New York circa 1905. "Piers at foot of Wall Street. Steamship Curityba and sidewheeler Nantasket." Not to mention that fine-looking Colgate wagon. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

March 1940. "Ironing room at FSA migratory labor camp at Sinton, Texas." 35mm negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

New York City circa 1900. "Shipping at East River docks." More maritime Manhattan. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

New York circa 1912. "West Street north from the Battery." An amazing view of the Hudson River piers from the foot of Manhattan centered by the West Street Building, which sustained grave damage a decade ago when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed; to east is the massive Hudson Terminal, and faintly visible through the haze is the Metropolitan Life tower. Note the ant-like profusion of horse wagons along West Street. This 8x10 glass negative was exposed from the Whitehall Building annex just south of today's Battery Park City and World Financial Center. The view up West Street and 11th Avenue is continued here at the Chelsea Piers. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

May 1864. "North Anna River, Virginia. Pontoon bridge across North Anna below railroad bridge where a portion of the 2nd Corps under Gen. Hancock crossed, May 23d." Wet plate glass negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. View full size.

November 1909. "Some of night shift waiting to go to work. Cumberland Glass Works, Bridgeton, New Jersey. One boy is 13 years old." And then we have the operator on the left. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

New York circa 1912. "West Street (11th Avenue) north from 26th, view of Hudson River." As well as the Chelsea Piers and fluttering banner atop the Otis Elevator building. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

February 1939. "Hamburger stand in Harlingen, Texas." Burgers 5 cents, chili a dime, breakfast two bits, the 7up is real. Photo by Russell Lee. View full size.

December 1941. "Electronics technician, Goodyear Aircraft Corp., Akron, Ohio." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, OWI. View full size.

Medford, Mass., circa 1977. Marion Street about 2 a.m. around the corner from my house. It was fall and the leaves were just turning over a Pinto wagon with fake wood paneling. I took this for a class at the New England School of Photography. The exposure was about a minute with a 4x5 view camera. The wind hardly moved. It was a truly beautiful timeless moment. View full size.

Philadelphia circa 1905. "North American, Real Estate Trust, City Hall and Land Title Building." Over the years the North American building has lost its cornice but acquired a ruddy-looking suntan. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.

Washington, D.C., circa 1923. "Daniel Boone group." When I was a kid I had all their albums. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

June 1942. "Crewman of an M-3 tank, Fort Knox, Kentucky." Or could it be Fort Dix? Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the OWI. View full size.

Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, circa 1908. "Algonquin Tannery." Served by the Soo Line, as well as the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic. View full size.

November 24, 1924. "Bonus Bureau -- Personnel Records Division." Workers in an intriguingly named section of the government department responsible for keeping track of World War I veterans so they could get their "bonus money," a benefit they were supposed to redeem no earlier than 1945; their demands for early compensation led to the Bonus Army protests of 1932. View full size.