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.

Electricity Class at St. George's Evening Trade School, New York, circa 1910. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.
They had plenty of vices but no ladders!
[Could be said of a great many apartment dwellers. - Dave]
I'm still amazed at how everyone is always dressed up in this era. Here are guys doing dirty work in suits and ties.
Today's Top 5