Shorpy Historical Photo Archive - Vintage Fine Art Prints

Slick and Quick: 1926

Dave — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:29:45 +0000

Fairfax County, Virginia, circa 1926. "Freeman House Store -- Vienna, Va." A historic structure that figured in the Civil War. Our title comes from a retail detail. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

Catpins: 1914

Dave — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:55:00 +0000

1914. "Kitten in costume with bowling ball and pins." And, if memory serves, an omen of the impending Apocalypse. Photo by Harry W. Frees. View full size.

Curlers in Her Hair: 1963

Dave — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:33:16 +0000

Rob and Laura redux: Another glimpse of Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke on the "Dick Van Dyke Show" set in 1963. Photo by Earl Theisen for the article "America's Favorite TV Wife" in Look magazine. View full size.

Potomac Park: 1908

Dave — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:18:15 +0000

Circa 1908. "The Boulevard, Potomac Park, Washington, D.C." Various national landmarks in a strikingly uncrowded capital. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.

The Shopping Center: 1954

Dave — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:31:37 +0000

Sept. 27, 1954. Smithtown, New York. "Smithtown Shopping Center. General view." Meet you at Play Mart in an hour. Photo by Sam Gottscho. View full size.

Crack Shot: 1957

Dave — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:43:56 +0000

"M + Jamie Wooddale 10-19-57." Our latest slide from the Linda Kodachromes. Construct your own narrative from the various cues and clues! View full size.

Airplane Mode: 1929

Dave — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:50:20 +0000

Dec. 5, 1929. Ignition interference from airplane engines on aircraft is largely a myth according to C. Francis Jenkins, Washington, D.C., inventor who has designed a radio receiving set which he says does not pick up noises from a flying power plant. In this photograph is shown Mr. Jenkins (right) and his laboratory assistant.

Video pioneer Francis Jenkins, seen here last week, and an anonymous protege who has a telegraph key strapped to his leg. By our reckoning this counts as early mobile texting. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Knows Everyone: 1921

Dave — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:40:26 +0000

Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "Miss Anita Pollitzer of South Carolina." Suffragist, photographer, future wife of Pete Seeger's uncle, artistic matchmaker for O'Keeffe and Stieglitz. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

IBM Noir: 1962

Dave — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:57:25 +0000

Circa 1962. "International Business Machines Corp., Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, 1956-61. Exterior. Eero Saarinen, architect." Large format negative by Balthazar Korab. View full size.

Rusty: 1863

Dave — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:55:05 +0000

Ca. 1863. "Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with forage cap carrying a bone handle knife in breast pocket." Sixth-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. View full size.

Calumet and Hecla: 1905

Dave — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:52:45 +0000

Circa 1905. "Calumet and Hecla smelters, Lake Linden, Michigan." Starting point for the web of copper telephone and streetcar wires seen in so many of the other Detroit Publishing images. Panorama of two 8x10 glass plates. View full size.

Following the Cotton: 1937

Dave — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:11:49 +0000

June 1937. "Child of Texas migrant family who follow the cotton crop from Corpus Christi to the Panhandle." Photo by Dorothea Lange. View full size.

Martha's Super: 1953

Dave — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:27:38 +0000

1953. "Comedienne Martha Raye at her home in Connecticut." In a Buick Super whose grille rivaled her own. Photo by Douglas Jones for the Look magazine article "Martha Raye: At Home, She's Quieter." View full size.

Listening Post: 1942

Dave — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:33:53 +0000

Rochester, New York. "Mr. Babcock tuning in for war news." Howard B. in the latest installment of the Babcock saga; the photos, with a publication date of March 1943, seem to be from September 1942 if the newspaper is indeed new. Photo by Ralph Amdursky for the Office of War Information. View full size.

Dear Old Dad: 1943

Dave — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:46:08 +0000

March 1943. Montgomery, Alabama. "Marvin Johnson, truck driver, reading the 'funnies' to his children." Happy Father's Day from Shorpy! Photo by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size.

