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?) |  The Library of Virginia |
| A snowman on the *other* side of the “pond”, in Wales. |  LlGC ~ NLW |
| It’s a much colder winter in Antarctica – or it certainly was in the 1910s. |  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. |  Musée McCord Museum |
| Snow-clearing out west — the heavy-duty way. |  Galt Museum & Archives |
| Where little snow fell, in London, there was work for the street sweeper. |  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. |  Library of Congress |
| Had enough snow? Maybe it’s time for a visit to Florida … |  State Library and Archives of Florida |
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]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3752435594_770fd0be5e_m.jpg) Library of Congress |
| Suspension bridge, Niagara, ON, 1869, designed by John Roebling (before the Brooklyn Bridge), photographed by William Notman. |  Musée McCord Museum |
| Templand Bridge, Cumnock, Scotland, ca. 1890–ca. 1900. | ![[Templand Bridge, Cumnock, Scotland] (LOC)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3450350986_29a719c93b_m.jpg) 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)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3449520749_53756264ec_m.jpg) Library of Congress |
| The 14th-century Pont Valentré, Cahors, France, June 1902, photographed by Eugène Trutat. |  Bibliothèque de Toulouse |
| Portrait of strongman Don Athaldo |  Powerhouse Museum |
| Bordoni |  Library of Congress |
| Yasuo Kuniyoshi, photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son | ![Yasuo Kuniyoshi [photograph] / (photographed by Peter A. Juley & Son)](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/3506794609_8a99bd1158_m.jpg) Smithsonian Institution |
| Ida Fieldman, March 1945 |  Jewish Women’s Archive |
| Bath attendant Stella, Lysekil, Sweden |  Swedish National Heritage Board |
| Laplander | ![[Laplander.]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/3096604570_729ecb5a03_m.jpg) New York Public Library |
| Ella Wesner, male impersonator |  George Eastman House |
| Miss Estelle Doray, snowshoer, Montreal, Quebec, 1924 |  Musée McCord Museum |
| A child dressed in uniform, 1915 |  Australian War Memorial |
Add the portraits you’ve found in The Commons to the Flickr Commons discussion group thread for portraits.
We celebrate the first anniversary of the Musée McCord on The Commons at Flickr today! With over 200,000 views on their 290 photographs, we cheer on their mission of outreach and engagement. The museum has been a vibrant Canadian presence, with images of architecture, family portraits, landscapes, and cityscapes, along with snow, hockey, and lumber.
A sampling of their images so far — to be viewed with or without a side of poutine, as you see fit (and BTW: yes, there’s a whole Flickr group dedicated to images of poutine):
| Their most popular image is this dramatic train wreck, from the set “Views of Canada – Vues du Canada (1858-1935) “ |  Collision between two engines, Bay of Quinte Railway, ON, 1892 |
| Many of the images in this set, as well as the museum’s collection as a whole, are from William Notman’s Montreal. He and his sons documented Canadian life and people from 1856 to 1936. |  Views of Canada – Vues du Canada (1858-1935) |
| In 1956, McGill University purchased the historic collection of the William Notman & Son studio, housing it in the McCord Museum of Canadian History, forming the Notman Photographic Archives. |  Views of Montreal – Vues de Montréal (1863-1925) |
| There is hockey! |  Being Irish O’Quebec – Irlandais O’Québec |
| Views as long as the day … |  View from Signal Hill, St. John’s, NL, about 1900 |
| And truly remarkable images of Canada’s First Peoples. |  Royal Tour: Aboriginal women and children, Vancouver, BC, 1901 |
| Cheers to you, Musée McCord — may your 2nd year be as fulfilling in The Commons as your first! |  Rustico Beach, PE, 1916 (?) |
All of these images are taken from a Flickr Commons group discussion topic on “Landscapes across the Commons”. Those of us who posted in that topic found that while we knew there was a lot of historical landscape photography in the Commons, it was often not tagged to make it easily searchable. If you find more, please add tags, in English and other languages you may speak, to help later users find it as well.
| Hakone Lake, Japan, late 19th century, chosen by Nina. |  New York Public Library |
| Swallow Cliff Woods area, Illinois, 1917, chosen by Nina. |  Field Museum Library |
| Sintra, Portugal, 20th c., chosen by Penny. |  Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian |
| Loch Earn, Scotland, about 1864, chosen by Penny. |  National Galleries of Scotland |
| Percé Rock, Quebec, 1898?, chosen by Criz. |  Musée McCord Museum |
| Willoughby Falls, Australia, turn of the century, chosen by Criz. |  Powerhouse Museum |
| Ryfossen, Norway, 1890?, chosen by Criz. |  Swedish National Heritage Board |
| Diamond Lake, Oregon, 1945, chosen by Nina. |  Oregon State University Archives |
| Castelet falls, France, circa 1900, chosen by me. |  Bibliothèque de Toulouse |
| From Newfoundland, where cod once dried on the shore … |  Musée McCord Museum |
| to the Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia. |  Musée McCord Museum |
| From the beaches of Prince Edward Island … | Musée McCord Museum |
| … to the busy harbour of Saint John, New Brunswick. | Musée McCord Museum |
| From the old streets of Quebec City … |  Library of Congress |
| … to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. |  Library of Congress |
| From the beginning of the Prairies in Manitoba … |  Musée McCord Museum |
| … to life on the land in northern Saskatchewan. |  Musée McCord Museum |
| From the mountains of Alberta … |  Library of Congress |
| … to what lies in them, in British Columbia … |  Smithsonian Institution |
| … to the farthest Arctic seas. |  National Maritime Museum |
| Water.
A natural force with the power to carve canyons out of rock, to inundate plains, to change the face of the earth. |
 Oregon State University Archives |
| Humans.
They like to harness unbridled power for progress. Water is the stuff of industry (generating electricity) and agriculture (irrigating crops). |
 Library of Congress |
| … and they like to build cities near rivers that overflow … |  Musée McCord |
| So … Dam it! |  Library of Congress |
| Hold that water back! |  Biblioteca de Arte-Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian |
| Tame that river! |  Brooklyn Museum |
| Reshape the landscape! |  Oregon State University Archives |
| But, when the levee breaks, Mama, you got to move … |  Library of Congress |
| Probably the most iconic mother of all, the Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. |  George Eastman House |
| C. & N.W. R.R. Cloe Weaver, mother of four children, employed as a helper at the roundhouse, Clinton, Iowa, by Jack Delano. |  Library of Congress |
| Calla Lundström Curman — writer, editor, feminist, and conservationist — with her children, Sigurd and Carolina Curman. |  Swedish Heritage Board |
| Actress Helen Twelvetrees and her son Jack Woody. |  State Library of New South Wales |
| Aboriginal family near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, 1919. | Musée McCord |
| Miccosukee mother rocks her baby in a hammock. |  State Library and Archives of Florida |
