They are our sidekicks, our friends, our trusted companions. Protecting us from harm when alerting us to that ferocious looking Girl Scout coming up the front walk. Protecting us from true harm while on sentry duty, alert for movements of enemy forces in the night. Dogs are our guardians and our goofballs, and they loyally … Continue reading Spotlight: Hero Dogs
Airbrushing was an early method of retouching and coloring photographs which can be traced back as far as the late 1800s. It is a unique process which creates a beautiful matte effect, causing images to look as though they are caught somewhere between photograph and painting. While the technology is still employed today, in the … Continue reading Spotlight: Dogs in Airbrush
Ever wonder what people of the past were munching on? Well, in WWI, due to food rationing efforts, they were munching on some classic desserts made with unusual ingredient substitutions. Check out some of those experimental recipes below, courtesy of RG 4-G: the U.S. Food Administration. Unfortunately, not all of the experimental recipes survive today. Here is a … Continue reading Spotlight: Baking in WWI
Imagine a world where no one could give chocolates to their valentine, or send holiday cookies to their family, or hand out candy to adorable trick-or-treaters, or indulge in some after dinner Thanksgiving pie. Imagine a world where every cherished culinary tradition is threatened - especially those traditions which include sweets. Well, such a world is not as far away as one might … Continue reading Spotlight: War Time Candies
This week's images are streetscapes of American cities from 1917 and 1918. Images were pulled from RG 4-G: U.S.Food Administration. Do you recognize any of these places? Can you imagine walking along these streets during WWI? For more on WWI era food rationing, see "Spotlight: War Time Candies" and "Spotlight: Baking in WWI."
Coffee is a morning staple for many of us. The gurgle of the coffee pot; the ceramic warmth of a favorite mug; the rich aroma of caffeinated bliss... Yes, whether we make it ourselves or buy it from our friendly neighborhood baristas, coffee is culturally pervasive. And it has been for generations. But have you ever wondered about … Continue reading Spotlight: The Making of Coffee
This week's images are from RG 17-HD. They are mounted prints depicting beautiful race horses from the early 1900's! Accompanying metadata is limited to the captions, which are included with the images below. These captions, affixed to the mounts and written in Spanish, appear to include the date that the photographs were taken and the … Continue reading Spotlight: Race Horses
The annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn - a longstanding American tradition. Maybe you're planning to hunt them down, dye them brilliantly, roll them across the White House Lawn - or maybe you're just hoping to get through the next two weeks with as few boiled eggs in your life as humanly possible. Whatever the case may be, it is … Continue reading Spotlight: Eggs through the Ages
