Snapshots of the Past

Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years. Washington, D.C., Jan. 8. With a fall of 5.2 inches of snow, Washingtonians awoke this morning to find their Capital blanketed by the heaviest snowfall since 1938. This is a scene on Capitol Hill – Vintage Print

Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years. Washington, D.C., Jan. 8. With a fall of 5.2 inches of snow, Washingtonians awoke this morning to find their Capital blanketed by the heaviest snowfall since 1938. This is a scene on Capitol Hill, [19]39 January 8. — historic photograph
Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years. Washington, D.C., Jan. 8. With a fall of 5.2 inches of snow, Washingtonians awoke this morning to find their Capital blanketed by the heaviest snowfall since 1938. This is a scene on Capitol Hill, [19]39 January 8.. Historic photograph from the U.S. Capitol 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 Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years. Washington, D.C., Jan. 8. With a fall of 5.2 inches of snow, Washingtonians awoke this morning to find their Capital blanketed by the heaviest snowfall since 1938. This is a scene on Capitol Hill. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years. Washington, D.C., Jan. 8. With a fall of 5.2 inches of snow, Washingtonians awoke this morning to find their Capital blanketed by the heaviest snowfall since 1938. This is a scene on Capitol Hill

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Snow on Capitol Hill is the particular subject here: a January 8, 1939 scene after a fall of 5.2 inches, which the original caption said was the heaviest snowfall in Washington since 1938. The Harris & Ewing studio, a Washington portrait and news photography firm that documented the city for decades, made the glass negative, so the image records a routine street-level view of the Capitol grounds under a fresh blanket of snow. Winter storms like this one brought the federal city to a halt, closing offices and snarling traffic, and the photographers of the period often turned such moments into newsworthy pictures for the papers.

Created / published[19]39 January 8.
Medium1 negative : glass ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller
GenreGlass negatives.
NotesTitle from unverified caption data received with the Harris & Ewing Collection. Gift; Harris & Ewing, Inc. 1955. note: Batch five.
SubjectsUnited States--District of Columbia--Washington (D.C.).
SourceLibrary of Congress, Harris & Ewing Collection
Original scan3,997 × 5,006 px · prints to 13 × 17 in at 300 dpi
Reference27952u Washington whitened by heaviest snowfall in two years.

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