List All Collections

  • Daguerreotype Photographs ~ 1839-1864
    The Library's daguerreotype collection consists of approximately 600 photographs dating from 1839 to 1864. Portrait daguerreotypes produced by the Mathew Brady studio make up the major portion of the collection. The collection also includes early architectural views by John Plumbe, a few outdoor scenes, and copies of painted portraits. The Prints and Photographs Division holds the collection.
  • Dance Manuals ~ Books ~ 1490-1920
    A collection of over two hundred social dance manuals at the Library of Congress published from ca. 1490 to 1929. Along with dance instruction manuals, this online presentation also includes a significant number of antidance manuals, histories, treatises on etiquette, and items from other conceptual categories. Many of the manuals also provide historical information on theatrical dance.
  • Depression Era to World War II ~ FSA/OWI ~ Photographs ~ 1935-1945
    The images in the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection are among the most famous documentary photographs ever produced. Created by a group of U.S. government photographers, the images show Americans in every part of the nation. In the early years, the project emphasized rural life and the negative impact of the Great Depression, farm mechanization, and the Dust Bowl. In later years, the photographers turned their attention to the mobilization effort for World War II. This release provides access to over 55,000 black-and-white images from the collection, as well as 1600 color photographs taken during the latter days of the project.
  • Diplomacy and Foreign Service ~ Oral History Interview Transcripts ~ 1940-1990
    Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training presents a window into the lives of American diplomats. Transcripts of interviews with U.S. diplomatic personnel capture their experiences, motivations, critiques, personal analyses, and private thoughts.
  • Douglass, Frederick ~ Papers ~ 1841-1964
    The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher. The papers span the years 1841 to 1964, with the bulk of the material from 1862 to 1895. The printed Speech, Article, and Book Series contains the writings of Douglass and contemporaries in the abolitionist and early women's rights movements.The Subject File Series reveals Douglass's interest in diverse subjects such as politics, emancipation, racial prejudice, women's suffrage, and prison reform. Scrapbooks document Douglass's role as minister to Haiti and the controversy surrounding his interracial second marriage.