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  • November 2, 1931. Washington, D.C. "Navy airship U.S.S. Akron over the Lincoln Memorial." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. THE AKRON'S VISIT.         The giant airship Akron arrived yesterday to salute the Capital on its first flight, after having been officially dedicated to Navy service on Navy Day. Accompanied by its older, slimmer sister, the Los Angeles, the Akron, bearing 108 men, circled over the city, dipped in salute to the White House, and gave Washingtonians their first chance to see the world's largest and newest dirigible. (Washington Post, 11.3.31)

    The Gallery

    Fine-art prints by Juniper Gallery on a variety of archival art papers.

    14960 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 7:48pm

  • July 1942. "Hoffman Island, merchant marine training center off Staten Island, New York. Class in artificial respiration." Acetate negative by John Vachon. View full size.

    Bizarre

    Bizarre, weird, rare historical photos. Because that's what the Internet wants.

    131 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 07/07/2023 - 10:08am

  • It's seventy years ago in Idyllic Larkspur™, where we find me (bottom left corner) with Bob, David, Bob, Jim, Jim, Margaret, Sandy, Donna, Rae Ann, Roberta, Virginia, Jerry, Buzzy, Fred, Gordy, Frances, Alice, Alice, Sheila, Mrs. Madeline Drew and others whose names I forget. This was taken within a month of losing nearly half our classmates, they having been siphoned off to the district's brand new school in neighboring "Twin City," almost-as-Idyllic Corte Madera. And that one was already overcrowded, for which first-wave baby boomers such as we must shoulder the blame. As for me, good old L-CM was just four blocks from our home at 9 Arch Street, and I continued to walk the round-trip every school day, rain or shine, until I graduated 8th grade. View full size.

    Featured Contributors

    Shorpy contributor galleries.

    415 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 03/04/2023 - 8:07pm

  • This despondent looking crew are the drawn from the various Scandanavian, German, and Irish families settled in or near Wadena, Minnesota during the late 1800s. Wadena, located in the west-central part of the state, was (and is) a pretty small town, so some of these kids probably had an epic daily commute, by foot, from farm to school house. Identities are unknown except for Bernard Francis Burch (1889-1985), third from left in the first standing row. View full size.

    Member Gallery

    Photos uploaded by visitors to Shorpy.com. To see your photos here, register for a user account and become a member! It may take a day or two for your photos to appear. If you're already a registered user, make sure you're logged in and then click here to upload. To see member submissions in blog form, click here.

    6066 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 03/24/2023 - 12:22pm

  • November 2, 1931. Washington, D.C. "Navy airship U.S.S. Akron over the Lincoln Memorial." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. THE AKRON'S VISIT.         The giant airship Akron arrived yesterday to salute the Capital on its first flight, after having been officially dedicated to Navy service on Navy Day. Accompanied by its older, slimmer sister, the Los Angeles, the Akron, bearing 108 men, circled over the city, dipped in salute to the White House, and gave Washingtonians their first chance to see the world's largest and newest dirigible. (Washington Post, 11.3.31)

    Places

    Black-and-white historical streetscape and skyline photographs of major American cities from the 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and more.

    8503 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 7:48pm

  • August 1962. Newport, Rhode Island. "Two of Newport's beauties, Minnie Cushing and Topsy Taylor, go water-skiing out near Gooseberry Island. In tow behind their boat is weekend visitor Dick Cowell, a former water-ski champion." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Life magazine assignment "The Stately World of Newport." View full size.

    Kodachromes

    Color transparencies including Kodachrome, Ektachrome and Anscochrome. Many large-format (mostly 4x5) Kodachrome transparencies shot for the Office of War Information. The images you see here have been adjusted by the Webmaster for color and contrast.

