News Archive Reveals Rare Look at Early 20th Century History

Ever wonder what the news looked like back in the early 1900s? The George Grantham Bain Collection offers an archive of the photographic files of one of America’s earliest news picture agencies. The collection documents sports, theater, politics, public events, the women’s suffrage movement, political events, crimes, strikes, celebrities and more. Bain produced and gathered the photographs for distribution through his news service. Though the photographs covered the world, Bain’s main emphasis focused on life in New York City. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1900s to the mid-1920s, with a few scattered images from before and after. The Library of Congress purchased the photos in 1948 from D.J. Culver. You can check out a small assortment—the collection available online has nearly 40,000 photos total—below.

Bain News Service, publisher. [Germany Schaefer, Washington AL (baseball)] [1911]

Orphans going to Coney Island, New York City, in cars. [6/7/11] Captured Arabs at the fountain of Bu Melina, Tripoli, Libya. [1911 or 1912] Von Spreckelson Mill, in Indianapolis, Indiana, blown up by dynamite. [1909] Labor union parade, New York City. [5/1/11] Clearing away debris after a fire in Bangor, Maine. [circa 1911] Confetti thrown during the departure of the S.S. George Washington ocean liner. [3/7/11] Early aviators J.J. Cole, Bob Fowler and W.F. Grundy [9/5/11] Royal Progress march, London, England. [6/23/11] Pennsylvania Station, taken from from Gimbel’s department store. [circa 1910–15] Suffragette H.S. Batch speaking at Wall St. [circa 1910–15] Michel and Edmond Navratil, French boys who were known as the Titanic orphans “Louis” and “Lola.” [circa April 1912]