Снимка: Focusing on Lewis Hine’s Photographic Technique

The following is a guest post by Ryan Brubacher, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division

John Howell, an Indianapolis newsboy … Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 Aug. (The shadow of the photographer and his camera are in the foreground.) National Child Labor Committee Collection https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03225

Lewis Hine, at a certain point in his career, began to refer to himself as an “interpretive photographer” and not a social photographer as he’d been previously termed. While we might imagine him an investigative photo-journalist by today’s standards, his own assessment points to the degree that style and aesthetic decisions played into the images he created – even before he articulated the change. The Library of Congress holds two significant groups of Hine’s photographs, the images made for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) and his work for the American National Red Cross (ANRC) during World War I.

What drew me to the work and inspired a blog post was one particular aspect of many of Hine’s photographs, the extremely limited depth of field, or shallow focus. There are some technical reasons that make the use of this technique perhaps more likely, but I wanted to explore how much of the shallow focus was prescribed by circumstance and how much was an aesthetic decision on the part of Hine.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of depth of field, it refers to the area of a photograph that remains in focus. In photographs with deep depth of field, the entire image appears sharp. With shallow depth of field, as in Hine’s pictures, only a narrow plane appears unblurred. And unlike some photographers making use of this technique to blur out the background, Hine repeatedly uses it in a way that also blurs the foreground. In Hine’s images, he is allowing for a plane of focus sometimes no deeper than a few inches.

In the image below, the grass in the foreground is blurred, and the boys’ game is captured in focus for about 6-10 ft. before falling off again.

Chateau de Grand Val, Sucy-en-Brie. Country home for refugee children from St. Sulpice… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1918 August. American National Red Cross Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.17213

In this photo, we can see that the table edge is fuzzy directly in front of the first girl’s bowl, and immediately behind her, such that her neighbor’s cup is already falling out of focus.

One of the most important occupations in life at La Jonchere. This is one of the colonies established by the Comite Franco-Americain pour la Protection des Enfants de la Frontiere… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1918 27 August. American National Red Cross Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.09027

Were limitations of the equipment Hine used responsible for the shallow focus in his photos? In the case of Hine, my research revealed he was using large format cameras (most often cited as a Graflex, and most likely to be the Press Graflex, which was produced between 1907-1925) making 4×5 inch and 5×7 inch negatives. The use of larger format negatives, like these, allows greater control over depth of field than what is possible on smaller cameras. Hine also used wide angle lenses and open apertures to capture more light (allowing a faster shutter speed that reduced blur from movement), both of which contributed to shallower depth of field.

Additionally, the Graflex cameras were advertised for the new speed and accuracy by which one could focus and make pictures. A mirrored viewer allowed the photographer to see the exact image that was coming through the lens and allowed a photographer to more quickly make images than the earlier view camera (where the photographer had to focus under a dark cloth). Hine could make last minute adjustments to get the focus he desired moments before the shutter was released. Given the capabilities of his equipment, Hine was apparently making a conscious choice to keep the focus shallow.

Comparing pairs of Hine photographs might help us think about his aesthetic choices with regard to focus:

These two photographs show groups of individuals at about the same distance from the photographer in a work setting. The youngest of his subjects have the sharper focus while the facility and equipment is blurred, yet still purposely in the frame.

Newberry Mills (S.C.) Noon hour. All are working here … Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 December. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01476

In centre is one of the young boys working underground in the Bliss Shaft of the D.L. & W. at Nanticoke, Pa. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1911 January. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01123

Both of these boys are shown at half-length, near a work environment, facing toward the photographer and centered. While one is outside and one inside, the depth of field is pretty shallow in both light situations.

Trapper Boy, Turkey Knob Mine, Macdonald, W. Va… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 October. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01070

Young Driver in Mine: Had been driving one year. (7 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Daily) Brown Mine, Brown, W. Va. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 September. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.01059

These photos show little girls of a fairly young age engaged in very different activities. The depth of field is extremely shallow in both pictures, though in the Child Labor example Hine appears to have missed his mark, as the ground directly in front of his subject is in focus, but she is not.

Renee Grouyer, “the adopted daughter” of the Intelligence Section of the Army Field Clerks, 2nd Section, GHQ, [can’t] play ball very well… Photo by Lewis Hine, 1918 August. American National Red Cross Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.17112

Little girl, apparently 6 yrs. old – but didn’t know her name or age – tending stand at Washington and 3rd St. for older sister…Hoboken, New Jersey. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1912 December. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03824

This comparison shows children in the same occupation as taken by Hine and Jacob Riis. In this Riis photo the bathroom and the newsboys are basically in focus and they are dispersed doing their washing up. In the Hine image, the newsboys are in a crowd with the foreground newsies out of focus and the center of the madness (boy crouched on the floor) very crisp.

“Washing up” in the newsboys’ lodging house. Copy of photo by Jacob Riis, ca. 1890. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a18571 (View original photograph at Museum of the City of New York)

Amusing themselves while waiting for morning papers…New York, NY. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1908 February. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.03181

Below is a pair of portraits of younger girls. Situating them side by side allows us to compare the manipulation of focus by Hine with that of his contemporary Alfred Stieglitz. In the Stieglitz photo the girl, in soft focus, is surrounded by nature with tree branches and plant stems behind her and in front of her. She does not acknowledge the photographer and there is no obvious plane of focus. In the Hine image, the girls are shown in sharp focus looking directly toward the photographer, while the world around is blurry.

Spring. Photo by Alfred Stieglitz, published in Camera Notes, 1902 Jan. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b46416

Maud Daly, five years old. Grade Daly, three years old. … Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Photo by Lewis Hine, 1911 March. National Child Labor Committee Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/nclc.00907

So what do we make of Hine’s aesthetic decisions? Why did he choose to emphasize selective focus? Does he use it differently in the two bodies of work, NCLC and ANRC? Is it photographing children that seems to provoke him to narrow his depth of field?  From biographical accounts of his life alongside the notes and captions for his photos, I tend to think it was a strong and passionate desire to humanize his subjects – to make them appear as real as they would if one was really standing there. Perhaps also he liked the idea that a “slice of a life” is brought into focus, extracting individuals with little financial import from obscurity, and bringing clarity to a messy world of industrialization and war.

Hine’s use of shallow depth of field makes his photos more compositionally interesting, but also introduces a confusion for the viewer. The photos seem to provide objective facts by virtue of their crispness, but we are constantly made aware of things falling out of that precise focus. They play on this line between documentary “honesty” and artful composition. I don’t want to call them haunting since some of them have such smiling, lively subjects, but these photos develop a sublime quality the longer you look at them. They lift their subjects up as worthy of attention. Hine’s photos exhibit a beauty despite the ominous undertones of images depicting the realities of war and the conditions endured by young workers.

Learn More:

• Explore the photographs Lewis Hine made for the National Child Labor Committee. The background and related documents provide context for this work and pointers for further research, and the “Bringing an NCLC Photo into Focus” essay discusses an example of a series of photos and their focus. The Library of Congress also has the textual records of the National Child Labor Committee – view the finding aid.
• Take a closer look at the American National Red Cross Collection photographs that have been attributed to Lewis Hine. Read up on the background of the American National Red Cross Collection.
• The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film has Lewis Hine’s personal papers and photographs. View George Eastman House’s blog entry (Sept. 26, 2012) about Hine, with links to photographs showing the photographer at work. See if you can spot the connection to one of the photos shared in this post!
• If you want to read more about how to achieve different depths of field technically, there is a lengthy article in Wikipedia, “Depth of Field,” that covers quite a bit, including equations and scientific explanations of optics.
• Enjoy a Library of Congress Blog post, “Inquiring Minds: Opening a Treasure Chest of Unfinished Stories,” highlighting the work of a researcher who became fascinated with the faces of the children in the National Child Labor Committee Collection and was inspired to trace their stories.

Autor: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Published on January 31, 2019 at 07:09PM

Снимка: Behind the Scenes: The Many Roles of a Photo Curator

Below is an interview with Micah Messenheimer, Associate Curator of Photography in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress.

Micah in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room, with Jeanine Michna-Bales portfolio titled “Through Darkness to Light.” Photo by Melissa Lindberg, 2019.

