While other photographers of the area such as Dorothea Lange may be more
well-known to the general public, Theodor Horydczak's body of work is one
that deserves equal attention. Relatively little is known about his
background, though most people agree that he was born in Eastern Europe and
that he may have been a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. What is known
is that he documented many aspects of the Washington metropolitan area from
the mid-1920s through the 1950s. The American Memory Project at the Library
of Congress has created this online archive of his work, which includes
around 14,350 photographs. In the database, visitors can look through
photographs that document commercial buildings, playgrounds, street scenes,
and the 1933 World Series. Visitors can also read several short essays about
his work and an even shorter essay about what is known about the man
himself. [KMG]
For over a century and a half, the circus was at the forefront of Americans'
minds when they thought of large-scale entertainment. To be sure, there were
other ways to experience crowds in a shared setting, but with their movement
through towns both large and small, the circus seemed to captivate both
cosmopolites and more rural folk. Designed by the staff members at The
Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of
Virginia, this multimedia site brings together a range of primary materials
(including video clips) that tell the stories of six major American circuses
from 1793 to 1940. At the top of the homepage, visitors can elect to learn
about the acts in each circus, the animals that delighted both young and
old, and the transportation methods used to move these enormous productions
from Nyack to New Bedford. There is also a circus timeline of events here,
and some "Special Attractions", which include essays on various aspects of
circus history and a selection of sounds of the circus. The site is rounded
out by some video clips of restored circus wagons on parade and itineraries
for the six featured circuses which give users a sense of the exhausting
schedules they often had. [KMG]
Both sites reviewed by Max Grinnell
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2007.
http://scout.wisc.edu/
Washington Photograph site will be added to my Photography links page
and the Circus in America will be added to the wire circus lesson plan
on Incredible Art Department.
