June 1943. Arlington County, Va. "Arlington Farms, war duration residence halls. A room at Idaho Hall." Sunny yet noirish photo by Esther Bubley. View full size.

Washington, D.C., 1920. "Lust baby show." Which is probably not what it sounds like -- a baby contest at Poli's theater organized by cinema impresario Sidney Lust would be our guess. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

Circa 1911, our third selection from the panoramic series "Washington from Washington Monument." Landmarks include, from left, Memorial Continental Hall (headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution); the Corcoran Gallery of Art; State, War and Navy Building; and White House West Wingtip. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

1864. "Point of Rocks, Va. (vicinity). Redoubt Zabriskie on Appomattox River." Wet plate negative, Library of Congress Civil War Collection. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Library for Blind, B Street S.E." Another of those photos where the points of greatest interest are at the periphery -- the Sanitary Barber ("Ladies Hair Bobbing a Specialty") at left, and Hall-Kerr Motors, a Hudson dealer, on the right. National Photo glass negative. View full size.

February 1943. Moreno Valley, Colfax County, New Mexico. "George Mutz's youngest daughter helping with the cooking." Not quite the Miracle Kitchen, but it'll do. Photo by John Collier, Office of War Information. View full size.

        "The Planning Center -- this is the heart and the brain of the RCA-Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen. For example, there's a button that turns on a built-in color television set that brings entertainment into your Miracle Kitchen of the future. Other buttons select recipes, request an inventory of food stock, select food from storage, or complete the automatic meal from the Magic Meal Maker."

March 1959. "Home economist Anne Anderson demonstrating appliances and features of RCA-Whirlpool 'Miracle Kitchen of the Future,' a display at the American National Exhibition in Moscow." Kodachrome by Bob Lerner for the Look magazine article "What the Russians Will See." View full size.

July 1942. "U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland. Rowing crew." The fourth installment of our Manly Midshipmen of Annapolis calendar, photographed by one Lieutenant Whitman for the Office of War Information. View full size.