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Category: Posters

A Lithographic Stone’s Throw

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

I love making connections within our collections here in the Prints & Photographs (P&P) Division. Recently, I made an unexpected connection between our poster holdings and an artifact located across the Atlantic in London. During a visit to the London Transport Museum’s Global Poster Gallery, retired Reference Specialist for Posters, Jan Grenci, and I spotted …

Lights, Power, Action!

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

American poster artist Lester Beall was hired to design posters to garner support for the work of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) in the 1930s. The REA was launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order in May 1935, and then supported by Congress’ passage of the Rural Electrification Act in May 1936. At the …

Lend U.S. Your Eyes

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

“Will you supply eyes for the Navy?”  The arresting image of a blindfolded officer at sea, lost and confused, paired with that question, make this an effective poster – the image caught my attention and made me look and read further. This World War I poster is calling for help from the general population in …

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

The Wonders of the WPA Poster Collection

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The following is a guest post by Hanna Soltys, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division. The Work Projects Administration (WPA) Poster Collection is one of the Library’s treasures. We’ve hosted many orientations in person and online about these posters, and this time we’re offering an introduction to the collection during the evening hours! On Thursday, …

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

Just About “Ready for Research” 

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. So many exciting collections are in the pipeline for routine access that it’s time for a look ahead. The Prints & Photographs Division works on about 20 “processing” projects at a time …

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

The Visual Wonders of Yellowstone National Park

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

While I am usually incapable of picking favorites, I must admit I do have a favorite national park – Yellowstone. I have visited more than twenty times and I never tire of the natural wonders contained in its over 2 million acres. It was the first national park established in the United States, on March …

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

Marking the New Year with an Old Calendar

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

As we transition to a new year, one of the ways we mark the change is acquiring a new calendar. Even though many of us have moved the tracking of our meetings, tasks, birthdays and other important events to a digital format, I still enjoy a physical calendar, and I especially enjoyed a recent look …

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

One Hundred Fifty Years of Copyright at the Library of Congress

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The year 1870 is significant for copyright and the Library of Congress. Prior to that year, copyright registration was administered by the U.S. District Courts. Starting in 1870, the copyright registration and deposit system was centralized in the Library of Congress. One of the requirements for protecting your creation with copyright was to send in …