At the end of the month, we mark the centennial of the Lincoln Memorial. This monument to our 16th President was dedicated on Memorial Day (then Decoration Day) in 1922 and its one hundred year birthday falls on Memorial Day this year. The Lincoln Memorial is visited by millions every year in Washington, D.C., and has been the site for many memorable speeches and events over time. The dedication ceremony drew quite a crowd. On May 30, 1922, approximately 50,000 people gathered around the base of the memorial and some along the Reflecting Pool, as seen in the photos below: Dedication Lincoln Memorial, [5/30/22]. Photo by National Photo Company, [1922 May 30]. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.23029 Dedication Lincoln Memorial, 5/30/22. Photo by National…
Category: Picture this
Mystery Gadgets Galore!
![Photo by Harris & Ewing, [1936]](https://b3034403.smushcdn.com/3034403/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/service-pnp-hec-40400-40408v-768x595-1.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Attention all who are curious about gadgets, inventions, science, technology, and a good old-fashioned mystery! This week will offer two opportunities to explore mysterious thingamabobs and whatchamacallits and perhaps give them their real names. Within the Harris & Ewing Photograph Collection, we have a number of uncaptioned photographs that feature “gadgets” of unknown purpose – gadgets being a catchall term here for sometimes rather large and elaborate mechanical, electrical, and scientific devices. As we have before, we are calling on you to crack the code and share what you know about these machines. On Thursday, May 5th at 7pm EST (today!), join Reference Librarian Jonathan Eaker of the Prints & Photographs Division for a virtual webinar: Object Lesson: Gadgets in…
Behind the Scenes: Reflecting on a Career While Continuing to Explore the Collections
The following is an interview with Barbara Orbach Natanson, former Head of the Prints & Photographs Reading Room. Melissa: Can you tell us about your background, and what roles you played at the Library of Congress before you retired this past December? McKee Ranch, hay meadows, irrigation, Silverthorne, Colorado. Photo by Howard W. Marshall, 1980. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1991031_hm_04/. Barbara Orbach shown at right, with Vera McKee, holding recording equipment. Barbara: I first came to the Library of Congress in 1980 to do an internship in the Archive of Folk Song and got the opportunity to continue with some fieldwork in Colorado for the American Folklife Center. Both provided good grounding for completing Master’s degrees in Folklore and in Library Science at UCLA.…
Happy Birthday, Library of Congress: 222 Years and Still Growing
We celebrate April 24 as the birthday of the Library of Congress. On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of congress.” It would take a bit longer for the Library of Congress to have books, a home, and a librarian. The initial collection of 740 volumes and three maps was ordered from London, and arrived in 1801. They were stored in the U.S. Capitol, the Library’s home for nearly the first century of its existence. In early 1802, President Thomas Jefferson approved the first law defining the library’s functions and created the post of Librarian of Congress. This architectural drawing of the…