type: collection

visibility: public

title: Bain News Service photograph collection

text:
The George Grantham Bain Collection represents the photographic files of one of America's earliest news picture agencies. The collection richly documents sports events, theater, celebrities, crime, strikes, disasters, political activities including the woman suffrage campaign, conventions and public celebrations. The photographs Bain produced and gathered for distribution through his news service were worldwide in their coverage, but there was a special emphasis on life in New York City. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1900s to the mid-1920s, but scattered images can be found as early as the 1860s and as late as the 1930s.
Available online are 39,744 glass negatives and a selection of about 1,600 photographic prints for which copy negatives exist. This represents all of the glass plate negatives the Library holds and a small proportion of the 50,000 photographic prints in the collection. The Library purchased the collection in 1948 from D.J. Culver. (Bain also deposited photographs for copyright during his career; photographs clearly acquired by the Library of Congress through copyright deposit are generally considered outside the scope of the George Grantham Bain Collection.)

accessType: digital

approvalStatus: Pending


title: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information photograph collection

referenceType: other

accessType: hybrid


title: Fenton, Roger, 1819-1869. Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection


title: Panoramic photographs

text:
Contains approximately four thousand images featuring American cityscapes, landscapes, and group portraits. The images date from 1851 to 1991 and depict scenes in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. More than twenty foreign countries and a few U.S. territories are also represented. These panoramas average between twenty-eight inches and six feet in length, with an average width of ten inches.

These panoramas offer an overview of the nation, its enterprises and its interests, with a focus on the start of the twentieth century when the panoramic photo format was at the height of its popularity. Subject strengths include: agricultural life; beauty contests; disasters; engineering work such as bridges, canals and dams; fairs and expositions; military and naval activities, especially during World War I; the oil industry; schools and college campuses; sports; and transportation.

A more detailed description of some collection subject strengths with examples is provided below:

Background and Scope

The Library of Congress' large collection of panoramas was formed mainly during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when many photographers submitted copies of their works to the Library for copyright protection. Around 1900, panoramic photography was practiced primarily by commercial photographers. More than four hundred photographers are represented in the collection. Postcards and magazines reproduced panoramas as advertisements for real estate and the promotion of the tourist industry. Panoramic photographs were also popular as portrait souvenirs for people attending conventions, conferences, and company events. Shortly after a group was photographed or "panographed" (a term used by some panoramic photographers) the panorama would be displayed and orders would be taken for copies. Large group portraits almost certainly guaranteed many sales. See also Shooting a Panoramic Photograph and A Brief History of Panoramic Photography.

A few commercial photography studios still specialize in panoramic photography. Additionally, many photographers currently use the panoramic format as a means of artistic expression. See also Selected Photographers.

Panoramic photographs typically have a length that is at least twice as long as the panorama's width. Most panoramas in this Web site measure more than twenty-eight inches in length, since these items are particularly difficult to handle. Panoramas can also be much shorter or longer. Josef Sudek's view of the Elbe River is only five and one-half inches long. John Dick's view of Penniman, Virginia, measures seventeen feet in length (Due to research interest in George R. Lawrence's work, all of the Library's Lawrence photographs have been included regardless of size.) There are also a few vertical panoramas in the collection such as, "Reflections, Santa Barbara Mission." Dimensions, rounded off to the nearest half-inch, are provided for the image area of the panoramas, exclusive of borders or mounts. [view biographical information on George R. Lawrence].

In order to faithfully reflect the wide variety of photographic processes represented in the collection, the images were copied for this electronic surrogate in color. Mounted panoramas were filmed to show the entire mount. Decades ago, the Library cut many of its panoramas in two or more sections and mounted them on linen in order to fold the images and store them in boxes. These vertical fold-lines can be seen in the digital reproductions.

Subject strengths and examples:

Cityscapes and city life: Main Streets activities in both small towns and large cities; popular tourist attractions, such as capitols and plazas; and documentation of how cities change over time. Some of these urban development images can be found in the special presentation showing selected views of particular cities.