Melissa: Thanks for speaking with us. Can you start out by telling us about your background prior to working here at the Library?

Micah: Yes. I actually started out as a photographer, and I have a BFA and MFA in photography. I later returned to school for dual master’s degrees in art history and library science. Before coming to the Library of Congress I worked in the Denver Art Museum’s Photography department. My work there focused more strongly on exhibitions than my work here at the Library, although there is quite a lot of overlap in my curatorial role.

Melissa: What are your main responsibilities as a photography curator in the Prints & Photographs Division?

Micah: Curators generally have four primary responsibilities: to develop, care for, interpret, and serve the collections to the public. The Library’s collection continues to grow, and I spend a substantial amount of time working to acquire new material. In its early years, the Prints & Photographs Division acquired many materials through copyright deposit, when creators would submit their works to the Library of Congress as part of the copyright registration process. Now, most arrive as gifts—whether from collectors with whom we have a long-standing relationship, from creators, or from first-time donors—or as purchases recommended by curators. The curators work as a group to propose objects for acquisition and to shape collecting priorities.

In terms of caring for the collection, I work closely with archivists to help make decisions about housing for the materials, with reference staff to coordinate service of the materials in the reading room, and with the Library’s conservators when an object needs treatment. We also work directly with researchers when photographs have special handling needs or when knowledge of the medium would aid someone’s research.

A display arranged by Micah. Photo by Micah Messenheimer, 2019.

Interpretation of the collections is done in a variety of ways at the Library, but all encompass our public service role. For example, we have a number of displays, where I might be on hand to talk about what’s on view. Depending on the situation, these might be a small group conversation or a more formal public event with written labels, as in a museum exhibition.

My written work also takes different forms depending on the venue, whether a post for the Picture This blog, longer-term research projects, or explorations of new media formats, like Story Maps. I recently published a Story Map essay about the relationship between the building of the transcontinental railroad and the work of the photographers who advocated, surveyed, or documented its massive scope, such as John Plumbe Jr., Solomon Carvalho, Alfred Hart, and Andrew J. Russell.

Detail from Micah’s “Camera and Locomotive” Story Map, which provides an interactive experience for viewers, who can click on individual nodes to view specific images.

Melissa: You recently helped acquire an album by 19th-century photographer Andrew J. Russell for the Library – can you tell us about it?

Micah: Yes. I recently worked on acquiring a Civil War-era album by Russell that is currently being cleaned by the Conservation Division. Once treatment is complete, the entire album will be scanned and the resulting digital images will be made available online. Russell worked for the U.S. Military Railroad during the Civil War and put together albums like this for high-level officials. Initially, the military realized they could generate support for projects by making a case using photographs. By 1865, the same photographs served to memorialize the war for generals like Winfield Scott Hancock, who owned this album. While the Library holds two other disbound albums, there is only one other complete album in a public collection. The makeup of each is unique.

Trestle work (no. 2,) on City Point & Army R. R., between 1861 and 1865. Photo by Andrew J. Russell. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.08264 . Photo from one of P&P’s disbound Russell albums.

Melissa: In addition to acquiring historical materials, P&P also collects more recent works — can you provide an example?

Micah: I’m very interested in photographers who look back on historical events and provide a different view or understanding. In the picture you took of me I am looking through a recent acquisition — a portfolio by Jeanine Michna-Bales titled “Through Darkness to Light.” Michna-Bales researched direct accounts of people who had escaped slavery. While specific places are very rarely mentioned, she made photographs in landscapes that evoked what was described in these narratives.  To capture the emotional resonance of traveling along the Underground Railroad, she made all of the photos at night, the only time travel was possible without detection. The portfolio hasn’t yet been processed but researchers can contact the reading room to request an appointment to view it (see the Learn More section for more information). P&P has strong Civil War-era collections, and it can be valuable consider these images in juxtaposition with this historic material.

Learn More:

• Check out Micah’s “Camera and Locomotive” Story Map, and other Library of Congress Story Maps.
• Read Micah’s Picture This blog posts.
• View digitized images made by Andrew J. Russell.
• See this catalog record to view a description of the recently-acquired Russell album.
• Look at the description for the Michna-Bales portfolio in the online catalog, and feel free to fill out an unprocessed request form to request an appointment to view it in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room.

