July 26, 1919. Washington, D.C. "Bathing beach parade." View full size. National Photo Company. Vertical stripes -- so flattering to a girl's figure.

December 1941. "The ordnance department must satisfy itself that every halftrac scout car turned over to it by a Midwest manufacturer is fit for Army duty. The department's own inspector gives it a thorough going over from bumper to bumper. White Motor Company, Cleveland, Ohio." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

February 1942. "Don't let pretty labels on cans mislead you, but learn the difference between grades and the relative economy of buying larger instead of small cans. The Pure Food Law requires packers to state exact quantity and quality of canned products, so take advantage of this information and buy only after thorough inspection of labels." View full size. Medium format nitrate negative by Ann Rosener for the OWI. This woulda made a great Kodachrome.

October 11, 1924. Washington, D.C. "Toy department at Woodward & Lothrop." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

Washington, D.C., mail delivery via Harley-Davidson motorcycle sidecar circa 1924. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

September 7, 1922. Washington, D.C. "Children in costume on steps of sliding board." View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

December 1941. B.F. Goodrich factory at Akron. "Treads for Army halftracks, fresh from the curing press of a large Ohio tire plant. Grooves are buffed on the ends of the track section." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer.

Circa 1850s sixth-plate daguerreotype, photographer unknown. "Unidentified boy and girl, three-quarter length, seated on upholstered bench." View full size.

Alexandria, Va., 1861-69. "The Marshall house, King & Pitt Streets." Wet plate glass negative, right half of stereo pair. Photographer unknown. View full size. Who'll be the first to put this together with its companion image in a very short flipbook and post it to YouTube? Or it could be an animated gif. Either way, we'd have the world's earliest (and shortest) HD movie.

Alexandria, Va., 1861-69. "The Marshall house, King & Pitt Streets." Wet plate glass negative, left half of stereo pair. Photographer unknown. View full size.

The 1930s posters done for the Works Progress Administration have proven to be especially popular in the Shorpy gift shop, so Juniper Gallery has started Vintagraph, a Web site dedicated to high-quality reproductions of this unique artwork on museum-grade French art paper. Favorites include the curiously popular Keep Your Teeth Clean as well as the heroically proportioned Don't Jay Walk. We're adding new posters every day at www.vintagraph.com.

October 1940. "Million Dollar Highway is cut through massive rocks in Ouray County, Colorado." U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray. Now a paved modern highway, this is a spectacular mountain route that I've driven many times over the years. View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee.

October 1914. Anniston, Alabama. "Housing conditions at Adelaide Mill. The village is run down and greatly in need of sanitary improvements." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.

Another selection from the LOC archives of Alfred Palmer's strikingly composed large-format black-and-white transparencies shot in December 1941 at factories in Akron and Cleveland. White Motor Company, Cleveland, Ohio. "Halftrac scout cars. Putting precision-made pistons assemblies into precision-made cylinders is a job that fits this former auto worker. The engine will be the power plant of an Army halftrac scout car. The Midwest plant that is turning it out has trained American automotive workers for every job on the line." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information.

December 1936. Dickens, Iowa. "Part of the L.H. Nissen family of ten living in a three-room shack. Rest of family at school. The whole house was of unusually high humidity. The wife said they could not dry out the bedding because of the poor ventilation. This is the living room and kitchen combined." View full size. Medium format negative by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration.