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.

Kentfield, California 1958. Kindergarten class learning the finer points of the desktop telephone circa 1890s. Yours truly displaying said device. View full size.

This was my grandfather as he was heading out for the tougher streets of St. Louis to deliver messages of joy and sorrow for the Speedy Courier Service, circa 1925. View full size.

This was taken on the family farm near Sidel, Illinois in 1899. The photographer, Luther Manning, is in the center, hands in his pocket, looking directly at the camera. He was a professional photographer, working out of Danville, IL at times, and took other pictures of my ancestors. The oldest couple seated are my GG-grandparents. I have a list of who is who in the picture but won't list all the names here. Soon most of these people left east central Illinois for Iowa and norther Indiana to join other farming parts of the family. View full size.

My dad and me emigrating to Canada in 1954 on the HMS Ryndam. Taken in the exercise room (such as it was!). View full size.

Taken in 1898 in Slough, England. My mother gave me this picture years ago; my great-great-(great?)-uncle is the big guy second from the left (H. Atkins). She said that at the time, they were the heaviest men in England. I found the original picture on the web, confirming the name and location. View full size.