Western Union: 1931

Dave — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:33:31 +0000

New York, 1931. "Western Union Telegraph Building, West Broadway. Ralph Walker, architect." The hulking Art Deco pile now known as 60 Hudson Street, a TriBeCa landmark. Photo by Irving Underhill. View full size.

Oyster House: 1953

Born Too Late — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:06:14 +0000

Another in a series of professional 8x10 pictures taken in Atlantic City in August, 1953 for Better Living Magazine, featuring my in-laws. My father-in-law is towards the right in of the line, with my brother-in-law in his arms. My mother-in-law is standing in front of them. My father-in-law was 33 years old at the time. Now he's 93 and still in amazing health. View full size.

Waterfront Lots: 1937

Dave — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:12:48 +0000

March 1937. "Ditch bank housing for Mexican field workers. Imperial Valley, California." Washtub and ashcans under the eucalyptus allée. Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

Sparkling Ale: 1917

Dave — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:27:55 +0000

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Union Station." In the distance, a glimpse of a long-vanished Capitol Hill landmark, the Washington Brewery smokestack advertising SPARKLING ALE. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

Fishnet and Fur: 1952

Dave — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:13:51 +0000

New York, 1952. "Martha Raye in rehearsal for her television show, All-Star Revue." The Big Mouth had a decent set of gams as well as gums. Photo by Charlotte Brooks for "Perpetual Commotion" in Look magazine. View full size.

The Invention: 1928

Dave — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:10:10 +0000

JoeH has identified the mystery man as Washington inventor and television pioneer Charles Francis Jenkins (1867-1934), pictured here with what might be considered an early flat-panel video display, its 48-pixel-square grid composed of small neon lamps.

Washington, D.C., in 1928. "NO CAPTION" is the caption for this one; again we turn to the crowd-source wisdom of the Shorpy masses to inquire: What the heck is it? (Close-up here.) Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Poultry Xing: 1937

Dave — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:37:21 +0000

February 1937. "During the flood, cows and chickens were moved to the highest ground possible. Near Cache, Illinois." Aftermath of the Ohio River Valley flood. Photo by Russell Lee for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

Paterson Panorama: 1901

Dave — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:43:25 +0000

Circa 1901. "Paterson, N.J., from Water Works Park." Lovely Paterson, Pearl of the Passaic. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.

School Play: 1940

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:28:30 +0000

Feb. 9, 1940. "Middlesex County Girls Vocational School, Woodbridge, New Jersey. Household management porch, horizontal. Alexander Merchant & Son, architect." Large-format acetate negative by Samuel H. Gottscho. View full size.

The Case of the Parked Packard: 1939

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:28:24 +0000

An unlabeled photo of cars parked next to train tracks from the FSA archive taken around 1939. Who can pinpoint the location? View full size.

Like Family: 1951

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:14:05 +0000

1951, somewhere in the Southeast. "Negro maids and their white employers' babies." Photo by John Vachon for a Look magazine assignment on "The South" in what could have been a prologue to "The Help." View full size.

Broke, Baby Sick: 1937

Dave — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 03:19:59 +0000

February 1937. "Tracy (vicinity), California. U.S. Highway 99. Missouri family of five, seven months from the drought area. Broke, baby sick, car trouble." Photo by Dorothea Lange for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

Magic Fingers: 1970

Dave — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:06:12 +0000

1970. "Lenore Romney, wife of former Michigan Gov. George Romney, campaigning for U.S. Senate in Michigan, and meeting with son Mitt in her hotel room in Marquette." Note the "Magic Fingers" coin box. Photo by Douglas R. Gilbert for the Look magazine article "Lenore Fights Alone." View full size.

Whorls and Ridges: 1926

Dave — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:05:22 +0000

June 1926. "Bureau of Identification, Department of Justice, Washington." Poring over fingerprints at the forerunner of the FBI. National Photo Co. View full size.

No Horseplay: 1942

Dave — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:44:56 +0000

June 1942. Greenbelt, Maryland. "Swimming pool. Bathers pay admittance according to age. Season tickets are obtainable by families." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.