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.) Most 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.

Houghton, Michigan, circa 1906. "Sheldon Street." Houghton was nothing if not well wired. 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

January 1941. Sarasota, Florida. "Guest of Sarasota trailer park with his family, picnicking at the beach." Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.

March 1940. "Skiers from Boston relaxing in lodge at North Conway, New Hampshire." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.

Braddock, Pennsylvania, circa 1908. "Edgar Thomson Works, Carnegie Steel Co." Part of a ginormous seven-section panorama of smoke-belching, throbbing industry. 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

Pensacola, Florida, circa 1904. "Opera House and American National Bank." An interesting assortment of street furniture and electrical gear. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

March 1940. "Center of town. Woodstock, Vermont. Snowy night." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.

September 1938. Capels, West Virginia. "Miner waiting for ride home. Each miner pays twenty-five cents a week to owner of car." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.