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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.
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- Ask Us About Our Poultry: 1942
- November 1942. Lititz, Pennsylvania. "Mennonite farmer and wife at the farmer's market." These folks look like they'd be only too happy to bend your ear about their birds. Photo by Marjory Collins, Office of War Information. View full size.
... Posted by Dave - 03/09/2010 - 12:10pm -
- Song Catcher: 1916
- February 9, 1916. "Mountain Chief of Piegan Blackfeet making phonographic record at Smithsonian." The interviewer is ethnologist Frances Densmore . National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Frances Densmore w/ au ... Posted by Dave - 09/03/2012 - 12:42pm -
- Shiny Datsun: 1971
- August 1971. A car that today you'd most likely see as a rusting hulk in a junkyard or vacant lot, and clothes in a Goodwill. My brother and sister-in-law pose with their 1967 Datsun Bluebird parked on my father's garage ramp on Walnut Avenue in L ... Posted by tterrace - 09/29/2011 - 8:49pm -
- The Housewife's Friend: 1915
- "Kitchen Appliance." A three-burner Alcohol Utilities stove with griddle and toaster circa 1915. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.
How about a shot of Tequila, Agnes dear? Yes, please go ahead and pour me a stiff one, E ... Posted by Dave - 12/22/2008 - 2:58am -
- Film Crew: 1974
- On location in Santa Cruz, California, my brother and me, garbed appropriately for the period. My Braun Nizo was something like the BMW of Super-8 movie cameras (the Bolex being perhaps the Mercedes): f1.8 11-to-1 zoom lens, lap dissolve function, ... Posted by tterrace - 02/27/2011 - 3:01pm -
- Now Hear This: 1937
- June 9, 1937. Washington, D.C. "Congressional hog caller. The Capitol Plaza reverberated with sounds of the barnyard today as Rep. Robert L. Mouton of Louisiana went into serious training for his coming hog-calling contest with Rep. Otha D. Wearin ... Posted by Dave - 08/26/2012 - 1:45pm -
- Supertramp: 1915
- "Untitled circa 1910-1917." Who is this boho hobo -- a tramp with a literary bent who did well in track and field? We do know that he's standing outside Bryan's Lunch Room (George F. Bryan, proprietor) at 101 B Street S.E. in Washington. Something ... Posted by Dave - 08/23/2012 - 5:29pm -
- The Experiment: 1923
- Washington, D.C., circa 1923. "Woman scientist." National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.
Caution! What a dangerous combo! (The heels and stepstool, I mean.)
On today's installment ... Posted by Dave - 08/07/2012 - 4:43pm -
- ATM: 1918
- Washington, D.C., circa 1918. "Bankers Automatic Receiving Teller Co." These machines (designed to look like little bank buildings) were used, among other places, in the D.C. schools into the 1930s to encourage thrifty habits. National Photo Compa ... Posted by Dave - 09/14/2011 - 8:07pm -
- IM Me: 1924
- "Howard M. Gore. February 26, 1924." Mr. G, secretary of agriculture in the Coolidge administration, was later governor of West Virginia. And evidently kind of a geek. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
H.M. ... Posted by Dave - 07/23/2012 - 12:51pm -
- Better Watch Out: 1921
- "Secretary Davis, Christmas tree, 1921." James J. Davis, Secretary of Labor in the Harding, Coolidge and Hoover administrations, moonlighting as Santa Claus. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Father Christma ... Posted by Dave - 08/13/2012 - 7:34pm -
- Radio-Vitant: 1920
- "Walter Reed physiotherapy story." 1920 or 1921. Burdick Cabinet "Radio-Vitant ray" therapy. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.
And Your Little Dog, Too I feel almost like this could be an outtake from "Th ... Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 4:25pm -
- Hollywood & Vine: 1963
- August 1963. Here I am at world famous Hollywood & Vine, or in this case, Don't Walk & Vine. Hint: I'm not the one in the green skirt and heels. View full size.
Great! These are wonderful. Please post more!
