Prang's aids for object teaching—The kitchen. L. Prang & Co. Copyright 1874. Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USZC4-5155. bibliographic record
Understanding the context in which someone originally created or collected an image is fundamental to evaluating its content
and significance. The division's holdings reflect the wide variety of uses to which pictorial materials traditionally have
been put:
to present the news or otherwise communicate visually in a journalistic context
to document systematically an event, era, or phenomenon, here termed “documentary surveys”
to advertise products, activities, or organizations
to educate, entertain, and satisfy the need for aesthetic expression
No more messenger boys for the National Women's Party—from president to messenger all the members of the staff are feminine. 1922 Oct. 21. Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USZ6-1841. bibliographic record
to aid materially in the design of structures or products
to record the activities and associations of individuals or organizations.
Selected holdings useful for the study of women's history and culture are discussed here in terms of these categories of use
(see navigator bar on the left), recognizing that there are overlaps among the categories and that a single image may often
be put to multiple uses.