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Category: Women’s History

“Shall Not Be Denied” Exhibition: A Single Image Prompts Further Looking

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The Library of Congress’s exhibition, “Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote,” is a visually rich celebration of the women who laid the groundwork for women’s suffrage in the United States. Discussing the origins of the movement, the activities immediately leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, and the …

Helen L. Gilson, Civil War nurse and head of the Colored Hospital Service. Photo by J.C. Moulton, between 1861 and 1865.

A Visual Salute to Nurses

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Karen Chittenden, Cataloging Specialist in the Prints & Photographs Division. National Nurses Week recognizes the contributions of professional nurses, and this year we’d like to do the same by highlighting recently acquired photographs of wartime nurses who marshaled resources, medical skill, and courage to offer help in dire …

Frances Benjamin Johnston Puts Her Stamp on Documenting Work at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Finding written documentation to provide context for images in the collections is not something we can always bank on, but when that information does exist it can be a real luxury. Happily, soon after Frances Benjamin Johnston took photographs of work in the Stamp Division at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, she wrote “Uncle …

Blanche Scott. Photo by Bain News Service, between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.12209

Looking Beyond the Photo Finish: Women Racers

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Hanna Soltys, who arrived at the Library of Congress in June 2018 as a Librarian in Residence, making wonderful contributions and observations while working as a reference librarian in the Prints & Photographs Division. When getting acclimated to a new place, you’re encouraged to “get lost.” I pleasantly …

Portrait of Harriet Tubman. Photo by Benjamin F. Powelson, 1868 or 1869. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.54230

Celebrating Harriet Tubman and the Emily Howland Album

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

Last week, Prints and Photographs Division staff had an opportunity to participate in Washington, D.C.’s first annual celebration of Harriet Tubman Day, which represented several very satisfying convergences. The official Harriet Tubman Day is March 10th, the date of Tubman’s death (the date of her birth is not known). The celebration was held March 8th  …

The Distinctive Works of Bertha Lum

Posted by: Lara Szypszak

We have previously shared some of the fantastic Japanese woodblock prints that grace our collections. They are both elegant and delicate, as well as inspirational. We don’t need to go far to see how Japanese printmaking inspired the work of one particular American artist who studied the technique and developed a unique style of her …

Hallie Quinn Brown. Photo by F. S. Biddle, between 1875 and ca. 1888. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.50302

Portraits of Nineteenth Century African American Women Activists Newly Available Online

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Beverly Brannan, Curator of Photography, Prints & Photographs Division. African American women as well as men assumed civic responsibilities in the decades after the Civil War. William Henry Richards (1856-1941) was active in several organizations that promoted civil rights and civil liberties for African Americans at the end …

P.M. Gen. New with girls basketball team of Dept. Photo by National Photo Co., March 1, 1926.

Women Hoopsters

Posted by: Jeff Bridgers

The following is a guest post by Julie Stoner, Reference Technician in the Prints & Photographs Division. I like most sports; I’m just not very good at playing any of them. And as a much better spectator than participant, I always look forward to “March Madness,” a whirlwind month of basketball tournaments held by the …