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Radio Days: 1928

1928. Speaker grille assembly at the Atwater Kent radio factory in Philadelphia. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

1928. Speaker grille assembly at the Atwater Kent radio factory in Philadelphia. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

 

A Real Life Saver: 1913

May 24, 1913. Joseph N. Callahan modeling "Coxey's Life Saver and Water Wings." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

May 24, 1913. Joseph N. Callahan modeling "Coxey's Life Saver and Water Wings." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

 

Atwater Kent: 1925

Philadelphia, 1925. Frank Aiken and Atwater Kent at the new Atwater Kent radio factory. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

Philadelphia, 1925. Frank Aiken and Atwater Kent at the new Atwater Kent radio factory. View full size. National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

 

Full Current: 1909

On the left: "Full Current: Young woman using an electric device for massage and stimulation of her face and neck." On the right: "Chest Developer: Woman at dressing table holding electric vibrating machine against her chest." Royal Specialty Company, Cleveland, 1909. Library of Congress copyright deposit, series of five 8x10 photographs: "Chest Developer," "Full Current," "Feels Good," "I Always Use It," "Smoothing the Wrinkles." View full size.

On the left: "Full Current: Young woman using an electric device for massage and stimulation of her face and neck." On the right: "Chest Developer: Woman at dressing table holding electric vibrating machine against her chest." Royal Specialty Company, Cleveland, 1909. Library of Congress copyright deposit, series of five 8x10 photographs: "Chest Developer," "Full Current," "Feels Good," "I Always Use It," "Smoothing the Wrinkles." View full size.

 

Before and After

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.

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 Real Lifesaver: 1915

"Man demonstrating ship rescue apparatus" circa 1915 somewhere near New York City. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

"Man demonstrating ship rescue apparatus" circa 1915 somewhere near New York City. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

 

iPod 1.0

"Amplifiers at Bolling Field, 1921." Two giant horns with ear tubes, evidently designed to listen for approaching aircraft. View full size. National Photo Co.

"Amplifiers at Bolling Field, 1921." Two giant horns with ear tubes, evidently designed to listen for approaching aircraft. View full size. National Photo Co.

 

Brave New World: 1942

April 1942. "Aircraft construction class. The flame of welding torches has replaced the soft lights of a nightclub in Daytona Beach, which has been taken over for a vocational school to train war workers for Florida's pooling program. Pictured above is instructor C.C. Gravelge showing one of his classes the difficult art of overhead welding in preparation for their initiation into aircraft welding jobs on the De Land pool's war contract." View full size. Medium format safety negative by Howard Hollem for the Office of War Information.

April 1942. "Aircraft construction class. The flame of welding torches has replaced the soft lights of a nightclub in Daytona Beach, which has been taken over for a vocational school to train war workers for Florida's pooling program. Pictured above is instructor C.C. Gravelge showing one of his classes the difficult art of overhead welding in preparation for their initiation into aircraft welding jobs on the De Land pool's war contract." View full size. Medium format safety negative by Howard Hollem for the Office of War Information.

 

Bermuda Hundred: 1865

Butler's signal tower at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, circa 1865. Wet-plate glass negative, left half of stereograph. Photograph from the main Eastern theater of war, the Army of the James, June 1864-April 1865. View full size.

Butler's signal tower at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, circa 1865. Wet-plate glass negative, left half of stereograph. Photograph from the main Eastern theater of war, the Army of the James, June 1864-April 1865. View full size.

 

Marconi Control Table: 1939

"Marconi Control Table" at a radio station in British Mandate Palestine circa 1939. View full size. | Alternate view. Glass negative from the archives of the Matson Photo Service, which documented the American Colony in Jerusalem.

"Marconi Control Table" at a radio station in British Mandate Palestine circa 1939. View full size. | Alternate view. Glass negative from the archives of the Matson Photo Service, which documented the American Colony in Jerusalem.

 

Hello Out There: 1939

A radio mast in Ramallah, British-Mandate Palestine, sometime around 1939. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, Matson Photo Service. Alternate view.

A radio mast in Ramallah, British-Mandate Palestine, sometime around 1939. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, Matson Photo Service. Alternate view.

 

Ramallah: 1939

Radio masts in Ramallah, British Mandate Palestine, circa 1939. 5x7 dry plate glass negative from the Matson Photo Service collection. View full size.

Radio masts in Ramallah, British Mandate Palestine, circa 1939. 5x7 dry plate glass negative from the Matson Photo Service collection. View full size.

 

Bureau of Standards: 1925

February 19, 1925. "M.S. Strock measuring radio lengths at the Bureau of Standards." View full size. 4x5 glass negative, National Photo Co. Collection.

February 19, 1925. "M.S. Strock measuring radio lengths at the Bureau of Standards." View full size. 4x5 glass negative, National Photo Co. Collection.

 

Loud and Clear : 1922

Lester Picker listens to his shortwave radio through earphones while convalescing after breaking his back when he fell 55 feet erecting an aerial for the radio. Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, April 18, 1922. View full size. (Updated with additional information on Lester — click here and scroll down.)

Lester Picker listens to his shortwave radio through earphones while convalescing after breaking his back when he fell 55 feet erecting an aerial for the radio. Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, April 18, 1922. View full size. (Updated with additional information on Lester — click here and scroll down.)

 

On the Air: 1936

A radio studio control room in British Mandate Palestine between 1936 and 1939. View full size. 5x7 dry plate glass negative, Matson Photo Service.

A radio studio control room in British Mandate Palestine between 1936 and 1939. View full size. 5x7 dry plate glass negative, Matson Photo Service.

 
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