During the lifetime of the Picture This blog, we have published several dozen posts relating to some aspect of African American history. We have collected all of these posts under a single category for easy access here. In honor of Black History Month, we will highlight a few of those posts so you can revisit images connected to Black creators and historical figures as well as read the stories behind them. Celebrating Harriet Tubman and the Emily Howland Album Read the story of a previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman in Celebrating Harriet Tubman and the Emily Howland Album. “The portrait is in a photo album that belonged to Emily Howland, a lifelong advocate of freedmen’s schools and women’s rights. The…
Category: Picture this
Ready for Research: From Latin America and Baseball Cards to Moral Re-Armament and Historical Trademark Designs
The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, and Aliza Leventhal, Head, Technical Services, both of the Prints & Photographs Division. Every week our department organizes, houses, describes, and selectively digitizes a wide variety of pictures. Here are the highlights from the more than 125,000 items completed in the past six months. You can enjoy many of the images online, and can view and research many more by visiting the Prints & Photographs Reading Room. Tres Ríos Photographs of Latin America, 2000-2016. These 2,285 striking color photographs show the diverse cultural life and heritages in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. Adalberto Ríos Szalay is a Mexican photographer, writer, and anthropologist who works as “Tres Ríos” with his…
Happy Groundhog Day!
In about 1920, a groundhog at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. was photographed poking his head out of his manmade burrow: Ground hog. Photo by National Photo Company, circa 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.01058 There is no specific month and day given for this photo, but I see some icicles at the top of the image and perhaps snow in the foreground. So, I like to think this photo was taken on Groundhog Day and our friend is considering whether to come out and see if he has a shadow. Another photo of this groundhog in the National Photo Company Collection is below: Ground hog. Photo by National Photo Company, circa 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.01059 The original negative numbers for these two…
The Poodle is in the Details
This is my favorite photo from the Flickr album Toni Frissell Dog Photography Part One: Fashion: Mrs. Winston Guest. Photo by Toni Frissell, December 5, 1958. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/tofr.13627 It’s not my favorite because of the red Ford Country Sedan station wagon. It’s not my favorite because of the Mainbocher coat worn by C.Z. Guest. It’s my favorite because of the doggy in the window if you will. The poodle in the passenger seat of the car makes this my favorite: Detail of Fashion: Mrs. Winston Guest. Photo by Toni Frissell, December 5, 1958. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/tofr.13627 It’s unexpected upon first glance to see the poodle in the car, as if he/she just drove up and is ready to join the fun.…