Landscapes: Glaciers, lakes & ponds, mountains, rivers.

Group portraits: Students; picnics; celebrations; bathing beauties; conventions, such as the National Democratic Convention in Houston, Texas, 1928, the Fifteenth Annual Convention of the Anti-Saloon League of America and the National Association For the Advancement of Colored People; fire fighters shown with their equipment; religious groups.

Agricultural life: Traditional farms, an experimental farm in North Dakota, and an ostrich farm in Arizona, ranches, dairies, orchards, cotton plantations, and livestock parades.

Disasters: Earthquakes; Fires; Floods; aeronautical accidents, railroad accidents, and shipwrecks; cyclones, hurricanes, storms, and tornadoes.

Education: Colleges and schools, including those that provide education for groups such as children, the deaf, Indians, and women. Also those with a military or a religious affiliation.

Engineering works: extensive documentation on the construction of the Panama canal; bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge and a dedication ceremony for a concrete bridge in Red Jacket, Minnesota; tunnels; and dams.

Fairs and expositions: County and state fairs and world's fairs, especially the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1914.

Industrial scenes: the oil industry, including Goose Creek Oil Field in Texas; mining scenes, including the Mohawk Mine, Goldfield, Nevada; the steel industry, including Pennsylvania Steel Co.; and the lumber industry.

Military activities and facilities: views of training schools, such as West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy; a Liberty Loan parade in Norfolk, Virginia; and military camps, including a cavalry camp in Fort Riley, Kansas, and naval scenes including the United States fleet and battleships.

Performing arts: Bands and concerts, including a dress parade at Wenonah Academy; and theaters, including the cast of Kismet and Sarah Bernhardt.

Sports scenes: baseball, football, automobile racing, horse racing, golf, tennis, bowling, boxing, and rowing.

Transportation: Airplanes, Biplanes, seaplanes, and airships; automobiles and motorcycles; horses; railroad scenes; and many ships and boats, including canoes, rowboats, and steamboats with stern and side wheelers.


title: Photochrom Print Collection


title: Prokudin-Gorskii Collection

text:
Колекція Сергій Михайлович Прокудін-Горський містить кольорові фотографічні зйомки територій тодішньої Російської імперії, виконані приблизно у 1905–1915 роках. Це один із найвизначніших ранніх проєктів кольорової документальної фотографії у світі.

Серед 2 607 окремих зображень часто трапляються такі теми:
	•	портрети людей різних національностей і соціальних станів
	•	релігійна архітектура
	•	історичні пам’ятки
	•	промисловість і сільське господарство
	•	будівництво інфраструктури
	•	сцени вздовж річкових і залізничних маршрутів
	•	краєвиди міст і сіл

Прокудін-Горський був не лише фотографом, а й ученим. У 1909–1915 роках він реалізував масштабний кольоровий документальний проєкт, використовуючи метод трикольорової зйомки зі скляними негативами. У 1948 році колекцію придбала Бібліотека Конгресу у синів фотографа.

📂 Формати представлених матеріалів

Онлайн-колекція відображає спадщину Прокудіна-Горського у кількох форматах:
	•	Скляні негативи — 1 902 чорно-білі трикадрові зображення, створені за допомогою кольоророздільних фільтрів.
	•	Сепійні відбитки — 705 фотографій, для яких скляні негативи не збереглися (відтворені з авторських альбомів).
	•	Альбомні сторінки — усі 2 433 сепійні відбитки з підписами.
	•	Сучасні кольорові композити (2004) — 1 902 цифрові зображення, створені зі скляних негативів.
	•	Сучасні кольорові рендери (2000–2001, 2005–2022) — 1 380 цифрових файлів, оброблених із використанням сучасних технологій реконструкції кольору.

