Amazing collection

March 7, 2002 2:25 PM

Amazing collection of information on Folklife in Florida between 1937-1942. Audio files are stunning. They were originally recorded (with a portable acetate cutter!) by Zora Neal Hurston and Stetson Kennedy, working for the WPA. Does anyone else have other favorite Library of Congress sites? first heard about on npr last week.
posted by anathema (12 comments total)

Already covered on Metafilter, but those early 1900's color photographs are still amazing.
posted by alan at 2:39 PM on March 7, 2002

ERRRRRRR. I searched. I swear.
posted by anathema at 2:41 PM on March 7, 2002

I remember that post. I really just wanted turn people on to this fantastic music.
posted by anathema at 2:45 PM on March 7, 2002

anathema, I think alan's just pointing to another LoC collection already discussed on mefi. My favorite collection is, of course, THOMAS, since I work there.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:46 PM on March 7, 2002

I always forget that THOMAS is so easy to use. I get spoiled by LEXIS and Westlaw, but forget they are not always the easiest to use. thanks MrMoonPie.
posted by anathema at 2:48 PM on March 7, 2002

oh this is a great site. [Library of Congress]
I had visited it last year while working on Internet Law topics at school, and was reading journals written by people immigrating to and across the US.
worth a look, is the section on Geography, where you can look at old maps of the US and see really interesting old panoramic photos.
Panoramic Maps Collections [late 19th and early 20th century]
Revolution Era Maps
from what I understand, much in the archives: films, media, music, writing, and pictures may be in the public domain [check first on specific items]
posted by qui at 2:57 PM on March 7, 2002

the daguerreotype collection is pretty nice.
posted by kliuless at 3:03 PM on March 7, 2002

Don't overlook the Lomax Recordings, which through being sampled by Moby form much of the basis of Play (the only album known to have licensed all its tracks for commercials, selling more albums than by radio play), and clearly stimulated the film and album O Brother Where Art Thou? -- which was the album of the year, stomping almost everything else done by the industry.

A fiscally Keynesian ne plus ultra, the WPA reverberates today in American life.
posted by dhartung at 4:48 PM on March 7, 2002

i love these two:
selections from the federal theatre project and
photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945.
posted by grabbingsand at 4:48 PM on March 7, 2002

Great post! I'm a big fan of American folk music, so I've known about all the great recordings that the Library of Congress has made over the years, but I had no idea that they were available online. This is going to keep me entertained for many, many hours. Thanks!
posted by skwm at 6:25 PM on March 7, 2002

I like the way you can zoom in on the panoramic maps.

If you like the Lomax Recordings, it's worth visiting the site of Alan Lomax, John & Ruby's son.
posted by liam at 7:14 PM on March 7, 2002

Wonderful stuff, thanks.
posted by ceiriog at 1:22 AM on March 8, 2002