Shorpy.com

Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

Photo galleries

Prints

Fine-art prints by Juniper Gallery on a variety of archival art papers.

8059 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 2:55pm

Cities

Black-and-white historical streetscape and skyline photographs of major American cities from the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and more.

4558 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 12:18pm

Featured Contributors

Shorpy contributor galleries.

351 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 04/06/2013 - 7:33pm

Member Gallery

Photos uploaded by visitors to Shorpy.com. To see your photos here, register for a user account and become a member! It may take a day or two for your photos to appear. If you're already a registered user, make sure you're logged in and then click here to upload. To see member submissions in blog form, click here.

4345 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 06/15/2013 - 2:11pm

Kodachromes

Large-format (mostly 4x5) Kodachrome transparencies shot for the Office of War Information. Repository: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. The images you see here have been adjusted by the Webmaster for color and contrast.

371 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 05/16/2013 - 1:28pm

Photographers

7904 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 2:55pm

Agriculture

104 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 06/15/2013 - 1:12pm

Animals

520 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 2:55pm

Art & Design

42 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 09/20/2011 - 1:26am

Astronomy

1 photo in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 12/01/2007 - 10:26am

Aviation

200 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 06/18/2013 - 1:53pm

Before & After

2 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 09/10/2011 - 12:15am

Boats & Bridges

Hundreds of black-and-white photos of battleships, dreadnoughts, riverboats, paddle wheelers, cruise ships, ocean liners and Great Lakes freighters and ore carriers. Photos of suspension and truss bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and 59th Street Bridge.

525 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/10/2013 - 3:16am

Boy Scouts

40 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 01/12/2013 - 4:14am

Cars+Trucks

Historical color and black-and-white photos of cars and trucks from the early 20th century: Model T Ford, Packard, Cadillac, Franklin, Renault, Oldsmobile and other marques from the brass era of automobiles; tailfinned road locomotives from the 1950s and beyond.

1060 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 12:18pm

Civil War

Black-and-white historical photos from the American Civil War. Wet plate collodion glass plate negatives exposed by Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Timothy O'Sullivan and other noted Civil War photographers. There are hundreds of photos in this gallery.

258 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/17/2013 - 4:58pm

Must Have Work or Food (Colorized): 1936

Colorized Photos

Vintage colorized photos from Shorpy contributors.

493 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 06/14/2013 - 9:47pm

Cornett Family

Willie and Vivian Cornett of Leatherwood, Kentucky, their 12 children and grandchildren as documented by William Gedney in 1964 and 1972. Photographs from Duke University's William Gale Gedney (1932-1989) Photographs and Writings Collection.

18 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 07/20/2012 - 11:05pm

Curiosities

109 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 06/24/2012 - 12:32am

Dust Bowl

19 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 02/19/2013 - 2:04pm

Eateries & Bars

160 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 04/09/2013 - 11:41am

Education

153 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 06/14/2013 - 12:43am

Edwards Boy

Who was he, and what became of him? The answer is ... Out There. Maybe.

6 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 10/04/2012 - 4:54am

Elvis 1956

Photos of a 21-year-old Elvis Presley in 1956.

7 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 05/12/2013 - 12:51pm

Factories

194 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 06/13/2013 - 10:45pm

Farked

68 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 10/07/2012 - 6:25pm

Fires, Floods etc.

68 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 06/14/2013 - 7:43pm

Flatiron Building

Black-and-white historical photos of the Flatiron Building, a.k.a the Fuller Building, at Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan.

15 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 07/19/2012 - 2:54pm

Florida

144 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 05/26/2013 - 3:50pm

Found

102 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 06/18/2013 - 3:43pm

Free iPhone Wallpaper

Download free iPhone Wallpaper. These historic images are cropped to fit perfectly on your iPhone.

31 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 09/11/2008 - 11:20am

Frontier Life

17 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 08/21/2012 - 2:38pm

Gas Stations

Filling stations from the 1910s and 1920s.

98 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/05/2013 - 4:03pm

Glazier Stove Works

Photos from 1901 documenting the Glazier Stove factory in Chelsea, Michigan.

13 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 10/20/2012 - 12:56pm

Handsome Rakes

34 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 03/26/2013 - 2:31pm

Herb & Joe

Herbert Bell and Joe Garso, one-legged bicycle riders.

