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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.
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The Simple Life: 1939
Submitted by Dave on Wed, 02/27/2008 - 12:08am.
October 1939. "Another corner of Soper kitchen. Willow Creek area, Malheur County, Oregon." View full size. Nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange.
Washed up
Submitted by The Canadian Geezer on Sun, 01/18/2009 - 4:35am.
This was what our washroom on our farm looked like into the 60's. I have no pleasant memories or nostalgia triggered by this photograph I just remember the grind of the work and the poverty we shared with neighbours as well as never feeling completely clean.
Ahem.
Submitted by Schmthaus on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 8:40pm.
You forgot to mention the finely woven protective covering loosely draped over the handle!
Snark, Snark!
Sweeping Generalities
Submitted by Gooberpea on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 5:55pm.
tterrace, normally an astute observer of decorative and industrial arts, really missed this one! Note the lathe-turned ashwood handle, which has been cut with the grain and polished to a high sheen by linseed and tung oils. Note, too, the fine lithographic label glued to the handle just above the winding. The true genius of this broom's design is revealed in the sorghum straw which is bound to the handle with tightly wound bright metal wire. The straw itself is straight, blonde, thick and luscious. (That'll get the search engines humming) Note the alternating bands of colored cotton thread holding the sorghum neatly in place. Design perfection!
Snarkily yours,
Goober Pea
Fancy broom?
Submitted by tterrace on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 5:10pm.
Looks pretty standard issue, to me. Just like the ones we had around the house in the 50s which, because even though they were well-worn they were sturdily made and still serviceable and you didn't just throw things like that away willy-nilly back then, probably dated back to the 30s, or am I missing something here? Besides good sentence construction?
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.
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