Autor: Melissa Lindberg
Published on January 24, 2019 at 08:08PM

Снимка: Celebrating Eleven Years in the Flickr Commons

Eleven years ago today we posted our first sets of photos in the Flickr Commons, which was created to share treasures from the world’s public archives. Thousands of pictures, views, and comments later, we’re celebrating with a new album of pictures with an “eleven-ish” connection and an invitation to participate in a tagging activity in Flickr.

Sharing pictures from our collections in Flickr has spurred lively conversations about images and the people, places, and experiences they document. Prints & Photographs Division staff have taken turns week by week reading comments from Flickr members, responding to questions, and adding new information to our image descriptions based on comments offered. Today, we decided to turn the tables and have our staff comment on some of the photos featured in our eleventh anniversary album.

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Perhaps primed by the Library of Congress’s ongoing Baseball Americana exhibit, two staff members mused about this group portrait:

The eleven of New England. Print published by Bufford, copyrighted 1851, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.00371

Kit (Digital Library Specialist):
Hallo – playing cricket in New England in 1850!  With its enormous popularity in other areas of the world with significant historical connections to England, I’ve wondered why this other ball & bat game never caught on in the U.S., and instead that baseball became the “National Pastime.”  How interesting to see this 1851 print commemorating a cricket event in 1850, not long before the first U.S. “Laws of Base Ball” was codified at the first Base Ball convention in New York City in 1857 (see “Baseball’s Magna Carta” in the Baseball Americana exhibit.)

Hanna (Reference Librarian):
I was drawn immediately to the attire and body language of the man listed as an “Umpire”. He seems to have a jovial friendship with the player next to him, plus he’s dressed in tails and top hat! It makes me wonder when the trend of dressing in your finest duds went out of style for portraits/photographs (though you still see umps today wearing ties during a match).

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Another group portrait also sparked ideas:

Three old friends. The President, Bishop Vincent and Jacob Riis taken at Chautauqua NY, August 11th 1905. Photo by Underwood and Underwood, 1905. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.39534

Hanna:
This photograph shows the power of handwritten notes and captions on our images. If this had just listed the names of the gentlemen, you would have missed the sentiment of friendship. Here, three simple words can spark a new avenue of research.

Kit:
Having learned of the unique friendship between Jacob Riis and Theodore Roosevelt from the Library of Congress Exhibit Jacob Riis – Revealing “How The Other Half Lives”, it is wonderful to see this image of the men together in their later years.  I wish that a photograph also existed of them from one of their night time forays into the slums of New York when then-Police Commissioner Roosevelt asked Riis to serve as a guide to the problems that existed for which Riis promoted changes and reforms – explorations that developed Roosevelt as an ally for Riis’ efforts, as well as sparking a life-long friendship.

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Pictures of people offer so many facets to explore visually and historically, and this one was no exception.

Four unidentified women at equal rights conference at Woman’s Party, 11/11/22. Photo by National Photo Company, 1922, Nov. 11. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.07325

As with many of our Flickr contributors, Ryan (Reference Librarian) offered us a fact that will enhance retrieval once we add it to the description:
Second from left is Alva E. Belmont. See: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92510859/

Kit noticed attire:
Cause and purpose (conferencing on Equal Rights for women) need not ignore style.  If you have a fondness for hats – this photo is for you!  I’m always amazed by images from this time period – in urban areas particularly, though not exclusively – including crowds on a street – to see most everyone in a hat.  Where did everyone keep all of these hats in their homes?  These women, clearly of some means, display a particularly fine array of completely different and wonderful hat designs.  I also appreciate the courtesy of the boot-scrapes at the bottom of the steps…

Greg (Cataloger) reflected on connections to his own family history and hopes for the future:
These women are inspiring — their work isn’t done. My mother was born without the right to vote. She’s 98. This is living memory, people!

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Pictures of places can also spur reflections about the past:

Kitchen and washroom of two room mountain shack, Route U.S. 11, a few miles east of Marshall, North Carolina. Photo by Carl Mydans, 1936 March. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a01320

Mary (Cataloger):
Photos of living spaces have always intrigued me. When I first saw this picture I asked myself: how did the residents manage to cook and wash in such a limited space? I look closer and see the small bucket holding what looks like a washboard and learn where they washed their clothes and, maybe, their dishes. I also see makeshift shelving used for storage of supplies and canned goods. I think the large table must have provided space for both meal prep and dining. Light coming in through gaps in the doorway tells me it must have been cold during the winter months. This photo speaks a lot about the fortitude and resourcefulness of the people who lived here.

Kit also did some close looking:
It’s impossible not to want to read the newspapers used to cover the walls of this simple though cared for living space – and with the high resolution image available – I’ve found a sheet on the left with the heading “ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES”, published in Asheveille, NC, about 20 miles from Marshall, NC where the photo was taken.  It feels purposeful that on the wall over the table is a full page Ad for Crisco with  enticing images of different pies!

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Places–and features of places–have potential connections to our own pasts, too:

Swampscott – Essex County, Mass.- 11 miles from Boston. Print published by Bufford, copyrighted 1871. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.03575

Arden (Cataloger):

This image of Swampscott, Massachusetts reminds me of the similar rocky shores of the neighboring town of Lynn where my father was born. His family used to gather periwinkle snails from the rocks. The coast may have reminded his mother of her hometown on the Adriatic Sea in Italy.

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And sometimes a photo just demands a quip.

Bodybuilder Gene Jantzen with wife Pat, and eleven-month-old son Kent. Photo by Stanley Kubrick, 1947 June 2. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.52059

Ryan asks:
Yeah, but what can he bench?

Do you have a reaction to these selections from our 11th anniversary album? Please feel free to share a comment. And please continue to celebrate with us by having a look at the full contents of the album. Flickr members can offer comments in Flickr and are also invited to highlight their favorite pictures from any of the more than one hundred institutions that participate in the Flickr Commons by adding the tag, Commons11.

Learn More:

• Explore our Flickr album, Flickr Commons 11th Anniversary Extravaganza—11 newly added photos and 11 previously loaded. Can you spot the “eleven” connection? (Some of the connections are subtle!)
• Read posts about some of our previous Flickr celebrations and activities.
• Sample the offerings of other Flickr Commons members. If you have a Flickr account, you can add the tag Commons11 to your favorite ones!
• Read about our Flickr project goals and findings in our overview, “Library of Congress Photos on Flickr.”

Autor: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Published on January 16, 2019 at 08:48PM

Снимка: Profiling Portraits: Family Groups in Pictures

In this latest entry in our occasional series, Profiling Portraits, I was inspired by an attempt to take a group photo during a recent family visit, as well as time spent looking through photo albums at previous years’ similar efforts. Family photos tend to evoke memories, elicit questions about older ancestors and of course provide a record of your relatives. I find it interesting to view family photos, even of families not my own, to see what they suggest about the family, about relationships between the members, about the individuals, about the time period or circumstances. Like any group portrait, but with the added factor of familial ties, family photos convey more than just the faces of those depicted!

Explore an array of photos of families large and small, some famous and some not at all, drawn from many time periods and different walks of life. In addition to exploring the details of the photos themselves, be sure to read the captions to find out more about the subject matter or the photographer, when that information is known.

(By the way, at least two of the photos below include the family dog – one is quite obvious, but can you spot the other? Answer given at the very end of the post.)

Family living on part-time farming unit at Loogootee, Wabash Farms, Indiana. Photo by Arthur Rothstein, 1938 May. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a09755

Seminole Indian and family dugout canoe, Miami, Fla. Photo copyrighted by Detroit Publishing Company between 1910 and 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a24107

Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Tsurutani and baby Bruce, Manzanar Relocation Center, California. Photo by Ansel Adams, 1943. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppprs.00251

[Harmony, a study of the Brundigee family (father, mother and child) and their musical instruments, made in the photographer’s New York City studio] Photo by Gertrude Kasebier, 1900. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.12042

Senor Celecia & family. Photo from National Photo Company Collection, 1923. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.08079

 

[Theodore Roosevelt with his wife and children.] Photo by Pach Brothers, 1903 July 13. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.35757

