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Vintage photos of:
Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.
[REV 25-NOV-2014]
April 1936. "House at 1629 North Ninth Street, Milwaukee." Or should that be 1313 Mockingbird Lane? Medium format negative by Carl Mydans. View full size.
San Francisco circa 1929. "Dodge Brothers truck at City Hall." Where illumination seems to be the order of the day (or night). 5x7 glass negative. View full size.
Washington, D.C., circa 1904. "Frank, M.E." is all it says here. But minimalism seems to suit Mr. Frank, even if his tailor won't. 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative from the C.M. Bell portrait studio. View full size.
Spring 1939. "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Downtown buildings near Walnut and Broad streets, looking east." Medium format nitrate negative by Paul Vanderbilt for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
June 1943. "Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Chemistry class equipment." Photo by Philip Bonn, Office of War Information. View full size.
Circa 1942. "Alaska Defense Command. At mail shack with mess kit." And now to catch up on the news! 120 film negative from an estate sale. View full size.
May 1943. Ashland, Aroostook County, Maine. "Girls at Memorial Day parade. Even with gasoline rationed, many people attended the ceremony in cars." Photo by John Collier for the Office of War Information. View full size.
October 29, 1954. "Big dining room, Patricia Murphy's Candlelight Restaurant, Central Avenue, Yonkers, Westchester County, N.Y." Said to be the largest restaurant in the East. 4x5 negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
May 26, 1951. "Patricia Murphy's Candlelight Restaurant, Manhasset, Long Island, New York. Exterior, with autos." Nonconformists will please park to the left. Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
August 1942. Interlochen, Michigan. "National music camp where 300 or more youngsters study symphonic music for eight weeks each summer. Girls swimming during the recreation period. Applying first aid to girl who stubbed toe while in swimming." Photo by Arthur Siegel, Office of War Information. View full size.
December 1908. "Walker Block, Griswold and Fort Streets, Detroit." Look for us at Sharpe's Chop House, recuperating from a grueling day of cigar and fountain-pen shopping. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.
One hundred years ago today ...
October 1917. Washington, D.C. "Knickerbocker Theatre." Harry Crandall's new Knickerbocker cinema at Columbia Road and 18th Street N.W. opened on October 13, 1917, with the historical drama "Betsy Ross," and an appearance by its star, Alice Brady. Less than five years later, 98 moviegoers were killed here when the roof caved in under an accumulation of snow during a blizzard. View full size.
Circa 1905. "The Basin -- Baltimore, Maryland." Panorama made from three 8x10 inch glass negatives. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
March 1940. "High school students in jalopy. Genoa, Nevada." Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration. View full size.
March 1940. "Main Street in Tonopah, Nevada." If you can't find us at the Ace or Tonopah clubs, try next door at EXPLOSIVES. Or maybe the F. & A.M. R.A.M. O.E.S. Medium format negative by Arthur Rothstein. View full size.