    598 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/16/2023 - 11:24am

  • November 2, 1931. Washington, D.C. "Navy airship U.S.S. Akron over the Lincoln Memorial." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. THE AKRON'S VISIT.         The giant airship Akron arrived yesterday to salute the Capital on its first flight, after having been officially dedicated to Navy service on Navy Day. Accompanied by its older, slimmer sister, the Los Angeles, the Akron, bearing 108 men, circled over the city, dipped in salute to the White House, and gave Washingtonians their first chance to see the world's largest and newest dirigible. (Washington Post, 11.3.31)

    Photographers

    14666 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 7:48pm

  • June 1942. "Experiments in dehydration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Regional Agricultural Research Laboratory in Albany, California. Blindfold test for aroma of cooked dehydrated carrots." Acetate negative by Russell Lee. View full size.

    Agriculture

    394 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 04/29/2023 - 1:43pm

  • September 1955. Lloyd's Neck, Long Island, New York. "Arden field trials for spaniels." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Sporting Look: Field Trip at Marshall Field's Long Island Estate near Cold Spring Harbor." View full size.

    Animals

    892 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/14/2023 - 3:46pm

  • "Perisphere and ramp at 1939 New York Word's Fair." Corpulent counterpoint to the trimmer Trylon. Uncredited acetate transparency, possibly by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.

    Art & Design

    43 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 10/16/2022 - 4:15pm

  • Washington, D.C. "Prof. H.E. Burton, 8/5/29." A Star Search matinee. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

    Astronomy

    3 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 06/26/2013 - 10:51am

  • November 2, 1931. Washington, D.C. "Navy airship U.S.S. Akron over the Lincoln Memorial." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. THE AKRON'S VISIT.         The giant airship Akron arrived yesterday to salute the Capital on its first flight, after having been officially dedicated to Navy service on Navy Day. Accompanied by its older, slimmer sister, the Los Angeles, the Akron, bearing 108 men, circled over the city, dipped in salute to the White House, and gave Washingtonians their first chance to see the world's largest and newest dirigible. (Washington Post, 11.3.31)

    Aviation

    304 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 7:48pm

  • The photos you see here on Shorpy are not just resized versions of the images found in the Library of Congress archives -- they are extracted from the LOC's full-resolution reference tiffs: a process that generally takes anywhere from half an hour to several hours per monochrome image, depending on the amount of work that needs to be done to bring detail out of the shadows, suppress overexposed highlights, and remove blemishes caused by dust, scratches and mold. Color images require correction for color cast as well. The before-and-after composite above shows the condition of some of these old glass negatives a century after they were exposed, and how they look after a day at the digital restoration spa. This one is from 1908. View full size. Below is the 36 mb archival tiff resized to 512 px wide. The restored version is here. Below is another before-and-after example. Restored version. Below: Another monochrome example. Click to enlarge. A more extreme example below. Click here to enlarge. Compare the full-size Shorpy image to the closest match on the LOC site. Below: Underexposed, strong blue color cast. Below: A final monochrome example. Negative by Ansel Adams. Click to enlarge.

    Before & After

    2 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 10:15pm

  • August 1957. "Nantucket, Mass. Jock Gifford's 'Pink Heap' beach buggy." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Nantucket Essay." View full size.

    Bicycles

    236 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 04/18/2023 - 5:55pm

  • April 1936. "Rear of houses at 711 West State Street. Milwaukee Vocational School in background." Photo by Carl Mydans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

    Billboards

    8 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 06/18/2021 - 3:30pm

  • Miami, Florida, circa 1910. "Peninsular & Occidental steamer Miami off for Nassau, W.I." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Boats & Bridges

    Hundreds of black-and-white photos of battleships, dreadnoughts, riverboats, paddle wheelers, cruise ships, ocean liners and Great Lakes freighters and ore carriers. Photos of suspension and truss bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and 59th Street Bridge.

    930 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 09/25/2023 - 5:19pm

  • July 1942. "Florence, Alabama (vicinity). Boys in swimming class at Boy Scout camp." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Boy Scouts

    48 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 09/04/2023 - 9:27pm

  • July 1942. "Florence, Alabama (vicinity). Boys in swimming class at Boy Scout camp." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Camping

    98 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 09/04/2023 - 9:27pm

  • September 1955. Lloyd's Neck, Long Island, New York. "Arden field trials for spaniels." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Sports Illustrated assignment "Sporting Look: Field Trip at Marshall Field's Long Island Estate near Cold Spring Harbor." View full size.