[African American family posed for portrait seated on lawn.] Photo collected by W.E.B. DuBois, 1899 or 1900. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.08762

[Group portrait, possibly a family, with an African American woman.] Photo by S.C. Landon, between 1860 and 1870. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.11016

Richmond, Virginia. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord, wife and child at the residence of Jefferson Davis. In the doorway is the table on which the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee was signed. Photo, 1865 April. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.02930

 

Admiral Sampson and family. Photo published by Detroit Publishing Company, between 1890 and 1901. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a15123

Robinson family. Photo, Matson Photograph Collection, between 1898 and 1946. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.06096

Family of James Strunk, farmer. Works for WPA (Works Progress Administration), earns forty-four dollars per month, drives twenty-six miles to work fourteen days per month. Car expense comes out of the forty-four dollars. Has eight children, four of them at home. Wheelock, North Dakota. Photo by Russell Lee, 1937 Oct. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b20070

Learn More:

• Many photos in the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection (including two featured in the post above) feature families or address the challenges families faced during hard times in the 1930s and 1940s. Explore thousands of photos in which the word family appears in the title in the FSA/OWI Collection.
• Revisit the previous posts in the Profiling Portraits series: Occupational Portraits of the 19th Century and The Art of the Self-Portrait.
• Inspired to learn more about your family history? Visit the Local History & Genealogy Reference Services homepage at the Library of Congress for search tips, resources and more! Also, read blog entries from various parts of the Library of Congress about family history.

(Answer: If you didn’t spot the second family dog mentioned in the opening of this post, take a very close look at the last photo. It might take downloading the high resolution TIFF file from this page to see clearly, but the family puppy is curled up in the lap of the last child on the right!)

Autor: Kristi Finefield
Published on January 11, 2019 at 04:52PM

Снимка: Caught our Eyes: Knitting Pictures

When Digital Library Specialist Anne Mitchell isn’t wrangling digital files and managing metadata, she can often be seen with her fingers flying as some beautiful new creation emerges from her knitting needles. It’s no wonder that she was particularly adept at finding images of knitters and other practitioners of textile crafts in our collections. Here, with her comments, are some that she found:

Not much information accompanied this photo of children knitting in a Prague classroom. The children appear to be making sweaters.  I like to think that schools were a place where some children were learning how to knit AND were given classroom time to work on their knitting projects!

Vinohrady (Prague) primary school knitting and crocheting for Russian aid, Prague Czecho-Slovak Junior Red Cross. Photo, American National Red Cross Collection, 1922. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.14803

Grandfather Clark does his bit, presumably in support of World War I, by knitting. This picture, which shows the granddaughter and grandfather engaged in an enjoyable and relaxing moment centered around the grandfather knitting what appears to be a sweater sleeve. Most photographs I have come across show women or girls knitting, so I especially love seeing a man who appears to be enjoying himself knitting.

(America Junior) Grandfather Clark does his bit [knitting]. American National Red Cross Collection, 1919. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.04746

That beautiful textiles are created from a simply constructed loom made from tree branches, rocks, and metal cans … wow! The weavers are seated on the ground under an open “tent.” A glimpse of the finished fabric can be seen beneath the weavers.

Bedouin women weaving. Photo by Matson Photo Service, between 1940 and 1946. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/matpc.12968

The American Red Cross collection contains more than 400 pictures documenting their work with “mutiles” (disabled persons) after World War I. This picture of a French farm couple walking “arm-in-arm” across a tilled field caught my eye. It shows the wife multi-tasking (knitting and walking) and keenly focused on her knitting, and the husband, with artificial arms, carrying a basket with contents not easy to identify.

Champcerron [i.e., Champcervon.] Ledrans going to the field, his wife knitting. American National Red Cross Photograph Collection, 1917. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.10709

People knitting while walking always catches my eye.  One of the girls is leaning on a stick which is perhaps being used as a crutch. I would like to know more about what they are knitting and how much they knit.

