Posts Tagged Library of Congress
Library of Congress Digital Archives: Cab Calloway (1947)
Posted by admin in Music, photography on March 27, 2011
If you have never visited it before, you might enjoy exploring the digital collections from the Library of Congress. I recently discovered this in the William P. Gottlieb Collection.
William P. Gottlieb's 1947 Portrait of Cab Calloway
You have to love the caption from the publication, Down Beat, where this originally ran. “Down Beat: Dizzy may play be-bop, but Cab Calloway wears it. The king of hi-de-ho poses backstage at the Strand theater in his be-bop suit, much more conservative than his previous zoot costumes. It is blue serge, no drape, no shape, just a belt in the back, pearl buttons and a hunk of watch chain”
Why I Love the Library of Congress: Marx Brothers
April 1921 Marx Brothers Item
Every once and awhile I write a post that suggests ways to appreciate where our (if you’re U.S. based like myself) taxes go. The Library of Congress is a fine example of our taxes being used in a delightful (to me, at least) manner.
On New Year’s Eve, TCM aired a Marx Brothers marathon. For whatever reason, seeing the films again (I grew up in the 1970s in a family that made you respect the Marx Brothers from birth) made me wonder: “What kind of documents does the Library of Congress have on the Marx Brothers?”
A quick search turned up this collection of Library of Congress details. What really caught my attention, though, was an April 10, 1921 New York Tribune piece covering the Marx Brothers first film (which was lost seemingly forever, after only one public screening), Humor Risk. As noted by IMDb, the silent film was written by Jo Swerling, who would go on to write Pennies from Heaven, The Pride of the Yankees, and It’s A Wonderful Life. The Marx Brothers would not make another film until 1929′s The Cocoanuts.
To Watch: Library of Congress 1899 Film of Automobile Parade
Posted by admin in streaming video on July 2, 2010
I love when I discover that the Library of Congress has posted archival film dating back to 1899 on YouTube. Here’s one example, with the Library of Congress’s detailed information after the clip.
“This may be the first annual automobile parade, held on November 4, 1899 in downtown Manhattan. At least ten different makes and models are seen, including electric and steam powered machines. Only three years earlier, in 1896, Henry Ford, Charles Brady King, Alexander Winton and Ransom Eli Olds had each introduced their gasoline cars. In 1900, the first National Auto Show was held at Madison Square Garden and the favorites were the electrics and the steamers. In 1901, new oil fields in Texas made gasoline affordable. That same year, mass production techniques were introduced into car manufacturing. These two factors would prove to be key developments in the rapid growth of the American automobile industry.”
Library of Congress: Color Photos from the 1940s
Posted by admin in photography on June 22, 2010
I think I may start doing a weekly series where I pull from the Library of Congress photos. They have a Flickr stream, but that just scratches the surface.
Spreading fertilizer from 4-mule team wagon, Georgia
This photo, according to the Library of Congress notes, was taken by “Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-, photographer … ca. 1940″
Library of Congress: Bob Hope
Apparently late last year and earlier this year, the Library of Congress devoted an exhibit to the work of Bob Hope.
The Library has cataloged Hope’s Joke Files. I am not kidding. Consider this statistic:
“The complete Bob Hope Joke File — more than 85,000 pages — has been digitally scanned and indexed according to the categories used by Bob Hope for presentation in the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment.”
85,000 pages. I love how my tax dollars are spent in situations like this one. I’m serious: this is great.
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