Lake Placid, New York, circa 1909. "Whiteface Mountain and Wilmington High Falls Road, Adirondack Mountains." 8x10 glass negative. View full size.

Circa 1902. "Post office at St. Paul, Minnesota." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Buffalo, New York, circa 1910. "Canal harbor and elevators." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

New York circa 1912. "Tanis Guinness and Ta Wang." Tiny Tanis, the future wife of songwriter Howard Dietz, was heiress to the Guinness brewing fortune. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

New York circa 1919. "Torpadie." The soprano Greta Torpadie and friends. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

The Jersey Shore circa 1900. "Hotel Windsor, Atlantic City." At left, the Traymore. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

Buffalo, New York, circa 1905. "Looking up Main Street. Steamer North Land at Long Wharf." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

Nothing says "father" like a knit sweater vest. I doubt if this was actually taken on Father's Day; it looks to me like it was a late winter morning when my brother shot this Ektachrome slide, probably still in the throes of ecstasy over his new Lordox 35mm camera. Love his tortoise-shell glasses; who knew that my father was a hipster? View full size.

Circa 1900. "Interlocking signal plant, Chicago & Alton Railway." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

June 20, 1864. Petersburg, Virginia (vicinity) "The execution of Sergeant William Johnson, Negro soldier, at Jordan's farm. Hanged for Desertion and an Attempt to Outrage the Person of a Young Lady at the New-Kent Courthouse." (Supposedly he insulted a white woman and was made an example of to other soldiers who might be considering desertion; the outcome was not what the Federal Army had hoped for.) Wet plate glass negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan. View full size.

April 1923. "Firpo." The Argentine heavyweight boxer Luis Angel Firpo in New York. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

Here we have some road construction taking place in an unknown Southern California town. This photo was taken in June 1960. Scanned from the Kodachrome slide. View full size.

New York. January 23, 1957. "Seagram Building, Park Avenue. Oblique view from northwest." Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.

Lake George, New York, circa 1908. "Regatta Day at Fort William Henry Hotel." Some fried chicken and lemonade would hit the spot right about now. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.

The Jersey Shore circa 1908. "Atlantic City boardwalk and bathing beach." And on the far horizon, a familiar brand. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.