Library of Congress, Wash., D.C. (Main Bldg): Decorations. Ethnological Heads – Vintage Print
(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
This rare historic photograph captures Library of Congress, Wash., D.C. (Main Bldg): Decorations. Ethnological Heads in remarkable detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
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Library of Congress, Wash., D.C. (Main Bldg): Decorations. Ethnological Heads
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Few details of the Library's Main Building were as striking as its carved "ethnological heads," a set of sculpted faces meant to represent different human types. This photograph records that decorative work, which was part of the ornamental program of the building, completed in 1897 and now known as the Thomas Jefferson Building. Such heads reflected the late nineteenth-century interest in classifying peoples by physical type, a view that later generations have rightly rejected. The record does not give a date, and its catalog tags also point to architectural drawings and lamps, so it likely documents the building's interior during construction or early use.
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
|---|---|
| Notes | [no date recorded on caption card] |
| Subjects | This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Arch.--Drawings & plans; Lamps; DC, Wash.--L of C Construction; Shelf. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,070 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-133371 |
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