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.
Shorpy is an online archive of thousands of high-resolution photos from the 1850s to 1950s. Our namesake, Shorpy Higginbotham, was a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
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My grandparents Phyllis & John Badders and their 4 children. From L to R, Top: Susan, Jeffery, and Ginny (my mother). Bottom: Phyllis, Jack, and John. Unfortunately, my grandfather John passed away just a few years after this photo was taken, so I never had the pleasure of knowing him. He was very much loved, and continues to be missed by those he left behind. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. "Emergency Hospital, interior." The latest in lab facilities. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1920. One of half a dozen images labeled "Tabulating Machine Co." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., 1917. "Grand Army of the Republic. Emblem carved in wood by switchman at peace monument." The G.A.R. was a fraternal organization whose members were Union Army veterans. Harris & Ewing. View full size.

1916. "N.R. Wood of Smithsonian Institution, mounting birds." Who can identify the big fella? Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

The second of seven 1913 glass negatives from the Harris & Ewing Collection captioned "Louisto Wood." It's Equestrian Tuesday at Shorpy! View full size.

My 7-year-old sister Gail riding her horse through the streets of Geelong, Australia, on an early Sunday morning in 1948. She grew up to breed Australian Ponies. View full size.