4 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 09/13/2011 - 1:35pm

Holidays

289 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 03/31/2013 - 2:53pm

Industry & Public Works

39 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/10/2013 - 3:16am

Kids

An assortment of teens, tots, juveniles, youngsters, girls, boys and babes.

1249 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 06/16/2013 - 12:53pm

Kitchens etc.

153 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 06/07/2013 - 6:48pm

Krazy Kat Club

5 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 08/05/2012 - 6:48pm

Landscapes

44 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 10/15/2012 - 5:36pm

Magic & Spiritualism

5 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 11/28/2007 - 4:49pm

Medicine

115 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 04/05/2013 - 12:53pm

Mining

108 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/17/2013 - 3:09pm

Motorcycles

Photos of motorbikes like the Harley-Davidson and Indian as well as motorized bicycles.

28 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/03/2013 - 12:40pm

Movies

117 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/10/2013 - 8:39pm

On the Road

44 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 05/25/2013 - 12:16am

Painfully Obvious Photoshoppery

1 photo in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 11/04/2008 - 4:05am

Patriotic

40 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 05/28/2013 - 12:49pm

PDS

People's Drug Stores, a once-ubiquitous retail chain in the Washington, D.C., area that was something like the Starbucks of patent remedies, cigars and "rubber goods." Interiors including soda fountains and exteriors including window displays.

30 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 12/08/2011 - 12:07pm

Performing Arts

165 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/10/2013 - 5:01pm

Pie Town

32 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 08/14/2012 - 7:04am

Piscatorial Downspouts

1 photo in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 08/30/2012 - 1:05pm

Politics

54 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/12/2013 - 6:06pm

Portraits

278 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/17/2013 - 4:58pm

Posters

30 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 12/07/2012 - 6:14pm

Pretty Girls

154 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 06/11/2013 - 11:55am

Public Figures

62 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 05/30/2013 - 5:37am

Railroads

Black-and-white and color historical photos of American railroads, locomotives, trains, depots and stations from the late 19th century and early to mid 20th century. Photos of steam locomotives and diesel engines. Elevated railways in New York and Chicago. There are hundreds of photos in this gallery.

668 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 06/16/2013 - 10:39am

Relocation Camps

World War 2 Japanese-American relocation camps.

19 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 08/21/2012 - 10:34pm

Rural America

239 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 06/04/2013 - 12:37pm

S-A War

Spanish-American War photos

4 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 04/02/2013 - 11:36am

Scary Clowns

Clowns that are scary. Which of course would be all clowns.

8 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 08/29/2012 - 9:31pm

Small Towns

137 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 05/23/2013 - 1:32pm

Sports

580 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 05/10/2013 - 12:18pm

Stores & Markets

631 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 06/18/2013 - 11:36pm

Streetcars

Black-and-white historical photos of streetcars, trolleys and interurban railways from the early 20th century. Electric street railways and traction lines.

338 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/05/2013 - 4:03pm

Swimming

234 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/12/2013 - 11:44am

Texas Mountain Trail

5 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Fri, 07/03/2009 - 2:18pm

The Depression

161 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 06/17/2013 - 11:11am

The Dickeys

Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey and family, and Christmas tree.

6 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Mon, 12/10/2012 - 2:39pm

The Office

89 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/12/2013 - 3:07pm

Toadlike Autocrats

1 photo in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 11/04/2008 - 4:05am

Travel & Vacation

113 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 08/18/2012 - 12:41pm

TV

Photos relating to television sets and television shows.

31 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Wed, 06/19/2013 - 12:33pm

Tyne & Wear

Photographs from the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums in England, including mug shots from the North Shields police department.

1 photo in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 01/17/2012 - 1:41pm

Very Old Ads

13 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 02/06/2011 - 9:06pm

Weddings

24 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Tue, 03/06/2012 - 5:00am

WW2

World War 2 photos documenting life on the home front, including defense plants manufacturing aircraft and armaments, and the railroads and trains that moved them to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Many large-format Kodachromes by Jack Delano and other photographers on assignment for the Office of War Information, as well as photos by Ansel Adams documenting Japanese-American internment camps along the West Coast.

387 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sun, 06/16/2013 - 1:43pm

WWI

137 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Thu, 04/18/2013 - 7:50pm

Zeppelins & Blimps

33 photos in this gallery

Last updated: Sat, 05/25/2013 - 5:42pm

THE 100-YEAR-OLD PHOTO BLOG

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.