    Cars, Trucks, Buses

    Historical color and black-and-white photos of cars and trucks from the early 20th century: Model T Ford, Packard, Cadillac, Franklin, Renault, Oldsmobile and other marques from the brass era of automobiles; tailfinned road locomotives from the 1950s and beyond.

    2433 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/14/2023 - 3:46pm

  • 1906. "Park Square -- Pittsfield, Massachusetts." The bronze soldier was cast from Civil War cannon barrels. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Civil War

    Black-and-white historical photos from the American Civil War. Wet plate collodion glass plate negatives exposed by Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Timothy O'Sullivan and other noted Civil War photographers. There are hundreds of photos in this gallery.

    325 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 02/20/2023 - 1:11pm

  • Colorized version of this Shorpy old photo. View full size.

    Colorized Photos

    Vintage colorized photos from Shorpy contributors.

    1140 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 08/25/2020 - 9:38am

  • Leatherwood, Kentucky, 1964. "Boy covered by dirt smoking cigarette with one hand, holding can of tobacco in other." The tobacco-loving Cornett boys started early. Gedney Photographs Collection, Duke University. View full size.

    Cornett Family

    Willie and Vivian Cornett of Leatherwood, Kentucky, their 12 children and grandchildren as documented by William Gedney in 1964 and 1972. Photographs from Duke University's William Gale Gedney (1932-1989) Photographs and Writings Collection.

    18 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 07/20/2012 - 9:05pm

  •         Commemorating the Potomac Thighway Patrol's 100th anniversary, and one of Shorpy's most popular posts -- June 30, 1922. "Washington policeman Bill Norton measuring the distance between knee and suit at the Tidal Basin bathing beach after Col. Sherrill, Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, issued an order that suits not be over six inches above the knee." 4x5 inch glass negative, National Photo Company Collection. View full size.

    Curiosities

    112 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 08/31/2022 - 12:51am

  • June 1939. "Sons of day laborers in tent camp near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. Some of their fathers were agricultural workers and some were dispossessed tenant farmers now on Works Progress Administration. The WPA work is holding many of these former tenant farmers in their communities, but they are all potential migrants. None of these children had ever attended school." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    Dust Bowl

    31 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 03/27/2018 - 10:48am

  • Detroit circa 1910. "Automobile on Jefferson Avenue at East Grand Boulevard." Backdropped by Moesta's Tavern, the city's "most famous east side saloon." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Eateries & Bars

    Restaurants, bars and pop stands.

    358 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 09/11/2023 - 3:05pm

  • July 1942. "Dunklin County, Missouri. Children in a consolidated rural school." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size.

    Education, Schools

    255 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 08/24/2023 - 12:17pm

  • Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "Edwards boy at Octagon House." The enigmatic E-Boy, back for his sixth appearance. National Photo Co. View full size.

    Edwards Boy

    Who was he, and what became of him? The answer is ... Out There. Maybe.

    6 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 10/04/2012 - 2:54am

  • May 1956. Memphis, Tennessee. "Elvis Presley at home with his mother, Gladys." 35mm negative from photos by Philip Harrington for the Look magazine assignment "Elvis Presley -- He Can't Be, but He Is." View full size.

    Elvis 1956

    Photos of a 21-year-old Elvis Presley in 1956.

    9 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 10/21/2018 - 11:06am

  • August 1942. "Nashville, Tennessee. Welding parts for fuel pumps. Vultee Aircraft Corporation plant." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Factories

    357 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 08/10/2023 - 6:09pm

  • March 1969. Pacific Palisades, California. "Soft Aluminum Group and chaise at the house (Dick Donges and Keith Hall carrying Eames lounge chair in a grassy field)." Color transparency from the Office of Charles and Ray Eames. View full size.

