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.

April 1923. "Firpo." The Argentine heavyweight boxer Luis Angel Firpo in New York. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
Looks like George Clooney with Charlie Sheen's hair.
Luis Angel Firpo (Junín, Argentina, 11 de octubre de 1894 - Buenos Aires, 7 de agosto de 1960), more known as El Toro Salvaje de las Pampas.
He was in New York to fight with Jack Dempsey at the Polo Grounds on September 14, 1923. Although he threw Dempsey out the ring, he lost the fight.
[Their bout was depicted in a famous painting by George Bellows. - Dave]

Today's Top 5