🎨 Історичне значення

Колекція є унікальним свідченням багатонаціонального, культурного та соціального розмаїття початку ХХ століття. Вона документує архітектуру, традиції, побут і промисловий розвиток регіонів, що сьогодні входять до складу багатьох незалежних держав.

Проєкт Прокудіна-Горського вважається одним із перших масштабних прикладів кольорової фотографії як інструменту історичної документації.

text:
The Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii Collection features color photographic surveys of the vast Russian Empire made between ca. 1905 and 1915. Frequent subjects among the 2,607 distinct images include people, religious architecture, historic sites, industry and agriculture, public works construction, scenes along water and railway transportation routes, and views of villages and cities. An active photographer and scientist, Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) undertook most of his ambitious color documentary project from 1909 to 1915. The Library of Congress purchased the collection from the photographer's sons in 1948.

The online collection presents Prokudin-Gorskii's vision and legacy in several image formats:
- Glass negatives: 1,902 b&w triple-frame images made with color separation filters
- Sepia-tone prints: 705 photos for which no glass negatives exist (reproduced from Prokudin-Gorskii's albums)
- Album pages showing all 2,433 sepia-tone prints and captions
- Modern color composites: 1,902 digital images made from the glass negatives in 2004
- Modern color renderings: 1,380 digital files made from the glass negatives in 2000-2001 and 2005-2022.


title: Winokur-Munblit Collection of the Russian Empire Postcards


title: World Digital Library

text:
🇺🇦 Про колекцію World Digital Library

Ця колекція містить матеріали культурної спадщини, зібрані в межах проєкту World Digital Library (WDL). До неї входять тисячі об’єктів, наданих партнерськими установами з усього світу, а також матеріали з фондів Бібліотека Конгресу.

Оригінальний сайт World Digital Library (нині збережений у вебархіві Бібліотеки Конгресу) та всі описи були перекладені з англійської ще шістьма мовами: іспанською, португальською, французькою, арабською, російською та китайською. Кожен запис містить розширений опис, підготовлений установою-партнером і доповнений дослідниками WDL для пояснення культурного й історичного значення об’єкта.

До колекції входять книги, рукописи, карти, газети, журнали, гравюри, фотографії, аудіозаписи та фільми. Матеріали представлені мовами оригіналу — загалом понад 100 мов, включно з малопоширеними та такими, що перебувають під загрозою зникнення. Усі метадані доступні для завантаження у вигляді відкритого набору даних.

🌍 Історія створення

Проєкт було офіційно започатковано у 2009 році за ініціативи Бібліотеки Конгресу США за підтримки ЮНЕСКО. Метою було створення відкритої інтернет-платформи, що забезпечує вільний доступ до найважливіших культурних скарбів людства та сприяє міжкультурному діалогу.

Ідею створення WDL запропонував бібліотекар Конгресу США Джеймс Г. Біллінгтон у 2005 році. ЮНЕСКО підтримала ініціативу як частину своєї стратегії розвитку суспільств знань, зміцнення потенціалу країн, що розвиваються, та підтримки культурного різноманіття в інтернеті.

🤝 Міжнародна співпраця

У розробці проєкту брали участь бібліотеки, архіви, музеї та освітні установи з десятків країн. Серед перших партнерів були:
	•	Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Єгипет)
	•	Національна бібліотека Бразилії
	•	Національна бібліотека та архіви Єгипту
	•	Національна бібліотека Росії
	•	Російська державна бібліотека

До запуску публічної версії у 2009 році долучилися 26 установ з різних регіонів світу, включно з Бразилією, Китаєм, Єгиптом, Мексикою, Росією, Францією, Швецією, Угандою та США.

У 2010 році партнери ухвалили Хартію WDL, що закріпила постійну модель управління проєктом.

🔄 Сучасний статус

У 2020 році дія Хартії завершилася. У 2021 році Бібліотека Конгресу інтегрувала всю колекцію World Digital Library у власний основний вебсайт для забезпечення довгострокового збереження та відкритого доступу. Оригінальний сайт WDL збережено у вебархіві Бібліотеки Конгресу з повним збереженням його структури та інтерфейсу.

