The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

One fun thing about the Library of Congress is that every single one of their exhibits has its own brochure.  Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I was chock full of information, so much that I didn't have time to see it all.  So I picked out the images that spoke to me the most, like the haunting "Enlist" poster at the bottom right corner of the second page, a Fred Spear poster depicting a woman and infant drowning after the sinking of the Lusitania.  And the bizarre "War Gardens Over The Top" poster that appears to have a pumpkin trying to eat a potato.  Look, I don't know.  It was war.  Times were crazy.

The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

Drawing Justice: The Art of Courtroom Illustration is an amazing exhibit.  The speed and talent of these sketch artists is amazing.  Too bad it's dying out.

The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

I kind of want to live at the Library of Congress.  I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with friends so I took my time and really saw everything.  I'd taken the tour a few years ago but this was really nice.  Mapping a Growing Nation was a collection of old US maps, including an early Confederate map of Virginia that included my tiny hometown of Centreville.  Hope for America was about political satire and humor - mostly Bob Hope, but other stuff as well.  I'd forgotten how funny Bob Hope could be.  The most fascinating exhibit was Exploring the Early Americas, full of artifacts from the civilizations first encountered by European explorers. The maps were probably my favorite part.

Library of Congress

Location: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., USA
Visited: April 2009

The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the entire world. Though I've lived in the DC area since 2003, I'd never actually been inside until the spring of 2009. And it's absolutely beautiful. This is one of my rare spreads where I pasted just about zero text from the pamphlet, instead letting the photographs do all the talking.