Snapshots of the Past

[Stacks of documents in Patent Office, Washington, D.C.] – Vintage Print

[Stacks of documents in Patent Office, Washington, D.C.], [between 1909 and 1932] — historic photograph
[Stacks of documents in Patent Office, Washington, D.C.], [between 1909 and 1932]. Historic photograph from the Washington DC 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

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [Stacks of documents in Patent Office, Washington, D.C.]. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

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[Stacks of documents in Patent Office, Washington, D.C.]

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Rows of bound records and filed documents rise in this view of the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C., a reminder of how much paper the nation's inventions generated. The Patent Office, housed in the Greek Revival building on F Street, had accumulated an enormous archive of applications, specifications and drawings by the early twentieth century, and its shelves served as a working record of American ingenuity. The National Photo Company, a Washington firm that photographed the city's government buildings and institutions, made the picture sometime between 1909 and 1932. Its view of the stacks shows the sheer volume of paperwork behind every patent granted.

Created / published[between 1909 and 1932]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1900-1940.
NotesNational Photo Company Collection. No. 36516.
SubjectsUnited States.--Patent Office--Facilities--1900-1940. Documents--1900-1940. Interiors--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1940.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,276 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-184929

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