Monday, October 19, 2015

An incredible website: 170 000 photos of the Great Depression





If you think archives are and old and out of date, think again. A collection owned by the american government is now available online for the public! Everyone now has the possibility to navigate on this platform from the confort of their  own home, thanks to interactive tools. This program is called "Photogrammar", that was developed at Yale University.

These images, that were created over a period of 10 years, allow a view of daily life in the US. Do you wish to see what a city was like in 30s? A map is at your disposal, zoom in and look. These photos are just as good as a documentary view and as an aesthetic view. If you decide for example to find out what life was like in 1938 in Charleston, move your mouse to the left. Then, select the spot on the map. You will see these photos and many more:


Son of a man living on a houseboat on river reading paper, Charleston, West Virginia, Marion Post Walcott, September 1938



Charleston, West Virginia, Marion Post Walcott, September 1938


If you click on York, Pennsylvania, 1941, you may catch a glimpse of the region across images, including these:


Howard R. Hollem, February 1942, York, Pennsylvania

Some descriptions come with photos, which allows us to have precise information on the time period, from a historic point of view. It is also possible to do research by photographer, which is good news, espcially when we know the website provides photos by Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans. In 1936, 10 of Madame Lange's photos were found next to Hendricks' in Indiana:



Website

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