Snapshots of the Past

Laundry, Library of Congress, [Washington, D.C.] – Vintage Print

Laundry, Library of Congress, [Washington, D.C.], [1919 or 1920] — historic photograph
Laundry, Library of Congress, [Washington, D.C.], [1919 or 1920]. Historic photograph from the Library of Congress collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Laundry, Library of Congress, [Washington, D.C.] comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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Laundry, Library of Congress, [Washington, D.C.]

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Few details survive about this scene beyond its title, "Laundry," and a Washington, D.C., location, so it is best read as a window onto everyday commercial life in the city around 1919 or 1920. The National Photo Company, which made the negative, sent photographers across the capital in those years to document its streets, businesses and workers, and laundries of the period were busy places where steam, heavy equipment and manual labor kept the work moving. The glass plate itself shows streaks and blemishes from the slow breakdown of its original coating, which give the image a mottled, aged quality. Its title came from notes added to the negative later, so it may not describe the scene exactly.

Created / published[1919 or 1920]
Medium1 negative : glass ; 8 x 6 in.
GenreGlass negatives.
NotesTitle from unverified data provided by the National Photo Company on the negative or negative sleeve. Date from negatives in same range. Gift; Herbert A. French; 1947. This glass negative might show streaks and other blemishes resulting from a natural deterioration in the original coatings. Temp. note: Batch six.
SubjectsUnited States--District of Columbia--Washington (D.C.)
SourceLibrary of Congress, National Photo Company Collection
Original scan6,949 × 5,314 px · prints to 23 × 18 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-NPC-258072

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