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.

October 1942. Long Beach, California. "Girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant joins sections of wing ribs to reinforce the inner wing assemblies of B-17F heavy bombers." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.
Man, all these WWII factory shots are so beautifully composed and lit! The colors are a gorgeous bonus.
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