    Farked

    72 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/09/2023 - 4:33pm

  • Film Roll

    0 photos in this gallery

  • "McCrory fire, 11/21/29." Washington, D.C., firefighters at the McCrory five-and-dime on Seventh Street N.W., after a lunchtime boiler explosion in the store's basement -- a disaster whose final toll was six dead and dozens injured. 4x5 inch glass negative. View full size.

    Fires, Floods etc.

    112 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 02/28/2023 - 11:52am

  • New York circa 1905. "Blockaded cars on 23rd Street." With the Flatiron Building looming skyward. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

    Flatiron Building

    Black-and-white historical photos of the Flatiron Building, a.k.a the Fuller Building, at Fifth Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan.

    21 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 01/24/2016 - 10:26am

  •         We dedicate this golden (Kodachrome) oldie to picnic-partakers everywhere. Happy Memorial Day weekend from Shorpy! June 1960 somewhere in Maryland. "Picnic in yard." Janet, of Kermy and Janet, pointing at the camera. Who wants more potato salad? View full size.

    Found Photos

    Slides, mostly Kodachromes, snagged on eBay. Plus the odd Ektachrome, Anscochrome or black-and-white snapshot.

    241 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 05/29/2023 - 10:10am

  • To download, right click on the image and save to your desktop. From the iPhone, tap the image and hold to save. See original image.

    Free iPhone Wallpaper

    Download free iPhone Wallpaper. These historic images are cropped to fit perfectly on your iPhone.

    31 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/11/2008 - 9:20am

  • May 1940. "Shells of old buildings on the main street of Tombstone, Arizona. The near ghost town quality, as well as the reminders of more glamorous and exciting days, attract many tourists." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    Frontier Life

    72 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 10/07/2022 - 11:34am

  • May 1942. "Cooperative gas station at Greenbelt, Maryland, a model community planned by the Suburban Division of the U.S. Resettlement Administration." 4x5 inch acetate negative by Marjory Collins for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

    Gas Stations

    Filling stations and garages from the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

    301 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 04/27/2023 - 12:51pm

  • Chelsea, Michigan, circa 1901. "Glazier Stove Company, machine room." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Glazier Stove Works

    Photos from 1901 documenting the Glazier Stove factory in Chelsea, Michigan.

    16 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 03/05/2017 - 9:02pm

  • November 1936. "Mother and three children in a California squatter camp." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.         Photo from this group of 211 images, which includes Lange's "Migrant Mother": Migrant agricultural workers in California in 1936. Photographs show squatter camps. Little Oklahoma. Families and their belongings in automobiles on the road. Car trouble along the road. Families existing in tent camps. Company housing for Mexican cotton pickers. Portraits of destitute migrants and their children. Hitch-hikers. Beet fields. Cotton pickers in the San Joaquin Valley. Lettuce and pea fields.

    Great Depression

    The economic crisis, beginning with the stock market crash of October 1929 and lasting until 1939, that saw millions of Americans plunged into poverty and destitution.

    212 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 04/08/2021 - 1:52pm

  • From around Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955 come the two strapping lads last seen here and here seven years ago, though they don't look a day older. Playing catch with 94-pound sacks of cement must keep you young. 4x5 inch acetate negative. View full size.

    Handsome Rakes

    53 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 05/04/2022 - 2:35pm

  • January 29, 1921. Washington, D.C. "Herbert Bell and Joe Garso." Evidently lost to history. Does anyone out there remember them? Two final pics in the comments. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

    Herb & Joe

    Herbert Bell and Joe Garso, one-legged bicycle riders.

    4 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 08/13/2013 - 4:09pm

  • July 4, 1919. "Washington's men and women who served during the war gathered at the base of the Washington Monument, receiving medals of honor provided by the citizens of the District of Columbia. The big crowd has just turned to watch a daring aviator circling low above the trees that surround the monument grounds." National Photo glass negative. View full size.

    Holidays

    432 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 07/04/2023 - 3:45pm

  • August 1942. "Tennessee Valley Authority. Generator hall of the powerhouse at Chickamauga Dam. Located near Chattanooga, 471 miles above the mouth of the Tennessee River, the dam has an authorized power installation of 81,000 kilowatts, which can be increased to a possible ultimate of 108,000 kw. The reservoir at the dam adds 377,000 acre-feet of water to controlled storage on the Tennessee River system. The power that goes out over its 154,000 volt transmission line serves many useful domestic, agricultural and industrial uses." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Industry & Public Works

    94 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 08/06/2023 - 9:16pm

  • On this Christmas Eve eve, we travel back 76 years for a visit with the First Lady of Shorpy, Iola Swinnerton. Some two decades after her bathing-pageant days, she is still radiating beauty and cheer. Scroll down to the comments for more of Iola's life story. View full size. "STONE WOMAN" ENJOYS CHRISTMAS PREPAREDNESS         CHICAGO (Dec. 23, 1944) -- Mrs. Iola Swinnerton Warren, who suffered the illness known as myositis ossificans after inoculation for typhoid following a Florida hurricane, watches her husband Theron V. Warren and little nephew Herbert Taylor trim Christmas tree. (Acme Newspictures photo.)

    Iola S.

    Miss Iola Swinnerton, First Lady of Shorpy. Current occupation: Angel.

    12 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 12/23/2020 - 9:15am

  • Winter 1942. Washington, D.C. "Jewel Mazique on temporary duty checking filing systems in the Library of Congress." 4x5 inch acetate negative by John Collier for the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Information. View full size.

    Jewell Mazique

    Jewell R. Mazique (1913-2007), labor and civil rights activist and Library of Congress employee who was the subject of a documentary photo series taken in 1942 by John Collier for the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Information.

    6 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 01/16/2023 - 8:22pm

  • July 1942. "Middle River, Maryland. Stansbury Estates, housing development for workers at the Glenn L. Martin aircraft plant. Some houses have porches at the back. They are all alike, have four rooms, are made of Cemesto Board." Acetate negative by Marjory Collins. View full size.

    Kids

    An assortment of teens, tots, juveniles, youngsters, girls, boys and babes.

    2158 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/07/2023 - 1:55pm

  • July 1942. "Dunklin County, Missouri. Daughters of a U.S. Rural Electrification Administration (REA) cooperative member using electric appliances in their farm kitchen." Acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Office of War Information. View full size.

    Kitchens etc.

    355 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 08/18/2023 - 6:03pm

  • From July 1921, the Krazy Kat club off Thomas Circle in Washington, with Cleon Throckmorton to the right. View full size. National Photo Company Collection.

    Krazy Kat Club

    5 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 08/05/2012 - 4:48pm

  • Natural Bridge, Virginia (vicinity), circa 1913. "A Virginia water mill -- the Old Red Mill on Cedar Creek." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Landscapes

    137 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 10/13/2022 - 3:54pm

  • Circa 1900. "Harry Houdini (1874-1926), full-length portrait, standing, in chains." McManus-Young Collection, Library of Congress. View full size.

    Magic & Spiritualism

    7 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 01/21/2019 - 3:10pm

  • Washington, D.C. (vicinity), circa 1919. "Giving first aid." National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

    Medicine

    206 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 07/11/2023 - 6:30pm

  • June 1935. "Mining towns and camps in the Scotts Run area. View of Morgantown, West Virginia." 8x10 negative by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    Mining

    240 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 12/27/2022 - 11:24am

  • October 1941. Berkshire Hills County, Massachusetts. "Members of a motorcycle troop out to enjoy the fall coloring along the Mohawk Trail through the Berkshires." Medium format acetate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    Motorcycles

    Photos of motorbikes like the Harley-Davidson and Indian as well as motorized bicycles.

    57 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/06/2022 - 10:28am

  • March 13, 1936. Washington, D.C. "Man and woman disembarking from train." 4x5 inch glass negative, Harris & Ewing Collection. View full size. Washington Post, March 14, 1936: Arriving for Week at Loew's Fox         Arriving in the Capital early yesterday morning, Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone -- Mrs. Benny in private life -- were met and breakfasted by a group of Loew's executives and newspaper representatives. Mr. and Mrs. Benny are here for a week of personal appearances, in conjunction with an elaborate stage revue, at Loew's Fox Theater. Mr. Benny's Sunday night broadcast will be made from the auditorium of the National Press Club ...

