Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.
[REV 25-NOV-2014]
Vintage photos of:
Washington circa 1918. "Food Administration cafeteria." The lima bean soup looks delicious. National Photo Co. Collection glass negative. View full size.
St. Louis, Missouri. May 1910. "Newsies. Johnston's Branch adjoining Saloon at 10th & Cass Street." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
June 29, 1916. Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. "Hanging around the saloon -- 5 p.m." Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
June 29, 1916. Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. "Two 15-year-old boys working for Westinghouse Electric Company, going home at 5 p.m." View full size.
"Better 'Ole Wedding." Informal nuptials circa 1922 at the Better 'Ole, a Greenwich Villagey "bohemian" nightspot in Washington, D.C., that, while short-lived, made its mark. In 1935 the Washington Post called it "the first real night club of the so-called 'night club era.' " The article continues: "It was started by Charles W. Smith, now the noted black-and-white artist, had a membership charge of $1 and was located on the second floor of a three-story building at 1515 U Street. A hot colored dance orchestra held forth in a room decorated with drapes in a sort of cubist style." More here. National Photo Co. glass negative. View full size.
The last in the "Luncheonette" group. If you look carefully, there's a Mad Magazine on the shelf (floor level). Enjoy! View full size.
January 31, 1917. "Exchange Luncheon. Delia Kane, 14 years old. 99 C Street, South Boston. A young waitress." View full size. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine.
Washington, D.C., circa 1928. "Dixie Soda Fountain Company. People's Drug Store No. 40." National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.