[The Library of Congress when it was located in the U.S. Capitol, with Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian, standing on extreme right, looking at paper. The man on left holding lamp is David Hutcheson, assistant Librarian, and man identified as Robert S. Tharin, 6th Auditor of the Treasury in 1891, is seated at table] / W. Bengough, 1897. – Vintage Print
![[The Library of Congress when it was located in the U.S. Capitol, with Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian, standing on extreme right, looking at paper. The man on left holding lamp is David Hutcheson, assistant Librarian, and man identified as Robert S. Tharin, 6th Auditor of the Treasury in 1891, is seated at table] / W. Bengough, 1897., [drawn in 1897; reproduction made in 1939] — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/5b/5bf5307d0f57-L.webp)
(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 [The Library of Congress when it was located in the U.S. Capitol, with Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian, standing on extreme right, looking at paper. The man on left holding lamp is David Hutcheson, assistant Librarian, and man identified as Robert S. Tharin, 6th Auditor of the Treasury in 1891, is seated at table] / W. Bengough, 1897.. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
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[The Library of Congress when it was located in the U.S. Capitol, with Ainsworth R. Spofford, Librarian, standing on extreme right, looking at paper. The man on left holding lamp is David Hutcheson, assistant Librarian, and man identified as Robert S. Tharin, 6th Auditor of the Treasury in 1891, is seated at table] / W. Bengough, 1897.
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Tucked into the Capitol's crowded quarters, the Library of Congress appears in this scene drawn by W. Bengough in 1897, with Librarian Ainsworth R. Spofford at far right, studying a sheet of paper. Assistant librarian David Hutcheson holds a lamp beside him, while Robert S. Tharin, sixth Auditor of the Treasury in 1891, sits at a table. The library had outgrown those rooms, and its collection was moving to the new Jefferson Building that same year, so the picture captures the close of an era. Harper's Weekly printed the image in black and white in February 1897, and this hand-colored version is a reproduction made in 1939.
| Created / published | [drawn in 1897; reproduction made in 1939] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print : hand-colored. |
| Genre | Photographic prints Hand-colored 1930-1940. |
| Notes | Reproduction of watercolor by W. Bengough, 1897. Published in black-and-white in Harper's weekly, Feb. 27, 1897, p. 201. |
| Subjects | Spofford, Ainsworth Rand,--1825-1908. Tharin, Robert S. United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)--1890-1900. Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.)--1890-1900. Reading rooms--Washington (D.C.)--1890-1900. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,448 × 1,147 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-219344 |
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