    Movies

    242 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 06/29/2023 - 1:45am

  • March 1942. El Centro, California. "Carnival attraction at the Imperial County Fair." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    Native Americans

    American Indians -- actual, pretend, and cultural derivatives.

    34 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 11/08/2022 - 2:41pm

  • May 1942. Kremmling, Colorado. "Soldiers from Fort Logan hitchhiking along U.S. Highway 40." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    On the Road

    67 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 02/18/2022 - 2:15pm

  • Painfully Obvious Photoshoppery

    0 photos in this gallery

  • July 4, 1919. "Washington's men and women who served during the war gathered at the base of the Washington Monument, receiving medals of honor provided by the citizens of the District of Columbia. The big crowd has just turned to watch a daring aviator circling low above the trees that surround the monument grounds." National Photo glass negative. View full size.

    Patriotic

    73 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 07/04/2023 - 3:45pm

  • Washington, D.C., circa 1941. "Thomas Circle at 14th Street N.W." And yet another Peoples Drug Store. Medium format acetate negative with no photographer credit. View full size.

    PDS

    People's Drug Stores, a once-ubiquitous retail chain in the Washington, D.C., area that was something like the Starbucks of patent remedies, cigars and "rubber goods." Interiors including soda fountains and exteriors including window displays.

    39 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 02/20/2023 - 11:34am

  • July 1942. "Hayti, Missouri. Family of Glen Eaker (seated), superintendent of the local Rural Electrification Administration (REA) cooperative." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Performing Arts

    302 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/09/2023 - 3:44pm

  • "Echo Cliffs, Grand River Canyon, Colorado." Photochrom print published in 1914 from a glass negative taken many years earlier by William Henry Jackson, whose Western views, developed in his railcar-darkroom, formed the basis of Detroit Photographic's holdings in the company's early years. View full size.

    Photochrom

    Chromolithographs, generally postcards, made by the Detroit Publishing Co. using the Photochrom process.

    1 photo in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 04/04/2014 - 1:26pm

  • Savannah, Georgia, circa 1937. "Davenport house, Columbus Square." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size.

    Piscatorial Downspouts

    1 photo in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 08/30/2012 - 11:05am

  • July 1960. "David Brinkley and Chet Huntley -- NBC convention coverage. From NBC Television Audience Promotion." 4x5 acetate negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size.

    Politics

    87 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 06/02/2022 - 11:03am

  • Washington, D.C., circa 1902. "Heilbrun, L." is all they wrote. Most likely a Lillian, says the Research Dept. 5x7 inch glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio. View full size.

    Portraits

    415 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 04/25/2023 - 1:04pm

  • For your Halloween enjoyment we present "The Commercial Vampire," a Leon Barritt cartoon from the July 20, 1898, issue of Vim, a short-lived satirical weekly published in New York. Painting department stores as bloodthirsty predators of small independent businesses, the same argument made today in some quarters against giant retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon. View full size.

    Posters

    Artwork for the Works Progress Administration, as well as fruit crate labels and other graphical goodness. These and many more examples can be found here.

    31 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 11/01/2013 - 9:33am

  • August 1962. Newport, Rhode Island. "Two of Newport's beauties, Minnie Cushing and Topsy Taylor, go water-skiing out near Gooseberry Island. In tow behind their boat is weekend visitor Dick Cowell, a former water-ski champion." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Life magazine assignment "The Stately World of Newport." View full size.

    Pretty Girls

    358 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/16/2023 - 11:24am

  • December 1941. "Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas Island, Virgin Islands. A colored doll in one of the houses in a slum area." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size.

    Public Figures

    81 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 03/06/2019 - 4:03pm

  • Mobile, Alabama, circa 1910. "Unloading bananas." Tropical Refrigerator Express reefers at the ready. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Railroads

    Black-and-white and color historical photos of American railroads, locomotives, trains, depots and stations from the late 19th century and early to mid 20th century. Photos of steam locomotives and diesel engines. Elevated railways in New York and Chicago. There are hundreds of photos in this gallery.

