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Category: Photographs

The Awakening Photomechanical print published by Puck Publishing Corporation, 1915, February 20. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ds.12369

Women in History

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, I was inspired to look back at the archives of the Picture This blog and to note the many ways we have celebrated the contributions of women in history. We have written posts about women making their mark, such as Shirley Chisholm and Amelia Earhart. And we …

Of Postcards and Postage

Posted by: Jan Grenci

I love postcards. I send them, collect them, and even make them. In my latest Flickr album, You’ve Got Mail, I included a 1939 photo of what was described as the “largest postcard ever sent through the mail.” A regular postcard cost one cent to mail in that year. I spot an interesting error in …

Live at the Library: Women in Photography, Stories from the Not an Ostrich Exhibition

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

If you are in the D.C. area, please join us on Thursday, March 16, to celebrate Women’s History Month with Women in Photography, Stories from the Not an Ostrich Exhibition, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. Photojournalist Sharon Farmer, the first woman and the first African American to be director …

Shave and a Haircut: The Blog

Posted by: Jan Grenci

The barber pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the barbering trade. In my latest Flickr album, Shave and a Haircut, you will see a small selection of images of barber poles from the Prints and Photographs Division. The collections hold many more photos than I could use in the album. This is the kind …

Stacked potato barrels creating a totem pole in the main street.

You Say Potato…I Say Pototem!

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

While searching our collections for a photo, I came across the following image and my natural curiosity required me to zoom in and read the text: Because I didn’t grow up in a region known for potato farming, it was surprising to learn of potato barrel rolling as an event! I absolutely had to find …

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

Ready for Research: From Latin America and Baseball Cards to Moral Re-Armament and Historical Trademark Designs

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, and Aliza Leventhal, Head, Technical Services, both of the Prints & Photographs Division. Every week our department organizes, houses, describes, and selectively digitizes a wide variety of pictures. Here are the highlights from the more than 125,000 items completed in the past six months. You …

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

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

In about 1920, a groundhog at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. was photographed poking his head out of his manmade burrow: There is no specific month and day given for this photo, but I see some icicles at the top of the image and perhaps snow in the foreground. So, I like to think …

The Poodle is in the Details

Posted by: Jan Grenci

This is my favorite photo from the Flickr album Toni Frissell Dog Photography Part One: It’s not my favorite because of the red Ford Country Sedan station wagon. It’s not my favorite because of the Mainbocher coat worn by C.Z. Guest. It’s my favorite because of the doggy in the window if you will. The …