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Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Who can appreciate clear skies more than Santa? This 1927 Harris & Ewing photograph documents Santa receiving rather than giving: he gets the “all clear” to navigate the skies on Christmas Eve, complete with a pilot’s license. While a pilot’s license may not be on everyone’s wish list, anyone who has worked with historical photographs …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Jeff Bridgers
This September 1924 National Photo Company image of an auto house caught my eye not only because of the delight it sparked in seeing such a novel vehicle, but also because the lack of contextual information set me to wondering and wanting to know more. For example, assuming that the photo shows Mr. Harris and …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Reference staff member Elizabeth Terry Rose, exercising both her keen eye and her artistic sensibility, offered her reflections upon seeing this photo by Samuel Kravitt highlighting Shaker design. “Sewing table and chair caught my eye for its timeless tidiness, its dignified peace, its light. It is a Kravitt. It is a Wyeth, a Vermeer. An invitation.” …
Posted in: Prints, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Cataloger Greg Marcangelo turned up this image–a record catch from an August fishing expedition nearly 110 years ago. Greg notes, “As a Pisces, I’m always on the lookout for nice pictures of fish. But this – is it even real?? A quick internet search confirms that Giant Sea Bass may reach these proportions!” Learn more: …
Posted in: Photographs, Postcards, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Photography curator Carol Johnson spotted this evocative photograph. Carol comments: “The Swan Boats have been a fixture in the Boston Public Gardens for more than 100 years. Harking back to simpler times, the boat rides offer a peaceful break from busy city life.” The photographs shows half of a stereograph card. If you were to …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Jeff Bridgers
My two kids participated in an annual end-of-the-school-year event earlier this week: Field Day. My memories of field days consist of contests such as the water balloon toss or varieties of races including the sack race or the three-legged race. In this Russell Lee photograph above, the young fellow, looking for all the world like …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Reference specialist Marilyn Ibach spotted this scene among the thousands of photographs Carol M. Highsmith has taken in her project to document America. Marilyn’s comment: The immediate outline against the sky of a dinosaur skeleton, juxtaposed with a coy title that doesn’t confirm what you are seeing, makes you zoom in for a closer look, …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
This photo caught many eyes when we shared it in the Library of Congress Flickr account. What crossed my mind on first glimpsing the man standing under the “Municipal Bat Roost” sign was, “Is this some sort of faked (composite) photo? Could the structure possibly be that large?” Flickr members immediately started supplying some context …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Prints and Photographs Division cataloging specialist Arden Alexander spotted this 1917 photograph, which is rich in detail and perspective. Arden comments: The photographer leaned out a window over Fifth Avenue to capture this aerial view of a military parade in New York City during World War I. This image caught my eye because of its …
Posted in: Photographs, Series: Caught Our Eyes