Photography

Leica 35mm Camera

The millions of photographs in the Museum's collections compose a vast mosaic of the nation's history. Photographs accompany most artifact collections. Thousands of images document engineering projects, for example, and more record the steel, petroleum, and railroad industries.

Some 150,000 images capture the history, art, and science of photography. Nineteenth-century photography, from its initial development by W. H. F. Talbot and Louis Daguerre, is especially well represented and includes cased images, paper photographs, and apparatus. Glass stereographs and news-service negatives by the Underwood & Underwood firm document life in America between the 1890s and the 1930s. The history of amateur photography and photojournalism are preserved here, along with the work of 20th-century masters such as Richard Avedon and Edward Weston. Thousands of cameras and other equipment represent the technical and business side of the field.

Date: 1970s

Conductor Mstislav Rostropovich

Conductor Mstislav Rostropovich during a rehearsal, Kennedy Center Concert Hall, October 1977.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Conductor Mstislav Rostropovich during a rehearsal, Kennedy Center Concert Hall, October 1977.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977-10
maker
Walker, Diana
ID Number
2003.0250.131
accession number
2003.0250
catalog number
2003.0250.131

Large apartment building

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971
maker
Harbutt, Charles
ID Number
PG.72.14.038

Sky Circuit Panorama, September 3, 1913 at 5:15PM

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1972
associated date
1913-09-03
referenced
Mueller, Frederick W.
maker
National Museum of American History
ID Number
1986.0711.0468
catalog number
1986.0711.0468
accession number
1986.0711
maker number
SP-64-67v

Ted Kennedy

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971-11-16
depicted (sitter)
Kennedy, Edward M.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.536
catalog number
2014.0112.536
accession number
2014.0112

Cross country skiing

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-02-02
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.083
catalog number
2014.0112.083
accession number
2014.0112

Bobby DelVecchio

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1978
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.222
catalog number
2014.0112.222
accession number
2014.0112

Comfort and Joy

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
maker
Powers, Mark James
ID Number
2013.0222.16
catalog number
2013.0222.16
accession number
2013.0222

Stucco homes

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1971
maker
Harbutt, Charles
ID Number
PG.72.14.027

DeFord Bailey

Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player.
Description
Deford Bailey spent fifteen years as a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry (1926-1941). In that time he established himself as one of the show's most popular performers and an influential harmonica player. As a master of blues, jazz, and old-time country, Bailey was a vital link between older and more modern music styles. In 1974, he returned to the Opry stage as part of the "Old Timers' Reunion." He is most well-known for "Pan American Blues," a harmonica piece that sounds like a passing locomotive.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.043
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.043

Odessa Clay and Sonji Ali

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-05-06
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.122
catalog number
2014.0112.122
accession number
2014.0112

Wm. H. Seward, 85 Feet in Circumference, Mariposa Grove of Mammoth Trees

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1977
Associated Date
1872
maker
Chicago Albumen Works
Muybridge, Eadweard
ID Number
PG.78.03.08
accession number
1978.1031
catalog number
78.3.8

Ted Kennedy and Doris Kearns

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1960s-1975
depicted (sitter)
Kennedy, Edward M.
maker
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2013.0327.1242
accession number
2013.0327
catalog number
2013.0327.1242

Lucky Dog

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1974
maker
Powers, Mark James
ID Number
2013.0222.05
catalog number
2013.0222.05
accession number
2013.0222

Pilar Law on her pony, with friends. Truchas, NM. 1970

With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa
ID Number
1998.0139.182
catalog number
1998.0139.182
accession number
1998.0139

Jay Smith, 1979

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1979
maker
Friedman, Glen E.
ID Number
2010.0173.04
catalog number
2010.0173.04
accession number
2010.0173

Kraft Velveeta Dinner Instamatic Camera

Cameras promoting products, causes, exhibitions, celebrities, and organizations have been available since dry plates and roll film made mass snapshot photography possible.
Description
Cameras promoting products, causes, exhibitions, celebrities, and organizations have been available since dry plates and roll film made mass snapshot photography possible. Some examples include 1920s official Boy Scout and Girl Guide cameras, 1939 Worlds fair cameras, and cameras featuring movie stars such as Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rodgers. In addition camera manufacturers have often produced special promotional cameras featuring commemorative logos or gold plating that have sold at a premium to collectors.
Cameras bearing advertising slogans like the Velveeta Shells & Cheese dinner promotional camera shown here have appeared in thousands of different varieties. The camera shown here uses 110 film that was introduced by Kodak in 1972. Many simple point and shoot promotional cameras appeared in the 1970s using 110 film. The promotional camera lives on today in the form of 35mm one time use cameras with advertising printed on the outer cover.
From its invention in 1839, the camera has evolved to fit many needs, from aerial to underwater photography and everything in between. Cameras allow both amateur and professional photographers to capture the world around us. The Smithsonian’s historic camera collection includes rare and unique examples of equipment, and popular models, related to the history of the science, technology, and art of photography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970s
ID Number
2004.0130.01
accession number
2004.0130
catalog number
2004.0130.01

Circuit Panorama

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1972
referenced
Mueller, Frederick W.
maker
National Museum of American History
ID Number
1986.0711.0521
catalog number
1986.0711.0521
accession number
1986.0711
maker number
SP-64-67zii

Fans with Carl and Pearl Butler

Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.Currently not on view
Description
Carl and Pearl Butler pose for photographs with fans.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1973
print
2003
Associated Name
Butler, Pearl
Butler, Carl
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.090
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.090

Human Be-in

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1976
maker
Powers, Mark James
ID Number
2013.0222.26
catalog number
2013.0222.26
accession number
2013.0222

Hog Farmers: Oxygen, Cedar, Willie, Peter, and Djuna at the law farm. Truchas, New Mexico. 1970

With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa
ID Number
1998.0139.113
catalog number
1998.0139.113
accession number
1998.0139

Walter Mondale

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
depicted (sitter)
Mondale, Walter F.
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.307
catalog number
2014.0112.307
accession number
2014.0112

Peregrine Falcon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970-07-17
photographer
Regan, Ken
ID Number
2014.0112.479
catalog number
2014.0112.479
accession number
2014.0112

Assassination attempt of George Wallace

Press print; man lying on ground, face up with another person kneeling over top of him; former Governor of Alabama; multi-time Presidential candidate; pro-segregation; assassination attempt by Arthur BremerCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Press print; man lying on ground, face up with another person kneeling over top of him; former Governor of Alabama; multi-time Presidential candidate; pro-segregation; assassination attempt by Arthur Bremer
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972-05-15
depicted (sitter)
Wallace, George
ID Number
2017.0281.0162
catalog number
2017.0281.0162
accession number
2017.0281

Accordian Player, Louisiana

The first accordion was built in Germany in 1822. It took close to one hundred years before it was introduced into country music.Currently not on view
Description
The first accordion was built in Germany in 1822. It took close to one hundred years before it was introduced into country music.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1977
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.027
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.027

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