Serbian girls walk and knit. Peasant girls in Serbia improve each shining hour by knitting on their way to market... American National Red Cross Photograph Collection, 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/anrc.11811

Whether the results are socks, sweaters, blankets or simply well-occupied hands, we hope Anne’s pictorial finds spur appreciation for these widely-practiced traditional crafts, consideration of the pictorial possibilities photographers saw in them, and, possibly, inspiration for taking up a new hobby!

Learn More

• Perhaps because knitting and other crafts had therapeutic value, even as the resulting textiles could offer comfort to those suffering privation, the American National Red Cross Photograph Collection includes many images of knitting and allied activities–have a look, and read more about the collection.
• Explore the variety of weaving enterprises documented in the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection and read up on the photographic activities of the American Colony in Jerusalem.
• Examine the variety of people putting needles to work in “The Knitting Craze“–a double-page spread in a 1914 issue of the comic weekly, Puck. Or ponder the ways in which knitting functions as a symbol in this sampling of cartoons.
• Find two references to knitting featured in the online exhibit, World War I: American Artists View the Great War.

Autor: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Published on January 02, 2019 at 05:45PM

Снимка: The View from Above: Newly Added Photos from Carol M. Highsmith

Today we take to the air with photographer Carol M. Highsmith and journey up and down the Eastern seaboard. Over the last year, photos of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have come to the Library of Congress to be added to the ever-growing Carol M. Highsmith Archive. Highsmith’s project to document America with her camera took her through numerous states on the East Coast in the last few years, and in many states, she took to the skies to capture aerial views of the land and water below. These aerial (and some almost aerial) views are just a portion of the photos taken of these states, and the change in altitude certainly offers a new perspective. Let’s start and finish above small islands in the selected photos below, first up north in Maine and then all the way down south in Georgia!

Maine:

An October 2017 aerial view of the Cape Neddick Lighthouse, better known as the “Nubble Light,” off Wells, Maine. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Oct. 18. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.46611

An October 2017 aerial view of the terrain, somewhat away from the Maine coastline between Kennebunkport and Old Orchard, Maine. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Oct. 18. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.46574

New Hampshire:

Aerial view of a portion of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Maine, right, lies across the Piscataqua River. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Oct. 18. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.48361

Vermont: Highsmith stayed on the ground in Vermont, but still captured some breathtaking vistas, such as the one below:

View of Lake Champlain, the large lake that separates Vermont and New York State, from Shelburne, Vermont. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Sept. 27. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.45993

New Jersey:

Beaches on the New Jersey shore in Margate City, New Jersey, home to Lucy the Elephant. Lucy the Elephant is a six-story elephant-shaped example of novelty architecture, constructed of wood and tin sheeting in 1881 by James V. Lafferty in Margate City, New Jersey, two miles south of Atlantic City. Today, Lucy is the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Aug. 9. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.44826

Marsh area at the New Jersey shore near Atlantic City. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 Aug. 9. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.45416

North Carolina:

Aerial view of the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, a northern suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 May 26. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.43329

And while this is not technically an aerial view, it certainly has that feeling as we look down on the world from Beech Mountain, known as the highest town east of the Rocky Mountains!

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the town of Beech Mountain, at 5,506 feet altitude, which is the highest town east of the Rocky Mountains. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 June 2. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.43383

South Carolina:

Aerial view of beach homes along the Atlantic Ocean coast on Fripp Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 May 1. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.42970

Aerial view of the grounds at Middleton Place, a historic plantation in Dorchester County, South Carolina, near Charleston. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 May 1. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.43032

Georgia:

An aerial view of Savannah, Georgia. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 May 26. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.43491

Aerial view of Tybee Island, Georgia. Tybee is a barrier island in Chatham County, near Savannah. It is the easternmost point in Georgia. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2017 May 26. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.43593

 

Learn More:

• Explore all the states featured so far in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive using the browse by places list or just search in the archive for your state!
• View the newly added photos from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia now available online in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.
• Read a previous Picture This post all about newly added photos of Wyoming: Wide Open Spaces of Wyoming: Newly Added Photos from Carol M. Highsmith
• Although the Prints & Photographs Division does not have any systematic aerial surveys of the United States (or other countries), some fine examples can be found in the collections – here’s a sampling!

Autor: Kristi Finefield
Published on December 26, 2018 at 06:00PM