A column in The Hartford Courant discussing the decline of letter writing in the U.S. blames “this age of quick communication and rapid transportation.” While this is by no means surprising, the date of the newspaper article might be: Oct. 2, 1938! Yes, even 80 years ago, the art of letter writing was seen to […]
I’m always on the lookout for cats in our collections. In March 1924, all of Washington, D.C. was on the lookout for one specific cat – Tige, one of the prized pets of President and Mrs. Coolidge! As promised in a recent Picture This post about dogs in our collections, I now bring you the […]
The Prints and Photographs Division, home to the archive of noted American architect and innovative modernist designer Paul M. Rudolph, is hosting a symposium and a display to celebrate the centennial of his birth. A day-long symposium on Rudolph’s life and work will be held at the Library of Congress on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, […]
I ran across this photo several months ago while looking for something else, and immediately laughed and put it in my “don’t try this at home” file. But what I definitely recommend you do try at home, or anywhere else you have an opportunity, is to talk about pictures with others. It almost always adds […]
Attending county or state fairs in the summer is a tradition for many Americans. While I did not get a chance to go to county or state fairs as a kid, I’ve now been to county fairs on both sides of the country, and find them fascinating. I’ve seen pony rides, clogging demonstrations, chicken, duck […]
No, this is not a post bemoaning the sultry heat of late summer (sometimes referred to, apparently for astronomical reasons, as the “dog days”). The Prints & Photographs Division’s dog days are prompted by the realization that various staff members highlighted portraits of dogs (some with accompanying humans) on the division’s “Caught Our Eyes” wall, […]
Below is an interview with Vanathy Senthilkumar, who served on the Library of Congress Digital Conversion Team. Vanathy recently accepted a new job as a Librarian at the Government Printing Office, where we wish her the best of luck. Melissa: Like other members of the Library’s Digital Conversion Team, you serve on rotating details in […]
The following is a guest post by Jan Grenci, Reference Specialist for Posters in the Prints and Photographs Division – as well as a long-suffering Pittsburgh Pirates fan. For almost as long as the game has been played, baseball imagery has been used to advertise a wide variety of products. These items from the Prints […]
Visual materials, such as photos, not only depict a place, but can also provide a deeper understanding of that place. While a single photo offers a single moment in the timeline of a place’s history, a group of photos of a larger region can suggest a much broader story, influenced by the connections between places […]
The Prints and Photographs Division’s Popular Graphic Art (PGA) Collection is a rich resource for nineteenth-century portraits, views of cities and landscapes, and interpretations of historical events. It is also a great source of pictures that were designed to serve educational purposes and reflect particular values and tastes. I came across several PGA prints that […]