What do a carousel horse, Theodore Roosevelt, and a lighthouse have in common? Look closely at the drawing below from the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial – can you spot two Roosevelts? There is, of course, the large drawing of the Roosevelt statue featured at the memorial on Theodore Roosevelt […]
As I was perusing the online catalog this week with Hispanic Heritage Month in mind, a number of photographs of murals stood out to me. The mural tradition has long been strong in Hispanic communities in the United States, perhaps most notably as a part of the Chicano art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. […]
The following is a guest post by Owen Ellis, Archivist, Prints & Photographs Division. An invaluable record of modern design and art during the 1920s through 1940s is now available through the Winold Reiss Collection. Close to 800 drawings, photographs, posters, and prints document the creativity and contributions of a visionary designer. The collection highlights […]
While many Prints & Photographs Division staff are working separately from their home offices, dens, and living rooms, pictures never fail to bring us together. In the waning days of summer, it’s a pleasure to immerse ourselves in the pictures that we gathered in response to seek-and-find challenges offered by reference specialist Jan Grenci. We […]
Thousands of students, from kindergarten to graduate school, are sitting down at computers to attend class right now, using the internet to connect to teachers, resources, assignments and other students. The idea of this network of people learning from a distance brought to mind an interesting photo I came across some time ago while browsing […]
The value of providing online access to collection material has never been more apparent than during this challenging time. Opportunities for remote learning and vicarious experience are in high demand, and while we are doubling down on our efforts to digitize more materials all the time, we also want to take the opportunity to highlight […]
The following is a guest post by Victoria Bankole, an Archives, History, and Heritage Advanced Intern in the Prints & Photographs Division in spring 2020. “Every story I create, creates me. I write to create myself.” — Octavia E. Butler Just as author Octavia Butler created herself through writing, photographers such as Roland Freeman use their […]
On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the thirty-sixth state to ratify the 19th Amendment, reaching the threshold of state approval required to extend the vote to women across the United States. Below, National Woman’s Party co-founder Alice Paul is shown at the organization’s headquarters unfurling a completed ratification banner, which sported a star to represent each […]
I was delighted to see this picture as the lead image in a “Free to Use” set of images focusing on tennis that was recently added to the Library’s Web site. I remember printing out the image years ago for my own personal folder of favorite “mid-air views.” Not only do I admire the energy and […]
The year 1870 is significant for copyright and the Library of Congress. Prior to that year, copyright registration was administered by the U.S. District Courts. Starting in 1870, the copyright registration and deposit system was centralized in the Library of Congress. One of the requirements for protecting your creation with copyright was to send in […]