American Memory: Prints and Photographs
American Memory contains thousands of prints and photographs
documenting the history of Washington, D.C. Selected images
of Washington, D.C. are provided for each collection listed
below. Search on the phrases District of Columbia or Washington,
D.C., to locate additional prints and photographs within these
American Memory collections.
America
from the Great Depression to World War II: Black and White
Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945
The black-and-white photographs of the Farm Security Administration-Office
of War Information Collection are a landmark in the history
of documentary photography. The collection contains more
than 1000 images of Washington,
D.C., during the 1930s. It also includes the Gordon
Parks series on Mrs. Ella Watson, which included the
notable portrait “American Gothic.”
America
from the Great Depression to World War II: Color Photographs
from the FSA-OWI, 1939-1945
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. Browse the collection by geographic
location to locate more than thirty images of the District
of Columbia.
America’s
First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views,
1839-1864
The daguerreotype collection consists of more than 725
photographs dating from 1839 to 1864. There are images of
the Post Office building, the U.S. Capitol, and the U.S.
Patent Office in this collection.
- [General
Post Office from the corner of 8th Street and E Street,
NW, Washington, D.C., the shop of Elija Dyer, merchant
tailor, on the left]
- [United
States Patent Office, Washington, D.C., showing F Street
façade, possibly taken from the upper floor of
the General Post Office]
American
Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920: a Study Collection
from the Harvard Graduate School of Design
This collection of approximately 2,800 lantern slides represents
an historical view of American buildings and landscapes
built during the period 1850-1920. It also includes images
documenting population changes, proposed new buildings and
changes to the Mall as well as existing buildings and parks.
The collection contains more than a 100 images of Washington,
D.C.
- Capitol
Building, Capitol buildings from the front, Washington,
DC
- Lincoln
Memorial, aerial view: Lincoln memorial and basin, West
Potomac Park (west end of the Mall), Washington, DC
- Washington,
DC, map of parks in and around the DC area, Washington,
DC
Architecture
and Interior Design for 20th-Century America: Photographs
by Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner, 1935-1955
The Gottscho-Schleisner Collection comprises more than
29,000 images, primarily of architectural subjects, including
interiors and exteriors of homes, stores, offices, factories,
historic buildings, and other structures. There are 429
images of Washington,
D.C., including neighborhood houses in Anacostia, Tunlaw
houses, the Frederick Douglass home, Fort Dupont, and Barry
Farms.
Baseball
Cards, 1887-1914
This collection consists of 2,100 early baseball cards
dating from 1887 to 1914. The baseball cards for the Washington
Nationals and Washington
Statesmen are included in this collection.
Built
in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American
Engineering Record, 1933-Present
The collections document achievements in architecture,
engineering, and design in the United States and its territories
through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering
technologies. The collection contains more than 900 records
relating to buildings in Washington,
D.C. More information is added quarterly.
By
Popular Demand: “Votes for Women” Suffrage Pictures,
1850-1920
The Library of Congress staff selected this set of 38 images
relating to woman suffrage from various files and collections
in the Prints and Photographs Division and the Manuscript
Division. Included are images of suffrage events that took
place in Washington, D.C.
By
the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943
This collection consists of 908 boldly colored and graphically
diverse original posters produced from 1936 to 1943 as part
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. The collection
includes posters with information about Washington, D.C.
Civil
War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society
The materials in this collection are drawn from twelve
archival collections housed at the New-York Historical
Society. Included are pictorial envelopes, drawings, and
stereographs of Washington,
D.C., and the surrounding areas.
The
Emergence of Advertising in America, 1850-1920
Emergence of Advertising in America presents more than
9,000 images relating to the early history of advertising
in the United States. Included are an advertisement for
the Ford's
Theatre and an exhibit in Washington entitled "Halls
of the Ancient." Browse the subject headings District
of Columbia to locate additional items.
Emile
Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry
Emile Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry
is a selection of more than 400 items from the Emile Berliner
Papers and 108 Berliner sound recordings from the Library
of Congress's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded
Sound Division.
“I
Do Solemnly Swear . . .”: Presidential Inaugurations
A collection of approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital
files from each of the 54 inaugurations from George Washington's
in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001.
Photographs
from the Chicago Daily News
This collection comprises more than 55,000 images of urban
life captured on glass-plate negatives between 1902 and
1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News,
then one of Chicago's leading newspapers. The collection
includes images of the Capitol, Presidential Inaugurations,
the Washington Senators baseball players, and the White
House.
Prosperity
and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929
Prosperity and Thrift assembles a wide array of Library
of Congress source materials from the 1920s that document
the widespread prosperity of the Coolidge years, the nation's
transition to a mass consumer economy, and the role of government
in this transition. The collection includes images of Washington,
D.C., businesses such as People’s Drug and the Washington
Cadillac Company.
Selected
Civil War Photographs
The Selected Civil War Photographs Collection contains
1,118 photographs. Most of the images were made under the
supervision of Mathew B. Brady, and include scenes of military
personnel, preparations for battle, and battle after-effects.
It contains more than 100 images of Washington, D.C., and
the surrounding community during the Civil War.
The
South Texas Border, 1900-1920: Photographs from the Robert
Runyon Collection
The Robert Runyon Photograph Collection of the South Texas
Border Area, a collection of more than 8,000 items, is a
unique visual resource documenting the Lower Rio Grande
Valley during the early 1900s. There are nine images from
Washington, D.C., including the statues of Baron
Von Steuben and Farragut
and the Equestrian
Monument.
Taking
the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
The Panoramic Photograph Collection contains approximately
4,000 images featuring American cityscapes,
landscapes,
and group
portraits. There are quite a number of images of the
Library of Congress Jefferson Building, and panoramic images
of Walter Reed Hospital, the D.C. waterfront, and events
taking place in the District of Columbia.
Touring
Turn-of-the Century America: Photographs from the Detroit
Publishing Company, 1880-1920
The photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company Collection
include more than 25,000 glass negatives and transparencies
as well as about 300 color photolithograph prints, mostly
of the eastern United States. Though Washington images primarily
depict the city's monument core, there are images of the
Navy Yard, the Carnegie Library and views of the “future”
Washington.
Washington
as it Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959
The Theodor Horydczak collection (about 14,350 photographs
online) documents the architecture and social life of the
Washington metropolitan area in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s,
including exteriors and interiors of commercial, residential,
and government buildings, as well as street scenes and views
of neighborhoods. The collection includes a special presentation,
“Discovering
Horydczak’s Washington”, which is adapted
from Beverly W. Brannan’s article, "Discovering
Theodor Horydczak’s Washington."
William
P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz
The William P. Gottlieb Collection, comprising more than
1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists, documents the
jazz scene from 1938 to 1948, primarily in New York City
and Washington, D.C. There are photographs of performances
from Fort Myer, the Howard Theater, the National Press Club,
and programs record at WINX.
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