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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]
July 1941. "Building in town. Walla Walla, Washington. Walla Walla is county seat of rich wheat producing county." Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Lancaster County, Nebraska. Mrs. Pierce, wife of FSA borrower, giving her daughter a glass of milk." Photo by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Grand Island, Nebraska." Home of the "homey" Palace Cafe. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Denver, Colorado." Whose California Building poses that incendiary interrogative, SMOKE? Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "North Platte, Nebraska. Gas station." Flavors on tap from this ten-pump petro-pub include Distillate, Mobilgas, Diesel Fuel, Kerosene, Hi-Lite, Ethyl and Metro. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. Kremmling, Colorado. "Soldiers from Fort Logan hitchhiking along U.S. Highway 40." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Garage." More curbside gas pumps! Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
April 1942. "Bannack, Montana. Old hotel." The supposedly haunted Hotel Meade. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Lancaster County, Nebraska. Mrs. Lynn May, FSA borrower, cleaning a chicken." Our second look at this lady and that kid. Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Central City, an old mining town in the mountainous region of Central Colorado." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
May 1942. "Central City, an old mining town in the mountainous region of Central Colorado." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Happy Valentine's Day from Shorpy, who made his very first post 15 years ago today, back in 2007.
John Vachon shot eight exposures of this fellow in Grand Island, Nebraska, in May 1942, and none of them has a caption, so you'll just have to use your imagination. View full size.
May 1942. "Central City, an old mining town. Mountainous region of Central Colorado, west of Denver." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Entering the town. Tourist apartments." More specifically, the "Strictly Modern" Beauty Ress Court. And gas station. With your choice of Coke, Pepsi or Calso. Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Tourist apartments." The "Strictly Modern" Beauty Ress Court. Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.