    1272 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/19/2023 - 3:58pm

  • July 1942. "Nyssa, Oregon. Japanese-American boys at the newsstand on their weekly visit to town." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size.

    Relocation Camps

    World War 2 Japanese-American relocation camps.

    27 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/01/2022 - 10:13am

  • July 1942. "Hayti, Missouri. Family of Glen Eaker (seated), superintendent of the local Rural Electrification Administration (REA) cooperative." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Rural America

    372 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/09/2023 - 3:44pm

  • Circa 1907. "The Water Tower -- Fort Thomas, Kentucky." Combining a 100,000-gallon standpipe and Spanish-American War memorial. View full size.

    S-A War

    Spanish-American War photos

    6 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 10/02/2014 - 2:34pm

  • June 1953. "Howdy Doody Show's Clarabell the Clown (actor Nick Nicholson) pays a one-week visit to the Dolan family in Boone County, West Virginia, after Linda Dolan, daughter of coal mine foreman, was the winner of the 'I'd Like Clarabell to Visit Me Because' contest." From photos by Phillip Harrington for the Look magazine assignment "Clarabell Takes to the Hills." View full size.

    Scary Clowns

    Clowns that are scary. Which of course would be all clowns.

    10 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/12/2017 - 8:05am

  • Columbus, Georgia, circa 1955. "Accident on 12th Street." Sandwiched between the post office and Collins Snack Bar. 4x5 acetate negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size.

    Signal 30

    Newspaper photos of 1950s car wrecks, generally around Oakland, California. 4x5 inch Kodak negatives.

    46 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 01/07/2023 - 2:27pm

  • May 1942. Yes, it's this guy again, somewhere in Grand Island, Nebraska, snapped by John Vachon for reasons unknown. Cinch up that tie and get back to work! View full size.

    Slender Man

    The star of eight enigmatic, uncaptioned exposures credited to John Vachon. Shot in May 1942 in Grand Island, Nebraska.

    3 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 03/08/2022 - 3:35pm

  • July 1942. "Decatur, Alabama. War production center (Ingalls Shipbuilding Co.) on the Tennessee River." Acetate negative by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size.

    Small Towns

    504 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 09/03/2023 - 9:07pm

  • Circa 1902. "Entrance, Sanitarium Park, Alma, Michigan." Baseball boys, a nursemaid, Mr. F. Krueger, an electric (?) runabout! 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size.

    Sports

    761 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 08/30/2023 - 10:30am

  • July 1942. "Decatur, Alabama. War production center (Ingalls Shipbuilding Co.) on the Tennessee River." Acetate negative by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size.

    Stores & Markets

    1241 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 09/03/2023 - 9:07pm

  • Philadelphia circa 1907. "Gimbel Brothers store, Market and Ninth streets." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

    Streetcars

    Black-and-white historical photos of streetcars, trolleys and interurban railways from the early 20th century. Electric street railways and traction lines.

    652 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 08/31/2023 - 8:58pm

  • August 1962. Newport, Rhode Island. "Two of Newport's beauties, Minnie Cushing and Topsy Taylor, go water-skiing out near Gooseberry Island. In tow behind their boat is weekend visitor Dick Cowell, a former water-ski champion." 35mm Kodachrome by Toni Frissell for the Life magazine assignment "The Stately World of Newport." View full size.

    Swimming

    439 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 09/16/2023 - 11:24am

  • Mrs. Beula Durrill Espy, of Van Horn, Texas shows off her cake at a picnic in west Texas, 1940. (Courtesy Portal to Texas History). View full size. You can see more images from the Texas Mountain Trail, a coalition of west Texas museums, in our gallery.

    Texas Mountain Trail

    5 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:18pm

  • "Summer 1941. Detroit, Michigan. Girls playing cards and drinking Coca-Cola." The game seems to be winding up in this series of photos by Arthur Siegel, with these two having lost their shirts. Or something like that. View full size.

