Shorpy Historical Photo Archive - Vintage Fine Art Prints

Tahoe Beer: 1940

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:41:20 +0000

March 1940. "Genoa, Nevada. Stores on Main Street." A former Mormon outpost, Genoa was the first settlement in the Nevada Territory. Medium-format negative by Arthur Rothstein for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

Top Brass: 1860s

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:22:43 +0000

Man with a horn, ca. 1861-65. "Soldier in Union infantry uniform with saxhorn." Sixth-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. View full size.

New Flame: 1949

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:43:50 +0000

1949. "University of Michigan fraternity party." Brothers and sisters and a cozy fire. Photos by Stanley Kubrick for Look magazine. View full size.

Hot Lead: 1942

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:48:26 +0000

September 1942. "Linotype operators in composing room of the New York Times newspaper." These machines cast lines of type (Linotype) from molten lead prior to their assembly by compositors into the printing plates that go on the presses. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.

Mr. Biggs: 1936

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:15:45 +0000

Oct. 15, 1936. Washington, D.C. "Protection against that dreaded disease Silicosis is assured underground workers with this new sand-blasting helmet developed by William P. Biggs, Safety Engineer of the Navy Department. Weighing only 43 ounces, the helmet has been tested for nearly a year in various naval stations throughout the country." Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

KP: 1942

Dave — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:40:14 +0000

September 1942. Fort Belvoir, Va. "Army Sgt. George Camblair on kitchen police duty." Our first example of the more than 200 photos shot by Jack Delano documenting this soldier's induction, training and home life. View full size.

Third Avenue El: 1942

Dave — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:21:09 +0000

September 1942. "New York. Looking north from the Ninth Street station on the Third Avenue elevated railway as a train leaves on the local track." Medium format negative by Marjory Collins, Office of War Information. View full size.

Droll Soldiers: 1860s

Dave — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:28:59 +0000

More Civil War cutups. "Unidentified men in Union uniforms, one pointing a revolver at another's head." Half-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. View full size.

Modern Kitchen: 1940

Dave — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:06:57 +0000

April 17, 1940. When enameled steel was sexy. "Electric Institute of Washington. Display of ranges in lobby at Potomac Electric Power Co. building." 8x10 acetate negative by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.

Second-Hand Smokers: 1860s

Dave — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:18:49 +0000

Guys gone wild, 1860s style. "Unidentified soldiers in Union uniforms holding cigars in each other's mouths." Ninth-plate tintype, hand-colored. Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Library of Congress. View full size.

Space Cadets: 1952

Dave — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:55:53 +0000

From 1952 comes this conflation of two popular genres in the children's TV show "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." Photo by Charlotte Brooks for the Look magazine assignment "Cowboys and Meteors." View full size.

Brightwood Car Barn: 1943

Dave — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:52:02 +0000

Washington, D.C., circa 1943. "Potomac Electric Power Co. substations. Brightwood station car barn." Photo by Theodor Horydczak. View full size.

All Nite: 1941

Dave — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:51:29 +0000

July 1941. "Street scene in Chicago Black Belt." Old-school fixie. 35mm negative by Edwin Rosskam for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.

The Circus: 1948

Dave — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:43:21 +0000

1948. "Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus." Color transparency for Look magazine by the future film director Stanley Kubrick, who manages to make this look like an avant-garde Coke ad. View full size.

Dreaming Inside the Box: 1927

Dave — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:56:03 +0000

Nov. 28, 1927. "Washington man sleeps in a blanketless bed. Milton Fairchild of Washington, D.C., does not need any blankets for keeping him warm these winter nights. He has invented an electrical bed which does not require any covering for the body when asleep. Furthermore, according to Mr. Fairchild, an 'electric blanket' is healthier and one is not so susceptible to colds. The temperature is maintained constant throughout the night by automatic controls." Milton, you are so close. Just a couple more tweaks and you will be sitting pretty, or at least reclining more comfortably. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.

Bearilyn: 1953

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:46:02 +0000

Marilyn Monroe and friend in Alberta, Canada, in 1953 for the filming of River of No Return. Photo by John Vachon for Look magazine. View full size.

John and Dick: 1962

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:00:34 +0000

Talk host Johnny Carson and his brother Dick, who directed the "Tonight" show, in New York in 1962. From photos taken for "Johnny Carson: Nighthood's New Prince," an article in the April 23, 1963, issue of Look magazine. View full size.

