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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 year photographer Edwin Martin generously placed 138 of his photographs of traveling circuses in the care of the Library of Congress. An extraordinary record of a challenging way of life, the collection is a testament to the hard work and dedication of circus members who, for over 200 years, have brought joy to the American people. In honor of World Circus Day (April 19th), we are sharing excerpts from a recent interview with Martin about his experiences.
Posted in: Acquisitions, Photographs, Posters
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
Sample some images from the Library of Congress postcard collections in this post as we prepare to host a webinar on April 16 featuring a broad selection of postcards from the late 19th century forward. We hope this quick introduction will encourage you to watch the live event – or listen to the recording if you aren’t able to make it!
Posted in: News & Events, Photographs, Postcards, Prints, Webinars
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
We celebrate National Pencil Day on March 30. This post in our occasional series, Profiling Portraits, focuses on portraits where the subject has a pencil in hand, and it is connected to their identity as writer, journalist, and artist.
Posted in: Drawings, Photographs, Prints, Series: Profiling Portraits
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. Our talented teams in the Prints & Photographs Division (P&P) organized and described 250,000 pictures during the past year. The processing teams completed several new collections for you to enjoy from a distance or examine in person, and digitization staff added some …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Ready for Research
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Finding Pictures is a regular webinar series produced by staff of the Prints and Photographs Division. This post advertises the upcoming talk on Mid-Century Color Photography by Leigh Gleason, Head of Reference. It includes example photos from multiple collections, including works by Russell Lee, Theodor Horydczak, Toni Frissell, Bernard Gotfryd, and Balthazar Korab.
Posted in: News & Events, Photographs, Webinars
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Join Reference Librarian Jonathan Eaker on Wednesday, February 19 at 3:00pm EST as he highlights interesting selections from the Prints & Photographs Division’s wide and diverse World War I collections. Learn the stories behind the photos shared below and many more. This virtual presentation includes newly digitized images that are freely available to all. …
Posted in: News & Events, Photographs, World War I
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
For some of us, it’s hard to remember a time when we didn’t have portable communication devices that fit in our pockets — when a phone call required access to a wired line. I recently came across a photograph with a phone booth in it and I struggled to remember the last time I had …
Posted in: 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