Сьогодні ця колекція є цінним цифровим ресурсом, що демонструє культурне розмаїття світу завдяки внескам сотень установ з різних країн.

text:
This collection contains cultural heritage materials gathered during the World Digital Library (WDL) project, including thousands of items contributed by partner organizations worldwide as well as content from Library of Congress collections. The original World Digital Library site (preserved in LC’s Web Archives here) and all descriptive metadata were translated from English and made available in six additional languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese. All item records include narrative descriptions submitted by the contributing partners and enhanced by WDL researchers to contextualize the item and its cultural and historical importance. Books, manuscripts, maps, and other primary materials in the WDL collection are presented in their original languages; more than 100 languages are represented, including many lesser known and endangered languages. Additionally, all World Digital Library metadata in each of the seven languages is available as a downloadable dataset.

Launched in 2009, the World Digital Library was a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, with the support of UNESCO, and contributions from libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations around the world. The WDL sought to preserve and share some of the world’s most important cultural objects, increasing access to cultural treasures and significant historical documents to enable discovery, scholarship, and use.

WDL partner institutions selected content in accordance with guidelines set by the WDL Content Selection Committee. They chose content for its cultural and historical importance, with due regard to recognition of the achievements of all countries and cultures over a wide range of time periods. The materials collected by the WDL include cultural treasures and significant historical documents including books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, journals, prints, photographs, sound recordings, and films.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington proposed the establishment of the WDL in a speech to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO in June 2005. The basic idea was to create an Internet-based, easily-accessible collection of the world’s cultural riches that would tell the stories and highlight the achievements of all countries and cultures, thereby promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding. UNESCO welcomed the idea as a contribution toward fulfilling its strategic objectives, which include promoting knowledge societies, building capacity in developing countries, and promoting cultural diversity on the web. UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura designated UNESCO’s Directorate for Communication and Information, then led by Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan, to work with the Library of Congress to develop the project.

In December 2006, UNESCO and the Library of Congress convened an Experts Meeting at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to discuss the project. Experts from all parts of the world identified a number of challenges that the project would need to overcome to be successful. They noted that little cultural content was being digitized in many countries, and that developing countries in particular lacked the capacity to digitize and display their cultural treasures. Existing websites often had poorly developed search and display functions. Multilingual access was not well developed.

The Experts Meeting led to the establishment of working groups to develop guidelines for the project, and to a decision by the Library of Congress, UNESCO, and five partner institutions – the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the National Library of Brazil, the National Library and Archives of Egypt, the National Library of Russia, and the Russian State Library – to contribute content to a WDL prototype to be presented at the UNESCO General Conference in 2007. Input into the design of the prototype was solicited through a consultative process that involved UNESCO, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and individuals and institutions in more than forty countries. The successful unveiling of the prototype was followed by a decision by these institutions to develop a public, freely-accessible version of the WDL.

A team at the Library of Congress then developed the public, online version of the WDL, which was launched at UNESCO in April 2009. Twenty-six institutions contributed content to the launch version of the site. Launch partners included national libraries and cultural organizations in Brazil, China, Egypt, Mexico, Russia, France, Sweden, Uganda, the United States and other locations worldwide.

Following the launch, the WDL continued to add content to the site and to enlist new partners from all parts of the world. In April 2010, institutions and organizations contributing to the WDL adopted the WDL Charter, which established a permanent governance structure.

In 2020, the WDL Charter concluded. In 2021, after more than 10 years of operation, the Library transitioned WDL’s world-wide collection of cross-cultural treasures into a sustainable home for perpetual access on the Library of Congress’s main website. The original World Digital Library site is preserved by the Library of Congress Web Archive, which captures the look and feel of the site. Now available on the Library’s main website, the collection is a rich and valuable resource showing the diversity of the world’s cultures through the contributions of hundreds of organizations.

note: About this Collection