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

Field Museum Library

U.S. National Archives

U.S. National Archives

New York Public Library

This one’s for you, Shelley!

The Nancy Grey with a whale, Norway.

Library of Congress

A whale in Sydney Harbour.

State Library of New South Wales

Model of a whale.

Smithsonian Institution

Posing on whale bones.

State Library and Archives of Florida

Stranded blackfish whales.

National Library of New Zealand

Whaling / Walvisvaart

Nationaal Archief

A sperm whale jawbone.

Nantucket Historical Association

A large whale skeleton.

Field Museum

Whale-back at pier.

Brooklyn Museum

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!

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

Ted Hood
Peggy Bacon in mid-air backflip, Bondi Beach, Sydney, February 6, 1937
State Library of New South Wales: 19451

view + comment on Flickr

creator: Max Dupain
Emmy Towsey (Taussig) and Evelyn Ippen, Bodenwieser Ballet in Centennial Park, Sydney, ca. 1939 / Max Dupain,
ca. 1939
State Library of New South Wales:414459

view + comment on Flickr

From the State Library of New South Wales, the Powerhouse Museum, the Library of Congress, and three other Flickr members, we’re delighted to present Vintage Dredge, by FrodoBabbs:

Sam Hood
Nina Raievska (left) and Valentina Blinova with Arnold Haskell; Russian Ballet at JC Williamson New Year Party, Sydney, 31 December 1936
State Library of New South Wales: 15668

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The Commons Galleries: Early colour photographic processes in The Commons on Flickr – featuring Lú_’s curation

Applied colour, Southworth & Hawes, ca. 1850 … with additional colour provided by the effect of time on metal.

George Eastman House

Hand-tinted, ca. 1875

State Library of New South Wales

Photochrom prints, also called Aäc, are ink-based images produced though “the direct photographic transfer of an original negative onto litho and chromographic printing plates.” – Library of Congress

Library Of Congress

Hand-tinted, 1900

Brooklyn Museum

Autochrome, ca. 1910 Autochrome is an additive color ’screen-plate’ process: the medium contains a glass plate, overlaying random mosaic of microscopic grains of potato starch, with lampblack filling the space between grains, and an impermeable black-and-white, panchromatic silver halide emulsion. – Wikipedia

George Eastman House

Glass Paget plate phototransparency, Frank Hurley, 1915 The system used two glass plates, one of which was the colour screen plate while the other was a standard black-and-white negative plate. The colour screen plate comprised a series of red, green and blue filters, laid down in a regular pattern of lines to form a réseau, or matrix. – Wikipedia

State Library of New South Wales

Tricolor Carbro process, Nickolas Muray, 1931

George Eastman House