Sunday

Snapshots of one of the largest libraries in the world

We dive into the Library of Congress of the United States of America

Unverified translation

The city of Saint Louis / sketched and drawn on stone by Parsons and Atwater. 1874 — The city of Saint Louis as drawn by Parsons and Atwater in 1874. Currier & Ives/ Library of Congress

Sunday

Xavier Bertral

23/08/2025

8 images

BarcelonaFounded in 1800, the Library of Congress houses more than 178 million documents, including photographs. These unique collections depict the country's living conditions and traditions.

Stereographic photographs — 1 de 8 Centennial Photographic Co./ Library of Congress

Stereographic photographs

The photograph shows the torch and part of the Statue of Liberty's arm, displayed at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Stereographic photographs consist of two nearly identical photographs, paired to produce the illusion of a single, three-dimensional image, usually when viewed. The Library of Congress contains such images from the 1850s through the 1920s.

In time of war — 2 de 8 Marjory Collins/ Library of Congress

In time of war

A dock worker in Oswego, New York, is photographed by Marjory Collins for an Office of War Information publication in 1944.

Brooklyn 1851 — 3 de 8 Guerber & Co/ Library of Congress

Brooklyn 1851

Aerial view of New York City and Brooklyn with Battery Park and Governors Island in the foreground, 1851

The port of New York — 4 de 8 Gordon Parks/ Library of Congress

The port of New York

Dock workers loading crates of fish onto trucks for shipment to New York retailers, in a May 1943 photograph.

The streets — 5 de 8 Angelo Rizzuto/ Library of Congress

The streets

Workers cutting metal pipes to install new water, gas, and sewage systems in a New York neighborhood.

A collection to document folk music — 6 de 8 Lomax Collection/ library of Congress

A collection to document folk music

One of the 400 photographs taken during the sound recording expeditions conducted by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax, between 1934 and approximately 1950 for the Folk Song Archive. In this archive, they documented American folk music to create an archive. The photographs, which they also made, depict African American, Mexican American, and white musicians, singers, and dancers, primarily in the American South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) and the Bahamas (Nassau, Andros Island). In addition to the portraits, the images show musicians performing in a variety of settings: at home, in concert, and while performing outdoor prison labor.

Child labor — 7 de 8 The National Child Labor Committee/ Library of Congress

Child labor

Working as a research photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine documented the working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. NCLC photographs are useful for the study of labor, reform movements, children, working-class families, industrial and agricultural education, and other aspects of urban and rural life in early 20th-century America. The collection consists of over 5,100 photographic prints and 355 glass negatives, donated to the Library of Congress, along with NCLC records, in 1954 by Mrs. Gertrude Folks Zimand, acting for the NCLC in her capacity as executive director.

The National Photo Company — 8 de 8 National Photo Company/ Library of Congress

The National Photo Company

The National Photo Company's extraordinary collection documents virtually every aspect of life in Washington, D.C., during the administrations of Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. It produced photo sets on popular subjects and special photographic commissions for local businesses and government agencies. The images date from approximately 1850 to 1945; the majority were created between 1909 and 1932. The National Photo Company's photographic archives, which include approximately 80,000 images, were acquired by the Herbert E. French Library in 1947.

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