surprising, since a portion of our collections were generated or collected by individuals who readily knew the who, what, where and when that depictions can evoke and didn’t feel compelled to write it down. But even …

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

Photographically Illustrated Books: A New Overview

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Adam Silvia, Associate Curator of Photography. A new collection overview provides an entrée into the development of photographically illustrated books, which are well represented in the Library of Congress collections. What are photographically illustrated books? They are books that feature actual photographic prints to make a textual narrative …