The Library of Congress
[American Memory]

American from the Great Depression to WWII
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress


Search Keywords for Color Photos
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Black-and-White Photos Home Page
Search Combined Color and Black-and-White Photos

The color photographs of the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection include scenes of rural and small-town life, migrant labor, and the effects of the Great Depression. A significant number of the color photographs concern the mobilization effort for World War II and portray aircraft manufacturing, military training, and the nation's railroads. The 1,600 color photographs produced by the FSA and OWI photographers are less well known and far less extensive than the 164,000 black-and-white photographs in the collection.
The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to offer broad public access to a wide range of historical and cultural documents as a contribution to education and lifelong learning.

The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers.


Special Presentation
Portrait Sampler of FSA-OWI Photographers
Understanding the Collection

About the FSA/OWI Collection

FSA Color Shooting Assignments

OWI Color Shooting Assignments

Bibliography and Related Websites

From the Learning Page
Collection Connections

Working with the Collection

How to Order Reproductions

Cataloging the Color Photographs

Copyright and Other Restrictions


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Oct-19-1998