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.

Cooking Class for Men at the Pratt Institute with Miss Hanks and Miss Kierstead, circa 1917. View full size. George Grantham Bain Collection.
The guys in the back of the counter look hungry. They don't have any food in their hands. And how come these guys get to sit down when they cook?
Today's Top 5