Archive for the ‘Across The Commons’ Category

Women of the Commons

Posted by Stephanie Fysh in Across The Commons

The Commons provides a wealth of photos of the half of the world being celebrated today, International Women’s Day — every one of them uncommon and important in her own way.

Wilhelmina Drucker, women’s rights pioneer, is portrayed by Truus Claes on the occasion of her seventieth birthday (1917).
Nationaal Archief
Gwyneth Richards, the only girl in the YFC taking part in sheep shearing competitions in Wales (1944).
National Library of Wales
Eileen Power, Professor of Economic History from 1931 to 1940, London School of Economics (1930s).
LSE Library
Co-eds with hoes: The county experimental hop yard recruited Oregon State College coeds for a quick job of hoeing (1944).
Oregon State University Archives
An unnamed 14-year-old striker, actress and political activist Fola La Follette, and prostitute-turned reformer Rose Livingston (1913).
Library of Congress
Rita Trudget (or Trudgett), wicket keeper, in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia (1930s).
State Library of New South Wales
Paramaribo market scene
Field Museum Library

U.S. National Archives

U.S. National Archives
Woman carrying bundle on head, Natchez, Mississippi, August ...
New York Public Library

Whales across the Commons

Posted by zyrcster in Across The Commons

This one’s for you, Shelley!

The Nancy Grey with a whale, Norway. [Whaling scenes at Skaaro. The
Library of Congress
A whale in Sydney Harbour. Whale, Sydney Harbour, 1930's / Sam Hood
State Library of New South Wales
Model of a whale. Louisiana Purchase Exposition - SI Exhibit
Smithsonian Institution
Posing on whale bones. Posing on whale bones: Saint George Island, Florida
State Library and Archives of Florida
Stranded blackfish whales. Stranded blackfish whales underneath Te Aro reclamation trestling at the foot of Taranaki Street, Wellington, between 1882-1883
National Library of New Zealand
Whaling / Walvisvaart Whaling / Walvisvaart
Nationaal Archief
A sperm whale jawbone. Captain George A.Grant
Nantucket Historical Association
A large whale skeleton. West Court with large whale skeleton
Field Museum
Whale-back at pier. World's Columbian Exposition: Whale-back, Chicago, United States, 1893.
Brooklyn Museum

Wales across the Commons

Posted by Penny in Across The Commons

March 1st is observed as St. David’s Day, a national holiday in Wales. To mark the occasion, some images of the Welsh from across the Commons …

A photochrom image of two knitting and spinning Welshwomen, 1890s, in traditional costumes Welsh women knitting and spinning
[Library of Congress]
Mr. Roberts, a Welsh harpist, c. 1875 man seated at a harp
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales
A family of Welsh immigrants to Patagonia, Argentina, 1924; this photo was taken as part of the Captain Marshall Field Expedition for Vertebrate Paleontology (1922-1925) family seated in front of a house
Field Museum Library
Fisherman’s family outside cottage, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, c.1890 (be sure to see the then-and-now posted in the comments on this one) alley and cottage
National Maritime Museum
Welsh artist Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) artist Frank Brangwyn
Smithsonian Institution

Oddities across the Commons

Posted by Stephanie Fysh in Across The Commons

From a Flickr Gallery curated by david_cory, we bring you … Oddities from the Commons!

Ed E. Ford, comedian, at the Tivoli Theatre, Sydney, ca. 1914 / photographer unknown
State Library of New South Wales
Library Mummers Play, 1980
Library Mummers Play, 1980
Poster for a side show at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (or, as David says, “Disturbing on many levels”)
Library of Congress
Hunter with 3 Foot Grasshopper
Galt Museum & Archives
Sea serpent visitors
Nantucket Historical Association

Check out the rest of David’s gallery for more Oddities from the Commons!

President’s Day in the U.S.

Posted by zyrcster in Across The Commons
[Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President.  Seated portrait, facing right] (LOC)

Berger, Anthony
Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President. Seated portrait, facing right, 1864 Feb. 9
Library of Congress: LC-B8175- 3-X
President Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
G. Washington's teeth
George Washington’s teeth
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Deposits Letter into Highway Post Office Bus
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wilson and Taft at Inauguration
Woodrow Wilson
William Howard Taft
William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
1993 Clinton Inauguration
George H.W. Bush
William J Clinton
Photograph of President Lyndon Johnson Signs the Voting Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., with Other Civil Rights Leaders in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC, 08/06/1965
Lyndon B. Johnson
Fifth Archivist of the United States Dr. James B. Rhoads Shaking Hands with President Gerald Ford, June 14, 1976
Gerald Ford
Photograph of President Reagan and the Signing Ceremony for Martin Luther King Holiday Legislation, 11/02/1983 - 11/02/1983
Ronald Reagan
Photograph of President Truman receiving a Thanksgiving turkey from members of the Poultry and Egg National Board and other representatives of the turkey industry, outside the White House, 11/16/1949
Harry Truman

Florida Development Commission
President Kennedy at Democratic Fund-Raiser, 1962
State Library and Archives of Florida: V-71; DA034; S. 828
President Lincoln, Allan Pinkerton, and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand.General Ulysses S. Grant and Portion of Staff, General John A. Rawlins.Photograph of Presentation of the First Volumes of the "Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy" at the White House, 1962Nixon Inaugural BallPhotograph of President George H. W. Bush Enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with Troops: 11/22/1990Bill Clinton, 2001T.R. in Jersey, 5/25/12 (LOC)W. Wilson, 11/16/12,  1/2 w. hat and overcoat (LOC)Taft, 11/16/12 (LOC)Halloween Visitors to the Oval Office. Caroline Kennedy, President Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. White House, Oval Office, 10/31/1963

A Commons Winter

Posted by Stephanie Fysh in Across The Commons

Winter seems to be a bit “off” in the Northern Hemisphere this year — too little snow in the British Columbia mountains, too much snow in Oklahoma, and much too cold in the UK. But winter in the Commons? It’s always wonderful! See more winter and snow in the Commons.

