The Library of Congress is posting thousands of photos from their archives on Flickr, and the site's users are helping to identify and catalog them as well as do research and link them to related materials. For example, when this photo, labeled simply "Wreckage of new library building, Indianapolis", was posted, most assumed that it was of a tornado's aftermath. Further investigation by a user revealed a much more interesting story. The user linked the photo to this New York Times article from November 21, 1912, which shows that the public library in Indianapolis was probably dynamited by International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Ironworkers members in retaliation for the use of non-union builders in the building's construction.
Other photos from the LOC collection are attracting attention because of their rarity. For instance, a large group of color photos from the Great Depression is quite popular, since most people are only familiar with black and white images from that era. The LOC currently has more than 3,000 photos on Flickr and plans to add more soon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment