Photography - Overview
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.
"Photography - Overview" showing 2674 items.
Page 1 of 268
[Young man inspecting color prints in drying rack in darkroom : color photonegative, ca. 1955-60.]
- Summary
- No ink on negative. Man looking at photographic prints in the Scurlock Studios. "Kodak Safety Film" edge imprint. No Scurlock number
- Cite as
- Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1955
- 1960
- ca 1955-60
- Ca. 1955-60
- 20th century
- 1950-1960
- photographers
- Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)
- Local number
- AC0618.005.0000020.tif (AC Scan)
- Box 618.05.1
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
[Young man in darkroom with processing trays in darkroom : color photonegative.]
- Summary
- No ink on negative, no Scurlock number. Young man wearing rubber gloves, standing next to processing trays at Scurlock Studios. "Kodak Safety Film" edge imprint
- Cite as
- Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1955
- 1960
- 1955-60
- 20th century
- 1950-1960
- photographers
- Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)
- Local number
- AC0618.005.0000021.tif (AC Scan No.)
- Box 618.05.1
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
[Exterior of Capitol School of Photography : color transparency.]
- Summary
- No ink on negative. No edge imprint. No Scurlock number
- Cite as
- Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1948
- 1952
- 20th century
- photographers
- Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)
- Subject
- Capitol School of Photography
- Local number
- AC0618.005.0000045.tif (AC Scan No.)
- Box 618.05.2
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
[Unidentified photographic studio, but probably the Scurlock Studio : cellulose acetate photonegative]
- Summary
- With bust, lights, bench and backdrop. Pencil on negative: "3 -". "KODAK - SAFETY 456" edge imprint
- Cite as
- Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1930
- 1960
- [n.d.]
- 20th century
- photographers
- Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)
- film manufacturer
- Eastman Kodak Co
- Local number
- Box 618.04.94
- AC0618.004.0000968.tif (scan number)
- No Scurlock number
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
Korean War - Burial of American Dead
- Description
- Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo when North Korea decided to invade South Korea. During the first few weeks of the Korean War, the fighting was referred to as nothing more than a "police action." Once casualties began to increase, the conflict became a war.
- Undermanned American forces were sent to quell the situation and the consequences can be seen in images such as this. On assignment for LIFE, Mydans followed a fresh battalion of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division in its mission to strengthen the American defense line near Yong Dong. The effort was futile because some of the units had been cut off or infiltrated by greater numbers of North Korean forces, leading to retreat.
- Back at the medical station, the wounded slowly began arriving. Eventually, the bodies of the dead were buried in an impersonal grave a few miles from where they died. In this photograph, Chaplain John G. Burkhalter reads a prayer while the shrouded bodies of 21 men are lowered and placed side by side in this grave near Kumch'on.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.130
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.130
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
U.S. Marines pass a burning Korean village in the winter rain
- Description
- When North Korea decided to invade South Korea, Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo. Although he was prepared to make the switch from Asia to the United States, he quickly put those plans on hold and flew back in order to cover the war.
- One month after the beginning of the war, U.S. Marines of the 1st Marine Division, mostly combat veterans, landed at Pusan, Korea, on August 2, 1950. Despite the less than ideal situation, the men found time to rest between fighting. After the battles ended, shattered Korean villages were left behind.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.132
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.132
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
North Korean soldiers taken by U.S. Marines during the fighting for Yong Dong
- Description
- Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo when North Korea decided to invade South Korea. After he returned home to the United States, LIFE quickly sent him back to Asia to cover the conflict. Mydans followed a battalion of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division in its mission to strenghten the American defense line near Yong Dong.
- In this image, communist prisoners, stripped down to their underwear, are marched to the rear by Marine guards after a battle. The prisoners are marched through the fields, while some of the guards walk on the road above them.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.135
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.135
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
General Douglas MacArthur with Army, Marine, Navy, and Air Force commanders, Inchon, Korea
- Description
- Mydans' coverage of the Korean War put him in contact once more with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In September 1950, U.S. Marines landed at the western port city of Inchon, near Seoul, in an attempt to move inland, retake the capital and cut off the North Korean supply lines. The amphibious operation was conceived by General MacArthur. Because of its many tactical challenges (long approaches through shallow channels, poor beaches, and a limited tidal range), it took him some time to convince the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps commanders to go through with it.
- Mydans' professional relationship with General MacArthur remained somewhat close throughout the years. Just as he had been present at the general's landing at Luzon in the Philippines, Mydans was alongside MacArthur once more during this amphibious operation in a different war. The Battle of Inchon ended a string of victories for the invading North Korean People's Army (NKPA), and introduced a counterattack by United Nations forces that led to the recapture of Seoul less than two weeks after the landing.
- In this image, Gen. Douglas MacArthur (seated center), Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Command, watches the bombardment of Inchon, Korea from the bridge of the U.S.S. Mount McKinley. Behind him, Rear Adm. James H. Doyle, U.S. Navy, Commander, Task Force 90, and Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond (pointing towards the right), U.S. Army, X Corps Commander. Brig. Gen. Edwin K. Wright, U.S. Army, MacArthur's Operations Officer, stands to the right of Rear Admiral Doyle.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- 1950-09-15
- September 1950
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.137
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.137
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Carl Mydans and David Douglas Duncan
- Description
- When the Korean War broke out, Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment in Tokyo as TIME-LIFE bureau chief. He was in New York doing a radio program on Korea when, right before going on the air, a reporter told him that North Korea had invaded South Korea. As soon as he got the news, Mydans made a call to his supervisor at LIFE and was told to prepare to return to Asia as soon as he finished the interview.
- David Douglas Duncan was working in Japan at the time and flew to Korea. Once General MacArthur flew in from Tokyo, Duncan introduced himself explaining that he was with LIFE magazine and that he would be replacing Carl there. MacArthur replied that he was welcome there, but he was not replacing Mydans since he was already on his way back from New York.
- In an interview by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Mydans was asked which photographers he admired most. Among the photojournalists, Duncan was his number-one choice. The reasons are as follow: Duncan is a good photographer, a photojournalist of the first order, a storyteller, a compassionate man, a courageous man. In Carl's own words, "My years have been spent as a photojournalist, and a photojournalist is a storyteller—that is what I am, a storyteller. And David is a storyteller."
- David Douglas Duncan was a World War II Marine veteran. From July 1950 to January 1951, he covered the Korean War for LIFE magazine, focusing mainly on the Marine Corps. Most of the images can be found in his book, This Is War! A Photo-Narrative in Three Parts (1951).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1950
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.138
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.138
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
A Korean mother flees the fighting around Seoul
- Description
- Carl Mydans covered the Korean War for almost a year between 1950 and 1951. During that period, Seoul changed hands four times. By March of 1951, the city was in ruins, mostly destroyed in vicious street battles. Its prewar population dropping from 1.5 million inhabitants to a mere 200,000 plagued by massive food shortages. Throughout the war, Mydans witnessed how millions of Koreans were uprooted from their homes by bombing, shelling, or fear, and recorded their attempts to flee to safety.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1951
- photographer
- Mydans, Carl
- ID Number
- 2005.0228.142
- accession number
- 2005.0228
- catalog number
- 2005.0228.142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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