More recent phot ... Posted by tterrace - 06/24/2009 - 7:04pm -
- Regular Lubrication: 1942
- February 1942. "Something the matter with your wringer? It probably needs a few drops of oil. Regular lubrication by your repair man assures smooth functioning of the mechanism. If you attempt to do the job yourself, you may find the family wash o ... Posted by Dave - 12/22/2008 - 3:02am -
- You Say You Want to Take a Shower: 1943
- The Control Room: Servicemen getting towels and soap from an attendant in the enlisted men's shower room at the United Nations service center in Washington. December 1943. View full size. Photograph by Esther Bubley. More here.
Good cl ... Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 11:40pm -
- Migrant Mother (colorized): 1936
- I'd been wanting to colorize the Mother of All Dust Bowl Photographs, by Dorothea Lange, for some time and finally got around to doing it for a contest on Fark . View full size.
Mesmerizing! This colorization is absolutely stunning a ... Posted by ban_sidhe - 02/01/2010 - 7:35pm -
- Texanna Loomis: 1921
- December 31, 1921. "Miss Texanna Loomis." Mary Texanna Loomis, founder and proprietor of the Loomis Radio School in Washington, D.C. National Photo Company Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.
Love her boots! ... Posted by Dave - 09/11/2011 - 10:06pm -
- Trade You for an iPod: 1979
- It's a sobering thought that this accumulation of consumer audio gear, though approaching high-end levels but not all that esoteric for the period, may look as archaic to present-day eyes as those examples of enormous, steampunk-like telephone and ... Posted by tterrace - 06/30/2010 - 2:43am -
- Machine Shop: 1917
- 1917. "C.W. Hecox, instructor in machine shop, D.C. public schools. Supervising manufacture of practice shells for Navy at McKinley training school." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.
Very F ... Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 6:47pm -
- Flying Fortress: 1942
- October 1942. Workers installing fixtures and assemblies in the tail section of a B-17F bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach, California. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer.
Reckon You Know I ... Posted by Dave - 07/22/2012 - 2:44pm -
- Merry Christmas!
- New York, December 1913. "Christmas tree, Madison Square." 8x10 glass negative, G.G. Bain Collection. View full size. Happy holidays from Shorpy!
All the best All the best to my friends!!!!
Ahhhhhh!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!
Ohhhhhhh ... Posted by Dave - 02/04/2012 - 6:04pm -
- Telephone Rockfish: 1928
- Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. cafeteria showing presentation of rockfish." A caption that raises more questions than it answers. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
How ... Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 12:10pm -
- Bathing Beauty: 1942
- February 1942. Akron, Ohio. "Conversion. Beverage containers to aviation oxygen cylinders. Removal from solution tank at a rubber factory now producing metal essential for the Army. This bath, which follows the removal of the weld scale, gives the ... Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 9:10pm -
- The Crucible: 1920
- Circa 1920. "Bureau of Mines, Department of Interior, Washington." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.
Dating Good thing there's a date for this, albeit approximate. You could Fark that guy ... Posted by Dave - 08/27/2012 - 4:42pm -
- A Juicy Pair
- Somewhere in the 1950s; feel free to fill in the blanks. View full size.
No, no COCONUTS. I said you've a lovely bunch of coconuts.
OUCH! Thank heavens testicular cancer examinations aren't what they used to be!
Producing Pro ... Posted by globalpillage - 09/06/2011 - 9:39pm -
- Hotrod Time Machine: 1975
- This shot answers the question, "Just what was tterrace photographing that day in 1975 when he was strolling around Petaluma?" Well, when I got to this spot on Sixth Street I apparently stumbled into a gap in the space-time continuum. Fortunat ... Posted by tterrace - 10/22/2010 - 8:42pm -
- Oh, the Places I'll Go: 1939
- June 1939. Migrant child in family car east of Fort Gibson. Muskogee County, Oklahoma. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee.
Pegasus The Pegasus (winged horse) medallion is from Magnolia Oil Co., a Texas company that wou ... Posted by Dave - 12/22/2008 - 3:07am -
- A Reminder: 1939
- February 1939. "Sign, Harlingen, Texas." 35mm nitrate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Let the flames begin Thanks for the red meat, Dave. I'll be in here, making popcorn and waiting for the ... Posted by Dave - 04/13/2010 - 12:01pm -
- Patent Library
- This was a black and white Shorpy image used in a Fark Photoshop contest back in early August of '09. According to the information in the contest, this is a photo taken in a patent library. I colorized it for my entry and won that contest. View ... Posted by GeeGee - 01/06/2010 - 4:44pm -
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