Of Postcards and Postage I love postcards. I send them, collect them, and even make them. In my latest Flickr album, You’ve Got Mail, I included a 1939 photo of what was described as the “largest postcard ever sent through the mail.” A regular postcard cost one cent to mail in that year. I spot an interesting error in the original caption for the photo. It states that “it took $1.50 in stamps to carry the card.” Being a stamp nerd, I wanted to get a closer look at the postage on the card. This was possible because of the high-resolution scan made from the original glass negative. Look at all the postage in the upper right corner of the…
Tag: Jan Grenci
Shave and a Haircut: The Blog
The barber pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the barbering trade. In my latest Flickr album, Shave and a Haircut, you will see a small selection of images of barber poles from the Prints and Photographs Division. The collections hold many more photos than I could use in the album. This is the kind of barber pole that I remember from my youth: Barber pole (manufactured by the Marvy Company), Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by John Margolies, 1984. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/mrg.01748 There are many other types of barber poles represented in P&P holdings. Painted wooden poles were sometimes used to great effect: Barber poles, Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Photo by Russell Lee, November 1937. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a22420 Much less traditional is this Volkswagen decorated…
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.…
When in Rome
If you have read any of my earlier blogs, you know that I like to point out the connections between items from different collections housed in the Prints & Photographs Division. Keep reading to see what links a travel poster and a stereograph. This gorgeous travel poster of Rome by Roger Broders was published in 1921: Rome, par le train de luxe “Rome Express”. Lithograph by Roger Broders, 1921. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g12901 Not much is known of Broders. Many of his posters feature a distinct foreground and background and use the object in the foreground, here the Arch of Titus, to frame the object in the background, here the Colosseum. Compare the poster to this early twentieth-century stereograph that shows the same…