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Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Get your scissors, glue, and a lot of patience ready, because today I bring you a D.I.Y. project from the 19th century. (A basic grasp of French – or access to an online translator – might also come in handy!) Part of a series of “Petites Constructions” created by the French company Pellerin & Cie, …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
“Entered according to the act of Congress” sounds like a grand entry, indeed, and it’s a phrase we are often asked about because it appears near the bottom of many pictures. But what does it mean? Starting in 1802, that phrase was required by U.S. Copyright law to be on works for which a rights …
Posted in: Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
When I think about roller skating as a kid, I remember fun Friday nights at the skating rink with friends, pop music and treats at the snack bar. There was the joy of going fast, and the occasional wipe out from going a bit too fast. Not a problem for 4-year-old Betty Buck, since the …
Posted in: Photographs, Posters, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
As the days grow hot and humid in Washington, D.C., my mind turns to summer haircuts. A look back offers a reminder of reasons beyond the purely seasonal for hair cutting. This print from our Popular Graphic Arts collection depicts a character in the novel The Guardian Angel by Oliver Wendell Holmes. The story originally …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Series: Caught Our Eyes
Posted by: Jeff Bridgers
Mary Cassatt’s 1901 print Jeannette and her Mother Seated on a Sofa (below, left) captures a timeless moment between mother and child: In this tranquil scene, free of visual distraction or clutter, Jeannette sits securely in her mother’s lap, the mother’s arms surrounding her daughter in a gentle embrace, the two gazing lovingly, eyes fixed upon …
Posted in: Prints
Posted by: Jeff Bridgers
The following is a guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints, and Mari Nakahara, Curator of Architecture, Design, and Engineering, Prints & Photographs Division: As Washington’s beloved cherry trees are in full bloom, we are inspired to share an assortment of seasonal-themed images from the Library’s extensive holdings of Japanese woodblock prints. In Japanese …
Posted in: Flickr, News & Events, Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
In these photographs, we see two houses, both set in rural Virginia, in the mid-nineteenth century. These were the homes, a few years apart, of a retired officer of the Virginia militia named Wilmer McLean and his family. At first glance, the houses and these facts are unremarkable. But the history these walls witnessed, and …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
My fascination with hot air balloons dates back to childhood, and the first time I saw one in the movie The Wizard of Oz. I’m not sure if it was because of my youth or because the balloon belonged to the “Wizard of Oz,” but it seemed pretty magical to me that there existed balloons …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints, Series: Pictures to Go
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
One of the wonders of modern transportation that advertisers at the turn of the twentieth century communicated through pictures was the compact luxury of railroad sleeping cars, stressing how they offered the comforts of home and more. Often shown as a side feature are the porters who tended to passengers’ needs. African-American sleeping car porters, …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints