4000+ fine-art prints suitable for framing. Desk-size to sofa-size and larger, on archival paper or canvas.
The Shorpy Gallery
Join and Share
Social Shorpy
To love him is to like him. Our goal: 100k "likes":
Recent comments
- Not exercising was not an option
- Fruit boots
- Times Have Changed!
- Thongs
- The Original Fitness Guru
- Need more light?
- Another marker
- No UHF
- The Real Workout
- Vehicle ID
- Corner of Washington & Market
- Jackpot
- Shy Shine
- Style
- Tins, paper and grease
- ..but not forgotten
- Einstein incognito
- My hometown!
- Lead
- I like that coat!
- Lost
- Which explains why...
- Paper drives
- Pregnant Marian
- Paper drive
- The 1942 scrap paper drives were very successful.
- Delivery Wagon
- All you need to make you Go
- All of That
- Egad
Member Photos
Photos submitted by Shorpy members.
Colorized Photos
Colorized photos submitted by members.
About the Photos
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.
Image Galleries
Search Shorpy
Today's Top 5
Next?
Submitted by Dave on Fri, 12/28/2007 - 11:22pm.
Tags:
November 1937. "Street scene, Washington, D.C. Proprietor of a tombstone shop." View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the FSA.
Graveyard Shift
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 8:08pm.
I love this photo. Beautiful composition. The man looks wise - I don't think you'd find him as creepy if he was working in a grocery or a haberdashery. Those in the death professions suffer from the worst stigma.
A Radio Character
Submitted by Brent on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 1:45pm.
For some reason this picture reminds me of the character Digby O'Dell "the friendly undertaker" from the old "Life of Riley" radio show (and the original TV version, starring Jackie Gleason). "Digger (as Riley called him) was always given lines like "Business is a little dead tonight," which sounds innocuous enough unless you hear actor John Brown deliver the line in with his own inflections and emphasis. Then it became comedy gold.
Tombstone shop
Submitted by Ron on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 8:56am.
If ever a guy was born for his profession here he is, what a great photo. I love the shadows and the whole eerie feeling to it.
Mr. Tombstone
Submitted by Convict13 on Sat, 12/29/2007 - 6:17am.
I thought that this had to be a scene from a movie, such a strong photograph. I bit of Lee Marvin about the guy too.
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.
RSS | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Photo Use | © 2013 Shorpy Inc.
Today's Top 5