Research Center Prints and Photographs Reading Room

Research Guides

Collection and subject overviews provide tips for locating images in the Prints & Photographs Division collections and context that may help in understanding what is found. Guides with "selected pictures" in their names feature selected sets of images on frequently requested topics, focusing on images for which there are no known restrictions.

There may be additional relevant Research Guides authored by librarians in other divisions, so also explore the Library-wide search.

Research Guide
Indigenous American Artists: Collection Connections This guide highlights the work of Native American and other Indigenous printmakers and photographers from the United States, Canada, and Latin America in the Prints & Photographs Division.
- Date: 2024-07-18
Research Guide
Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI) Collection: Subject Index Information This guide describes the subject index code for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI) photograph collection in the Prints & Photographs Division.
- Date: 2024-05-31
Research Guide
Thesaurus for Graphic Materials II (TGM): An Introduction The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM) is a tool for indexing visual materials by subject and genre/format. This is a guide for the usage of TGM II, genre/format indexing.
- Date: 2024-04-24
Research Guide
Prohibition: Selected Images from the Library of Congress This guide offers a selection of images from the Prints & Photographs Division collections about Prohibition in the United States, around 1920-1933.
- Date: 2024-04-05
Research Guide
Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I (TGM): An Introduction The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM) is a tool for indexing visual materials by subject and genre/format. This is a guide for the usage of TGM I, subject indexing.
- Date: 2024-03-14
Research Guide
Prints & Photographs: Copyright and Rights and Restrictions Information This guide contains general information about rights and restrictions for materials held by the Prints & Photographs Division, as well as specific rights statements for some collections, artists, and organizations.
- Date: 2024-01-18
Research Guide
Erwin E. Smith Photographs of American Cowboy and Ranch Life, 1905-1912, in the Library of Congress This guide gives an overview of more than 1,500 photographic prints by Erwin E. Smith in the Prints & Photographs Division. The photos show ranch life and wild west shows in the…
- Date: 2024-01-05
Research Guide
First Spouses of the United States: Selected Images This guide offers a selection of portraits of U.S. presidents' spouses held in the Prints & Photographs Division collections at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-12-29
Research Guide
Ellis Island and Immigration, circa 1880-1920: Selected Images This guide offers a selection of images from the Prints & Photographs Division about Ellis Island and immigration to the United States around the turn of the twentieth century.
- Date: 2023-12-12
Research Guide
Also Rans: Losing Presidential Candidates of the United States This guide provides portraits of each unsuccessful American presidential candidate from the Prints & Photographs Division collections at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-11-27
Research Guide
Vice Presidents of the United States: Selected Images This guide provides portraits of each American vice president from the Prints & Photographs Division collections at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-11-22
Research Guide
Pembroke Album of Chiaroscuro Woodcut Prints in the Library of Congress This guide aids exploration of a Prints & Photographs Division album containing primarily 16th- and 17th-century chiaroscuro woodcuts by Italian printmakers. It includes tips for accessing the prints and points to related…
- Date: 2023-11-13
Research Guide
Presidents of the United States: Selected Images This guide provides portraits of each American president from the Prints & Photographs Division collections at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-10-25
Research Guide
Cold War: Finding Images in the Prints & Photographs Division This guide highlights collections that are strong for coverage of events and individuals relating to international and diplomatic struggles between 1946 -1991 with an emphasis on rights-free images. Search tips and related…
- Date: 2023-04-05
Research Guide
African American Artists: Collection Connections This guide highlights the work of Black photographers, printmakers, and other artists in the Prints & Photographs collections at the Library of Congress.
- Date: 2023-03-30
Research Guide
Fine Prints by Federal Art Project Artists in the Library of Congress This guide summarizes the Prints & Photographs Division’s prints by artists of the Federal Art Project, Graphic Art Division, 1935-1943–part of the Work Projects Administration. Includes information about accessing the prints and…
- Date: 2023-01-24
Research Guide
Camilo José Vergara Photographs: Tracking Time to Document America's Post-Industrial Cities A collection guide introducing the more than 18,000 photographs by Camilo José Vergara in the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, spanning from the1970s through the 2020s.
- Date: 2022-10-03
Research Guide
Newspaper Photograph Morgues in the United States and Canada This list maintained by the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division cites public institutions that have photographs assembled for publication in newspapers. Entries include newspaper titles, dates, and links to content…
- Date: 2022-09-16
Research Guide
World War I: Finding Images in the Library of Congress This overview of collections in the Prints & Photographs Division that feature images relating to World War I and its aftermath, primarily 1914-20, includes sample images, search tips, and related resources at…
- Date: 2022-09-06
Research Guide
Pandemic Diary: Camilo J. Vergara's Photographs Documenting COVID-19 Camilo J. Vergara has been photographing America's major cities since the 1970s, documenting the effects of COVID-19 on urban life since 2020. This guide introduces Vergara's 5,000-plus coronavirus-related photos in the Prints…
- Date: 2022-08-08
Research Guide
