In July of 1941, Jack Delano photographed Washington National Airport, in Arlington, Virginia, for the Farm Security Administration. The airport had opened a month earlier. Earlier this month, I went to the airport to try to replicate some of Mr. Delano’s photos. I concentrated on what in 1941 was known as the waiting room and …
The following is an interview with Avnee Sharma and Alicia Perkovich, who both served as Archives, History and Heritage Advanced interns in the Prints & Photographs Division last fall. Melissa: Can each of you tell us about your background and how you came to work at the Library of Congress as Archives, History and Heritage …
As one might expect given the season, April has arrived in the nation’s capital with substantial rain showers. Inspired by what I see outside and curious to see what kinds of rainy weather images I could find in the collections, I searched the online catalog. There is no shortage of D.C.-based photographs in the collections. …
The post discusses untitled photos in the Farm Security Administration Collection, and efforts to provide them titles. Also, the author explores still untitled photos and utilizes visual literacy techniques to speculate what they are about.
I love to keep an eye out for photos from the P&P collections that show posters being displayed. I then search the poster collection to see if we have a copy of the actual poster. Here are some of the better examples from the World War II era. A 1942 poster by Jean Carlu, produced …
It’s that time of year – baseball season is upon us, and young ball players everywhere are getting geared up for their first spring games. We were not surprised to find that Prints & Photographs Division collections provide many examples of children enjoying America's pastime when searching the online catalog. Enjoy a selection of such images in this post.
It’s usually right about this time of year when I start pining for warmer weather and fresh, local fruit. This may have something to do with my California roots. My family always had fruit trees, including varieties of orange, such as the one you see below. There were only a few months out of the …
One of my favorite ways to explore the vast collections of the Prints & Photographs Division is to look for connections between multiple collections that span different time periods. Quite by accident while searching for another photo in the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, I found this fascinating 1942 photo of a stop …
The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. The extensive photography archives of Ralph Ellison, Robert McNeill, and Bob Adelman are now ready for your attention! We also offer you a new and detailed finding aid to the Tobacco Cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection and more rights-free …