Welcome to 2023! For most of us, financially, last year was a doozie, so I will write about something free for all!
Many years ago, my friend Nancy introduced me to the world of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress has many free resources available to us, but one in particular that I love is free online photography.
You can browse the collections, order prints (for a prince), or download and print the photos*. I've done all three!
As I have grown older, I have been drawn to the black-and-white images of the 30s and 40s. Not all of my photos are from the Library of Congress. Some are family photos. One is of my mom and her girls' high school basketball in rural Indiana. It was taken shortly after the war. Mom was 21 and looked more like a movie star than a serious coach!
Years ago, I purchased a panoramic of a 1926 beauty contest, while last year, I found a couple of great photos of men in the U.S. military. One is a group of soldiers who successfully returned from WWI. They had a group photo taken for posterity. Another picture was of a group of sailors who had completed training at the fort located at Lake Bluff, north of Chicago. This photo was taken during WW2. I worked across the street from the fort in the '70s at the V.A. hospital.
Also included is a hand-print that I created years ago. It was based on a sketch I made at a party somewhere in Chicago. I still have the block it was carved from.
Most of the photos in this grouping are from the Library of Congress. I love the images of the Union Station, in Chicago, during WW2—the dimness of the light filtering through the upper windows. The soldiers and sailors were waiting in line to catch a train. Fort Sheridan, north of Chicago, processed over 500,000 soldiers during the Second World War. When I lived near the fort in the 70s, it was still active, but nothing near the numbers of WW2. Mainly it was career soldiers returning from Germany or Alaska, preparing to retire after twenty years.
I love the 1930 photos of crop dusters. The compositions are beautiful.
The images of early gas stations are unique to me. You don't see anything like these anymore.
Most of the brands advertised are still available, although I'm sure the building is long gone.
You can still find the occasional movie palace for the '20s and '30s. The Egyptian in DeKalb, Illinois, is a beautiful example of a 1929 movie theater that the people of DeKalb renovated and still maintain. For me, the photo of the less-than-spectacular cinema showing part of the movie advertisement is fantastic! I recognize George Burns and Gracie Allen, but I'm clueless about who the third actor is or which film they were starring in!
If you love old photos, I recommend the Library of Congress. It's a treat and a treasure; for the most part, it's free!
Links: Library of Congress, Photos