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Category: Prints

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

Washington, D.C.: The Early Years

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

Ask any American to identify the Washington Monument or the U.S. Capitol, and it is likely they could.  But would they recognize – or be surprised by – those structures as they looked in the first century of the nation’s capital? A newly expanded reference aid provides glimpses of the city as it evolved: Washington, …

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

Whistler’s Butterfly

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

Some people contend that great art is distinguished in the attention the artist paid to the most minute details.  Artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) may be a good case in point in that he even turned his creative energy to the way in which he signed his work. H. Barbara Weinberg of the Department of American …

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

Timberclads: A Civil War Alternative to Ironclads

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

The following is a guest post by Gay Colyer, Digital Library Specialist, Prints & Photographs Division. While reviewing Civil War photographs of the Union’s Mississippi River Fleet (LOT 4183), I came across a type of ship that I hadn’t seen before. I’ve long admired the efficient design of the single or double turreted ironclads. In …

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

The Beauty of Enduring Friendship: Cherry Blossoms

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. How do the delicate blossoms of a cherry tree represent the strength found in friendship? A new video from the Library of Congress suggests many answers in an engaging gallery tour of the exhibition Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of …

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

Valentine’s Day 2013

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we feature a 120-year-old card. This circa 1890 valentine features a curly-headed angel paddling a flower-laden love boat “Hearts Delight.” The sail bears the inscription: “Pray Sweetheart, send me just a line to say you’ll be my Valentine.”  Happy Valentine’s Day! Learn More: Put a little romance in your life via …

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

Caught Our Eyes: An Engineering Marvel

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

This item from the Popular Graphic Arts collection recently caught the eye of Phil Michel,  Digital Conversion Coordinator in the Prints & Photographs Division. Phil commented, “Early engineering marvels often catch my eye. Some of the ships, buildings, bridges, tunnels, etc., that were built in the industrial age were just phenomenal in their scale. I …