Comments on: Feast your eyes

Feast your eyes

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 11:58:35 -0800

Search early 20th Century news photos. Welcome to the Library of Congress' new George Grantham Bain Collection: the extensive files of one of America's earliest news picture agencies. Some favorites after a morning spent perusing just a small number of the 50kish pics: The Whiteman Submarine Band, a fire truck heading to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, the flowers at Wilbur Wright's funeral, Ignaz Hildebrandt dead in Union Square, Theatre marquee, a fire in NYC, midday crowd in Union Square, Penn station on a Sunday, suffragettes......and many more.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 11:58:45 -0800

Best part? Most can be downloaded for free uncompressed.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:22:19 -0800

One more: Celebrity reporters outside a society wedding (olde timey paparazzi).

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:24:44 -0800

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. Thank you!

By: banishedimmortal

banishedimmortal — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:30:25 -0800

I like this one and this one Thanks

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:32:25 -0800

Very cool!

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:32:45 -0800

Hell of a snowmobile.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:36:46 -0800

These must have looked so cool in the sky.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:37:34 -0800

Except, you know, when this happened.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 12:41:54 -0800

subway fire.

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:01:06 -0800

I loves me some flapper hawtness. Yum! P.S. Thanks for killing my productivity, CL.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:02:06 -0800

Good use of tax dollars. (really, I mean it)

By: zsazsa

zsazsa — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:05:23 -0800

This is a shining example of why we need a healthy public domain. Kudos!

By: Gungho

Gungho — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:12:32 -0800

So how does one let them know that they have mis-identified one of the photos? This one is not Fenway Park.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:13:40 -0800

Sad: both Penn station and Gimbels are gone now. But how gorgeous it was.

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:14:20 -0800

everytime i see p[hotos like these i think to myself...maybe i was born in the wrong decade. but then i come to metafilter...

By: Floydd

Floydd — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:17:16 -0800

O.K., so who the hell was Ignaz Hildebrandt?? Anybody have a clue??

By: keswick

keswick — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:17:50 -0800

[this is fucking awesome]

By: mkhall

mkhall — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:47:06 -0800

Just amazing. There goes the rest of my day...

By: Floydd

Floydd — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:48:39 -0800

I dunno, Gungho. It looks to be the New York Giants playing the Red Sox. The Giants had Jeff Tesreau pitching and Chief Meyers catching in 1912, and Boston had Joe Wood and Hick Cady. (Their names are on the board in the center of the picture) Aha! It's a World Series game! Could it be Polo Grounds IV?? This is fun! Now who the hell was Ignaz Hildebrandt???

By: ryanshepard

ryanshepard — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:51:00 -0800

O.K., so who the hell was Ignaz Hildebrandt?? Hildebrandt was one of two people killed in the bombing of a Socialist rally in NYC's Union Square on 3/28/08.

By: Floydd

Floydd — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:00:05 -0800

Thanks, ryanshepard, but the picture tells me all I need to know about the dead Ignaz. I'm curious about him when he was alive.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:36:33 -0800

It is fast too.

By: ducksauce

ducksauce — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:07:54 -0800

Free Coffee At Bowery Mission For Unemployed What a bleak scene... interesting that this was before paper cups, though. Someone must have volunteered to carefully wash out all the mugs, too.

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:09:50 -0800

Good use of tax dollars. (really, I mean it). Yeah. Visiting the Library of Congress for the first time this winter, I wanted to fall to my knees in gratitude. It's the kind of thing that makes you say: This is what a civil society is for.

By: ducksauce

ducksauce — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:19:56 -0800

Okay, a few more. Here's a great picture of Tammany Hall. Philadelphia MeFites might enjoy these three pictures picture of Mummers from 1909 And this is a great picture of the newly reconstructed Grand Central Terminal before it was crowded by skyscrapers. I can't tell you how much I loved this post.

By: rafter

rafter — Tue, 02 May 2006 16:54:38 -0800

CunningLinguist: "Penn station on a Sunday" I don't know if this was a joke, but it's actually a shot of a crowd awaiting Billy Sunday's arrival. The station is not typically that crowded on weekends.

By: crunchland

crunchland — Tue, 02 May 2006 17:04:20 -0800

I loves me some flapper hawtness. Careful. They're old enough to be your (great) grandmother. In fact, they just might be your (great) grandmother.

By: ryanshepard

ryanshepard — Tue, 02 May 2006 17:51:00 -0800

Thanks, ryanshepard, but the picture tells me all I need to know about the dead Ignaz. I'm curious about him when he was alive. The New York Times reported the next day that Hildebrandt was a tailor, lived on 133rd St., and was apparently not involved in the plot - just standing next to the accused bomber when the bomb exploded prematurely. He apparently died instantly. No details beyond that, though.

By: vetiver

vetiver — Tue, 02 May 2006 18:15:35 -0800

CL, if the GDP drops this quarter, it's your fault. So very fabulous, all of it. Thanks!

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 02 May 2006 18:19:20 -0800

Really, really awesome post. Café de Colombia?

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 02 May 2006 18:56:05 -0800

WooHoo! Great resource...thanks! I'm so much happier when my taxes turn out to support something useful.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Tue, 02 May 2006 18:58:34 -0800

It's fun to print the HQ versions of these on 8x10's at your handy internet photo place. Good decoration.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Tue, 02 May 2006 19:36:58 -0800

I don't know if this was a joke Um, no. Just me being a moron, sorry. I'd never heard of Billy Sunday. Thought it was just a cutesy caption.

By: Gungho

Gungho — Tue, 02 May 2006 20:02:54 -0800

Yes Ffllooyydd it is the Polo grounds IV. I see this photo http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/I?ils:13:./temp/~pp_qfJE::displayType=1:m856sd=ggbain:m856sf=13274:@@@mdb=ggbain

By: Floydd

Floydd — Wed, 03 May 2006 06:15:05 -0800

Thanks, ryanshepard, that's just what I was wondering. And good eye, Gungho! I know nothing about baseball but was inspired to research the photo based on your callout. Thanks for the memories, CunningLinguist.

By: Floydd

Floydd — Wed, 03 May 2006 07:58:08 -0800

John Schrank in Milwaukee. (I'm addicted.)

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:20:18 -0800

Temporary file open error. Display failed. Dang it, stop abusing the server, I wants in too!

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:21:10 -0800

Ha! Smoking Monkey