Carol and Bobbie Ann’s February 1953 snowman, in Richmond, Virginia. (Where are Carol and Bobbie Ann today?) Snow man (Carol & Bobbie Ann)
The Library of Virginia
A snowman on the *other* side of the “pond”, in Wales. The Snowman No. 1
LlGC ~ NLW
It’s a much colder winter in Antarctica – or it certainly was in the 1910s. Ice mask, C.T. Madigan, between 1911-1914 / photograph by Frank Hurley
State Library of New South Wales
The city of Montreal may be saving on snow-clearing costs this year, but this is what we expect a Montreal winter to look like, even 120 years later. Clearing snow, Notre Dame Street, Montreal, QC, about 1887
Musée McCord Museum
Snow-clearing out west — the heavy-duty way. Snow Plow And Alberta Railway And Irrigation Company Engines 22 And 25 At Warne
Galt Museum & Archives
Where little snow fell, in London, there was work for the street sweeper. Mendiant balayeur-Angleterre/Londres
George Eastman House
It may be work to clear later, but when the snow makes the city nearly disappear into white, that work is more than repaid by beauty. Snow scene, Union Sq.
Library of Congress
Had enough snow? Maybe it’s time for a visit to Florida … Winter in Florida billboard in New York City: New York, New York
State Library and Archives of Florida

Nina’s Trees across the Commons

Posted by Stephanie Fysh in Across The Commons

Nina Kuriloff is a New York-based painter whose selections from the Commons have enlivened our Best of the Commons posts recently. Many of our Across the Commons posts recently have drawn on her selections in themed topics in the Flickr Commons group, which this blog grew out of. This one, though, is special, because whether Nina knows it or not, many of the trees she’s discovered in the Commons, wherever they were found, echo her own paintings – Nina’s Trees:

Acacia tree and vegetation – Kenya, 1906
Field Museum
Large fig tree and native vine growing in the middle of sugar cane in the Logan district – Queensland, Australia, 1870
State Library of Queensland, Australia
Passaic River, below the falls (etching) – New Jersey, 1920
New York Public Library
Kembla fig tree – New South Wales, Australia, circa 1900
Powerhouse Museum
Baobab tree – Kenya, 1906
Field Museum

January 25: Burns Night in the Commons

Posted by Penny in Across The Commons

Burns Night celebrates the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), which was January 25. If you like Burns’ poetry, haggis, rutabagas, and Scotch whisky, you might like to find a Burns Night observance near you. Or just recite your favorite poem aloud and have a look at some appropriate images from across the Commons.

At a Burns Night in 1958, the festivities include the Piping in of the Haggis. bagpiper and haggis
Galt Museum & Archives
It’s not necessary to dress up for Burns Night, but these boys posed in their finest for an Ellis Island photographer. three boys in kilts
New York Public Library
Some music perhaps? The 92nd Gordon Highlanders at Edinburgh Castle in 1846. a band in motion
National Galleries of Scotland

January 20: Happy Birthday, Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968)

Posted by Penny in Across The Commons

Modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis was born on 20 January 1879 (date as in the American National Biography; some sources give 1877, 1878, or 1880 instead), in New Jersey. I’ve made two purses with the set of images of her in the New York Public Library’s Flickr stream, and I know many, many other Commons fans have favorited her striking poses … Celebrate her birthday by doing a little barefoot dance, perhaps?

Ruth St. Denis in Radha Ruth St. Denis in Radha
New York Public Library
Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in an out-of-doors photograph, in color Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, dancing together
New York Public Library
Ruth St. Denis, a personal study taken out of doors at Mariarden Ruth St. Denis, outdoors with white scarf
New York Public Library

Bridges across the Commons

Posted by Nina in Across The Commons

From the Flickr Commons thread highlighting some of the remarkable images of bridges across the Commons:

Castle and suspension bridge, Conway (i.e. Conwy), Wales, ca. 1890–ca. 1900 (more about the Conway bridge). [Castle and suspension bridge, Conway (i.e. Conwy), Wales]
Library of Congress
Suspension bridge, Niagara, ON, 1869, designed by John Roebling (before the Brooklyn Bridge), photographed by William Notman. Suspension bridge, Niagara, ON, 1869
Musée McCord Museum
Templand Bridge, Cumnock, Scotland, ca. 1890–ca. 1900. [Templand Bridge, Cumnock, Scotland] (LOC)
Library of Congress
The Brooklyn Bridge in 1905, printed in 1977.
George Eastman House
The Ness Road Bridge in Inverness, Scotland, between 1890 and 1900; the bridge was demolished in 1961. [Inverness from castle, Scotland] (LOC)
Library of Congress
The 14th-century Pont Valentré, Cahors, France, June 1902, photographed by Eugène Trutat. Pont Valentré, aval, Cahors, juin 1902
Bibliothèque de Toulouse
photographs selected by Nina; text by Stephanie