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Category: Photographs

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 …

Seeing Double

Posted by: Jan Grenci

My latest Flickr album puts forth a small group of multiple exposure photographs from the Farm Security Administration (FSA) Collection. To create a double or multiple exposure, a photographer using an analog camera shoots an initial exposure and then, either on purpose or by accident, continues shooting further exposures on the same frame or sheet …

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 …

Posters in the Picture

Posted by: Jan Grenci

Some of my previous blog posts have shown connections between collections housed in the Prints & Photographs (P&P) Division. I am always on the lookout for photos that include posters that are a part of P&P’s holdings. This post will focus on two photos from the American National Red Cross (ANRC) Collection. Both photos include …

1. Toni Frissell poses for a photographic portrait with ski poles in front of a snowy mountain.

Here Comes the Sun

Posted by: Jan Grenci

My latest Flickr album – Toni Frissell – The Great Outdoors – showcases the photographer’s work in and with nature. Let’s focus on a few images that feature the sun or spotlight its effects. This photo from 1960 shows the sun rising over a mist-covered racetrack in Saratoga Springs, New York: The sunlight dapples the …

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 …

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 …