Free to Use and Reuse: Colors Tell the Story

The colorful pictures in this set can add delight to any day or help us visualize historical data. Ranging from the 1500s to the present day, these images make their mark through a single tint or a rainbow palette. Unless otherwise noted, the images are from the Prints & Photographs Division.

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  Woman working with a hand drill on a "Vengeance" dive bomber, Nashville, Tennessee. Color transparency photo by Alfred Palmer, 1943.

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  Carousel, Asbury Park, New Jersey. Color slide photo by John Margolies, 1978.

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  Stained glass ceiling, Old State Capitol, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2021.

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  Blue Grotto, Capri Island, Italy. Photochrom print by Photoglob Zurich around 1890.

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  Clothing display, Russian Empire. Color photo by Sergeii M. Prokudin-Gorskii, around 1910.

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  Small taxi, Havana, Cuba. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2010.

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  Emir of Bukhara. Color photo by Sergeii M. Prokudin-Gorskii, 1911.

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  Woodland pathway. Hand-colored lantern slide by Frances B. Johnston, around 1920.

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  Wallpaper sample. Designed by Virchaux & Co., 1815.

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  Double rainbow appears over the levee along the Arkansas River in Pueblo, Colorado. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2015.

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  Vacation Reading Club. WPA poster, 1936-1939.

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  Left foot of the Statue of Liberty, New York City. Photo by Jet Lowe, 1984.

• Apostle with a book. Red ink chiaroscuro woodcut by Domenico Beccafumi, around the 1540s.

• Living area, Miller house, Columbus, Indiana. Color transparency photo by Balthazar Korab, around 1957.

• Saint Louis Gateway Arch, Saint Louis, Missouri. Color slide photo by Balthazar Korab, around 1965.

• Wall design for unidentified restaurant, New York City. Tempera drawing by Winold Reiss, around 1944.

• An Easter offering. Chromolithograph by Obpacher Bros., 1884.

• Blue Garden at Beacon Hill House, Newport, Rhode Island. Hand-colored lantern slide by Frances B. Johnston, 1914.

• Peasant girls, Russia. Color photo by Sergeii M. Prokudin-Gorskii, 1909.

• Lloyd J. Harriss: Pies. Chromolithograph advertisement by A.C. Schulz, 1947. (Spoof on Leutze's painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River.)

• "Assessed valuation of all taxable property owned by Georgia Negroes." Hand-drawn chart prepared for W.E.B. Du Bois for display at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 to show the economic and social progress of African Americans since emancipation.

• "Land owned by Negroes in Georgia, U.S.A. 1870-1900."

• Hacienda horse and rider, historic neon sign, Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, around 2000

• Save Seed Corn Now! World War I poster, 1917.

• Hot Air Balloon Jubilee Festival Decatur, Alabama. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2010.

• Philip Johnson's "Glory Window," Chapel of Thanksgiving, Dallas, Texas. Digital photo by Carol Highsmith, 2014.

• Mardi Gras Parade, New Orleans, Louisiana. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011.

• Captain Bob's BBQ bull, Ocean City, Maryland. Color slide photo by John Margolies, 1985.

• Prince Solms Park on the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2014.

• July 4th fireworks, Washington, DC. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2007.

• Stained glass window in the Guardian Angel Cathedral, Las Vegas, Nevada. Color transparency photo by Carol M. Highsmith, around 2000.

• Ascidiae (Sea squirt marine animals). Color lithograph by Adolf Giltsch from sketch by Ernst Haeckel. Color plate in: Kunstformen der Natur, 1904.

• Red house, Rich's Miniature Golf, Wyoming, Pennsylvania. Color slide photo by John Margolies, 1984.

• Atlantic City, the playground of the world: Travel by train. Poster by Latham Litho., 1932.

• Preliminary survey of burned areas, Yellowstone National Park and adjoining national forests. Map, 1988. Geography & Map Division

• Pope John Paul II trip to Krakow, Poland. Color slide photo by Bernard Gotfryd, 1983.

• Trans World Airlines Terminal, John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, New York. Color transparency photo by Balthazar Korab around 1962.

• Astronomical chart: Bootes, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, and Quadrans Muralis. Hand-colored etching book illustration by Sidney Hall, 1825.

• Summer Reading for Men. Cover for Puck magazine, from painting by T.V. Kelly, 1914.

• Yard of cats. Chromolithograph, 1893.

• Mummers Parade on New Year's day, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Digital photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2011.

• Mosaic of Minerva by Elihu Vedder, with restorer at work. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Color transparency photo by Carol M. Highsmith, around 1990.

• Lest Liberty Perish from the Face of the Earth - Buy Bonds. Watercolor by Joseph Pennell for a World War I poster, 1918.

• The Ships are Coming. World War I poster by James H. Daugherty, 1917

• Map of the Rebel Position in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Watercolor map by Robert K. Sneden, 1863-1865. Geography & Map Division