If you have read Lulu for a while, you probably know two things about me; I am a history nerd and I love photography. So, it should come as no surprise that the day I found today's featured site, I was lost for 5 hours straight. (I was on bed rest while pregnant with the kiddo, so I had 5 hours to spare.)
Shorpy (named for a 14 year old coal miner from 100 years ago, Shorpy Higginbotham) is a photography site that features thousands of high resolution vintage photographs from 1850 – 1950. It is part history lesson, part art gallery and all addicting.
The owners of the site have restored the images (usually from the Library of Congress or other archives) to their original glory and post them in high resolution, so you can open the images up to view a much larger size. The incredible level of detail once you do this is astonishing. A photo of a tenement building in 1900 comes alive once you see the women leaning out the window, the laundry hanging on the lines, the cat on the sidewalk. It truly is a window into another time.
Aside just offering historical eye candy, the site also has prints for sale of the images they feature and most prints start at $15. This derelict plantation image from Frances Benjamin Johnston has caught my fancy and will most likely be on my cube wall soon.
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| All images are courtesy of Shorpy |
Fantastic photos! I've also always loved vintage photography, and I can get sucked in for hours too:)
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