Illustrated English Language Periodicals in the Library of Congress This guide highlights illustrated magazines and newspapers mostly in the Prints & Photographs Division that depict news events and trends, especially in the 19th century. Included are sample images, search tips and…
- Date: 2022-07-25
Research Guide
U.S. Congress: Finding Images in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division This overview of collections in the Prints & Photographs Division that feature images of members of U.S. Congress and congressional activity, 1800s to the present, includes sample images, search tips and related…
- Date: 2022-03-30
Research Guide
Roadside America Photographs by John Margolies in the Library of Congress The John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive shows vernacular commercial structures, including restaurants and theaters, along U.S. streets and highways, 1969-2008. This guide gives background, access tips, sample images, and related resources.
- Date: 2022-02-16
Research Guide
C. M. Bell Studio Collection of Photographs at the Library of Congress This guide provides an overview of more than 30,000 glass negatives in the Prints & Photographs Division, produced by the C. M. Bell Studio and its successors, 1873 to 1916, primarily showing…
- Date: 2022-02-04
Research Guide
Kern County, California: Photographic Views by Carleton Watkins in the Library of Congress An overview of a photographic survey commissioned in the 1880s showing Southern California agriculture, industry, and sites, this guide shows samples from the over 400 photographic prints in the Prints & Photographs…
- Date: 2022-01-24
Research Guide
African American Civil Rights Events of the 20th Century: Selected Pictures This resource guide includes images of key activities and events in the movement for Black civil rights, 1950s-1970s. The selected images are from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division and…
- Date: 2022-01-21
Research Guide
Military Photographs: Finding Images in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress This guide provides an overview of military photographs from the Crimean War to the present. Most images show the American armed forces from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s.
- Date: 2021-11-30
Research Guide
Picture Catalogs Online A listing of picture catalogs that the Prints & Photographs Division put together for visual material research beyond the Library of Congress resources.
- Date: 2021-10-18
Research Guide
Architecture, Design and Engineering Collections in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division This guide describes collections that support research on the built environment, primarily in the United States, from the 1600s to the present. It offers links to digital content and related resources.
- Date: 2021-08-05
Research Guide
Fine Prints Filed by Artist Name in the Library of Congress Overview of artist prints arranged by century and artist name in the Prints & Photographs Division FP filing series and accessions. International scope, 15th-21st centuries. Covers search tips, sample images, related resources.
- Date: 2020-12-23
Research Guide
Fine Print Collections in the Library of Congress Overview introducing 60,000 artist prints (15th-21st centuries) in the Prints & Photographs Division, including collection summaries, searching and viewing, sample images, and related resources elsewhere in the Library of Congress and other…
- Date: 2020-12-23
Research Guide
Congressional Quarterly & Roll Call Photograph Collections in the Library of Congress This guide provides an overview of two closely related collections of photographs, together containing 350,000 images showing political, legislative and social activities of the US Congress and the Capitol Hill neighborhood in…
- Date: 2020-11-27
Research Guide
New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress This guide provides an overview of the Prints & Photographs Division collection of approximately 1 million published and unpublished images taken chiefly from 1920-1967, highlighting subject strengths and search techniques.
- Date: 2020-11-13
Research Guide
Barnhill Photographs of Life in Western North Carolina, 1914-1917 (Library of Congress) This guide provides an overview of William A. Barnhill photographs of people, landscapes, agriculture, technology and handicrafts of the mountain counties around Asheville, North Carolina, highlighting subject strengths and sample images.
- Date: 2020-08-10
Research Guide
Stanley Kubrick's Photographs for LOOK Magazine, 1946-1950 (Library of Congress) A guide to images made by Stanley Kubrick while working for LOOK Magazine (1946-1950). The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division holds 102 of Kubrick’s assignments for LOOK (negatives and contact…
- Date: 2020-04-21
Research Guide
World War II Sketches by Victor A. Lundy at the Library of Congress This guide provides an overview of Lundy’s eight sketchbooks comprising a "visual diary" created by the architect during his service in World War II, with links to the digitized collection materials and…
- Date: 2020-04-10
Research Guide
Popular Graphic Art Prints at the Library of Congress (1600s-1970s) This guide provides information about a premier collection of approximately 65,000 historical prints produced primarily in the United States as well as examples from Mexico and Europe, highlighting subject strengths and search…
- Date: 2020-03-17
Research Guide
Documentary Drawings in the Library of Congress, 1776-1970 This guide gives an overview of about 4,000 Prints & Photographs Division drawings by American and international artists including eyewitness drawings from the American Civil War. Research strengths, search strategies, and related…
- Date: 2020-03-17
Research Guide
Cartoons & Caricatures: Finding Images at the Library of Congress An overview of collections of comic art, both prints and drawings, 1600s-present, in the Prints & Photographs Division, including search tips and related resources for the study of cartoons and comics at…
- Date: 2020-02-04
Research Guide
Olympic Games: Finding Pictures in the Prints & Photographs Division This guide provides information for exploring the visual history of the Olympic Games, both summer and winter (particularly in the 1900s-1940s), by describing selected collections, search tips, and other resources at the…
- Date: 2020-01-10

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