    The Card Game

    A curious set of photos from the Office of War Information archive, taken by Arthur Siegel in Detroit in the summer of 1941.

    9 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Wed, 11/27/2013 - 9:07pm

  • "Dickey Christmas tree, 1919." 8x6 inch glass negative, National Photo Co. View full size.         The family of Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey, whose off-kilter portraits (and non-triangular trees) are a beloved yuletide tradition here at Shorpy.

    The Dickeys

    Washington, D.C., lawyer Raymond Dickey and family, and Christmas tree.

    10 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Mon, 12/12/2022 - 4:33pm

  • Sept. 1942. Richwood, West Virginia. "B.E. Thompson, editor of the Nicholas Republican, let his own son go to New York state to work in the harvest but feels the recruiting has interfered too much with schooling, and that the break in education for many of the boys and girls will be permanent." Photo by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

    The Office

    182 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 01/01/2023 - 5:01pm

  • Toadlike Autocrats

    0 photos in this gallery

  • August 1942. "Detroit, Michigan. Waiting room at Greyhound bus depot." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the U.S. Foreign Information Service. View full size.

    Travel & Vacation

    133 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 08/13/2023 - 3:33pm

  • March 1965. "The King Family -- including the King Sisters, King Kiddies and King Cousins -- with actor Robert Clarke and others on the set of the ABC-TV musical variety series The King Family." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon for Look magazine. View full size.

    TV

    Photos relating to television sets and television shows.

    122 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 04/08/2023 - 7:57pm

  • "James Dawson, arrested for Indecent Exposure. North Shields Police Station, 9th June 1902." Our first image from a photograph album of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court in England between 1902 and 1916, now in the collection of the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums. View full size.

    Tyne & Wear

    Photographs from the Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums in England, including mug shots from the North Shields police department.

    1 photo in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 01/17/2012 - 11:41am

  • Circa 1905. Colorized Motor car, Canadian Government Colonization Co. Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

    Very Old Ads

    13 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sun, 02/06/2011 - 7:06pm

  •         We're reposting this just in case you've had enough of that other wedding between you-know-who and what's-her-name. 1914. "Kittens in costume as bride and groom, being married by third kitten in ecclesiastical garb." Holy catrimony! Photo by Harry W. Frees. View full size.

    Weddings

    33 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Sat, 05/19/2018 - 1:54pm

  • July 1942. "Middle River, Baltimore County, Maryland. Housing development for workers at the Glenn L. Martin aircraft plant. Living room and dining alcove." Porch Lady is back, pouring a nice glass of air in her Cemesto bungalow. Acetate negative by Marjory Collins. View full size.

    WW2

    World War 2 photos documenting life on the home front, including defense plants manufacturing aircraft and armaments, and the railroads and trains that moved them to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Many large-format Kodachromes by Jack Delano and other photographers on assignment for the Office of War Information, as well as photos by Ansel Adams documenting Japanese-American internment camps along the West Coast.

    699 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Thu, 09/07/2023 - 1:58pm

  • July 4, 1919. "Washington's men and women who served during the war gathered at the base of the Washington Monument, receiving medals of honor provided by the citizens of the District of Columbia. The big crowd has just turned to watch a daring aviator circling low above the trees that surround the monument grounds." National Photo glass negative. View full size.

    WWI

    181 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 07/04/2023 - 3:45pm

  • November 2, 1931. Washington, D.C. "Navy airship U.S.S. Akron over the Lincoln Memorial." 4x5 inch nitrate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size. THE AKRON'S VISIT.         The giant airship Akron arrived yesterday to salute the Capital on its first flight, after having been officially dedicated to Navy service on Navy Day. Accompanied by its older, slimmer sister, the Los Angeles, the Akron, bearing 108 men, circled over the city, dipped in salute to the White House, and gave Washingtonians their first chance to see the world's largest and newest dirigible. (Washington Post, 11.3.31)

    Zeppelins & Blimps

    41 photos in this gallery

    Last updated: Tue, 09/26/2023 - 7:48pm

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