We Come in Peace: 1936

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:07:56 +0000

"NO CAPTION, 1936" is the label for this Harris & Ewing plate. We think it probably has to do with diving, or maybe Roswell. View full size.

Frosted Foods: 1950

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:37:55 +0000

To whet your lunchtime appetite we present this ca. 1950 Kodachrome of a frozen food case, location and photographer unknown. Bon appetit! View full size.

The Electric Birdcage: 1928

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:23:45 +0000

1928. Washington, D.C. "NO CAPTION" is the label for this Harris & Ewing plate of a lady showing us an obviously superior example of whatever this is. Deep knowledge of the Shorpy catalog tells me this is Texanna Loomis of the Loomis Radio School. The thing is -- what? You tell us, in the comments. View full size.

Reichs-Chapel: 1938

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:20:48 +0000

Germany circa 1938. "Meeting room of Nazi Party facility in Upper Bavaria." The swastika candles lend a rustic note. This looks like something out of a comic book or movie serial, but it was all too real. Photo-Pfaller print. View full size. Additional details on this photo, one of seven pictures in a portfolio that's part of the Third Reich Collection at the Library of Congress:

One portfolio (seven photographic prints); 13 x 18 cm. Photographs on mounts 23 x 29 cm. No captions. Ink stamp on back of mounts: "Photo-Pfaller, Traunstein/Obb. Tel. 451." Confiscated by U.S. military intelligence authorities, 1945-1946. Transfer; 1947. Photographs show a chapel (?) in a Nazi party house in Bavaria. Includes wooden carved benches and podium; elaborate Nazi eagle and swastika symbol made of wood; mural of fallen soldier and SA companion; light fixture incorporating a helmet. Also includes exterior views of the house showing a mural with SA soldier with swastika flag and farmers with tools.

Gotham Grows Up: 1913

Dave — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:15:45 +0000

The Woolworth Building under construction in 1913. One hundred years later, the top 30 floors of the former department store headquarters are being converted to 40 luxury apartments, with a five-story penthouse in the cupola. Other New York landmarks in this view include City Hall Park and its post office, as well as the Singer and Park Row towers. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.

A Star Is Born: 1954

Dave — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:14:48 +0000

1954. Judy Garland in a still from one of the musical numbers in her movie "A Star Is Born." Color transparency by Robert Vose for Look magazine. View full size.

Strategy Session: 1966

Dave — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:34:39 +0000

Gotham City in 1966. Batman and Robin (Adam West and Burt Ward) in an unguarded moment in the Bat-Cave (or perhaps on the Bat-Set) with the Bat-Mug. Photo by Richard Hewett for Look magazine. View full size.

Kidde Kokoon: 1955

Dave — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:36:18 +0000

1955. "H-bomb hideaway. Family seated in a Kidde Kokoon, an underground fallout shelter manufactured by Walter Kidde Nuclear Laboratories of Garden City, Long Island." United Press photo. View full size.

Orange and Blue: 1968

Dave — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:17:37 +0000

June 8, 1968. "Funeral cortege of Robert F. Kennedy." More of the mourners who lined the route of RFK's funeral train as it made its way from New York to Washington. The mood may have been blue, but the Popsicles were not. Photos by Paul Fusco and Thomas Koeniges for Look magazine. View full size.

Steeplejacks: 1929

Dave — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:56:06 +0000

Summer 1929. Washington, D.C. "Workers on building under construction." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

R.F.K., R.I.P.: 1968

Dave — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:48:38 +0000

June 8, 1968. "Funeral cortege of Robert F. Kennedy." Thousands of people lined the tracks as the train carrying RFK's casket made the eight-hour journey from his funeral in New York to Washington, D.C. 35mm Kodachrome transparency. From photos by Paul Fusco and Thomas Koeniges for Look magazine. View full size.

How to Marry a Millionaire: 1952

Dave — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:55:42 +0000

1952. Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable in a publicity still for the movie "How to Marry a Millionaire." Photo by Earl Theisen. View full size.

Beatnik JFK: 1957

Dave — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:51:01 +0000

September 1957. "John F. Kennedy wearing sunglasses." Is that you behind those Foster Grants, future Mr. President? Photo by Toni Frissell. View full size.