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.

"Negro boy near Cincinnati." 1942 or 1943. View full size. Medium-format Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon.
I was 12 at the time and thankfully had outgrown my corduroy knickers by then. I called them "squeaky" pants. When I ran along the street, you could hear me coming a block away. A close look at his garb reveals they're homespun by a loving Grandma.
This is a beautiful photo. It look like he may be standing on what is now Central Parkway.
This image and about 30 or so of the last posts I recognize as all coming from the Library of Congress National Archive online files. Good solid work by a number of photographers, some hired through the WPA during the depression. If I understand the licensing portion of the Archives website correctly, all of these photos are considered property of the American people as they were paid for with taxpayer funds.
And the cool thing is, the boy might still be alive, though "slightly" older. Wouldn't it be nice to find him?
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