Selected Collections

Women standing outdoors with picket signs — Phil Stanziola, photographer. *800 women strikers for peace on 47 St near the UN Bldg.* 1962. New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress holds many collections that include strong coverage of Cold War events and issues. Photographs frequently document the people, places, and events that figured prominently in the conflict. Posters and cartoons can be valuable in expressing the attitudes and concepts that were at issue.

Coverage of Russia and China is particularly strong. Technological developments in the U.S. in the areas of nuclear weaponry and efforts to compete in the space race are also well represented, as are domestic reactions to these developments. Coverage also includes the impact of international events and competing ideologies on American attitudes and cultural products.

The collections highlighted below are a great place to start when looking for pictorial materials representing the Cold War. Because U.S. copyright law protects images published in the U.S. for 95 years, and images published outside the U.S. or images that remained unpublished may be protected for approximately 120 years, it can be a challenge to find rights-free images from this period. Collections that contain, in whole or in part, rights-free images are listed first, followed by a rights-restricted collection for which permission can often be obtained for educational use. The last set of collections have potentially rights-restricted images documenting the Cold War era. Selecting the name of a collection will take you to catalog records and guides describing the content and scope of each group.

Collections with Rights-Free Content

Congressional Quarterly & Roll Call Photograph Collections (research guide)
The collections include photographs of the workings of the United States Congress, including legislative, political, and social activities, 1988-2002. It includes people and events relating to the easing of tensions with Russia and China, among them: a visit to the U.S. by Boris Yeltsin and Russian officials, consideration of Most Favored Nation Status for China, and discussion of aid programs for Russia and Eastern Europe. It also includes Capitol Hill demonstrations by Chinese activists. Photographs by staff photographers--the majority of the collection--are rights-free, as described in the rights statement.
Toni Frissell Photograph Collection (catalog record)
Photojournalist Frissell predominantly covered fashion, celebrities, and lifestyles, 1930-1969, but she was in Berlin, Germany in Oct. 1961, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. She documented scenes along the wall, in the city, and Willy Brandt, mayor of West Berlin. Photographs for which the Library of Congress holds negatives are rights free (see the rights information).
Bernard Gotfryd Photograph Collection (catalog record)
A photojournalist for Newsweek, 1957-1980s, Gotfryd documented Cold War-related subjects including Soviet and Cuban representation at the U.N., demonstrations by Russian Jews, and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Many are portraits. Color slides are digitized, and other content can be requested after consulting the finding aid. Copyright restrictions expired with Mr. Gotfryd's death in 2016 (see the rights statement.)
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey (summary & search)
While documenting achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States, 1930s-present, HABS, HAER and HALS recorded sites reflecting military build-up and defense priorities during the Cold War. For instance, Hill Field in Davis County, Utah, is noted to have supported the Berlin Airlift, and the Nike Hercules Missile Battery Site Summit, in Anchorage, Alaska, is described as "one of the most intact examples of American military defense against potentially nuclear airborne missile attacks during the Cold War." Searching the phrase "cold war" yields documentation of many of these sites; searching for particular types of facilities and particular locations is also helpful. As the collection rights statement indicates, most of the images were made by the federal government and are rights-free.
New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection (research guide)
This collection of images assembled for potential publication in the newspaper covers the period 1920s-1967 and is one of the division's strongest photographic collections for the 1950s and early 1960s. Many of the key figures and events of the Cold War Era are prolifically represented, but finding those that are rights-free is a more painstaking process. Photos taken by staff photographers and by the federal government are rights-free. Therefore, the impact of the Cold War domestically and events where federal or military photographers would have operated are more likely to be rights-free than coverage of Cold War developments internationally. In general, when searching the portion of the collection that is online, pair search terms with the words no known restrictions to find those that are rights-free. The photos are divided into two sections: a subject/geographical section and a biographical section. Within those sections, the images are grouped under the original folder headings used by the newspaper, so discovering the heading for an event can be helpful (e.g., the Cuban Missile Crisis is found under "SUBJ/GEOG--Cuba--Crisis," and images relating to the space race can be found under, "SUBJ/GEOG--Space--Astronauts" and "SUBJ/GEOG--United States--National Aeronautics Space Agency." Browsing the subject/geographical section finding aid and the two biographical section finding aids (names A-L; names M-Z) can help discover relevant headings.
U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection (research guide)
The collection depicts news topics, with particular emphasis on Washington, D.C., and the United States, but with some international coverage, 1952-1986. Photographs by staff photographers are rights-free and tend to emphasize events in Washington, D.C., such as visits by heads of state, celebrations of NASA triumphs, Congressional hearings including the Army McCarthy hearings, and demonstrations in reaction to international conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Staff photographers did travel to the USSR to cover Richard Nixon's visit with Khruschev to an American exhibit in Moscow. Photographs taken overseas are generally by non-staff where rights may be restricted. Therefore, it's best to pair search terms with the words no known restrictions to find those that are rights-free. The names of staff photographers are recorded in the rights statement.
Edmund Valtman Cartoons (search result)
Edmund S. Valtman emigrated from Estonia in 1944 during Soviet occupation. He drew editorial cartoons for the Hartford Times from the 1950s to 1975 and continued to produce cartoons into the early 1990s. Valtman dealt with themes such as Soviet, Chinese, and Cuban leadership, the exchange of captured reconnaissance pilot Gary Powers with Soviet intelligence officer Abel, Soviet dominance in Berlin and Estonia, and Soviet reaction to the development of the European Common Market. In addition to drawings he gave to the Library of Congress and placed in the public domain (see the rights statement), his drawings appear in the Art Wood Collection, and the Cartoon Drawings collection. A portion of the drawings are unprocessed and must be viewed by appointment.
Yanker Poster Collection (summary & search)
This collection of political, propaganda, and social issue posters and handbills, dating 1927-1980 includes posters generated in Communist countries during the Cold War, including China, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. While rights to non-U.S. posters are possibly restricted, some posters produced in the U.S. commenting on subjects such as communism, nuclear proliferation, and war are considered to have no known restrictions because they were published without a copyright notice (see the rights information). Pair search terms with the words no known restrictions to find those that are rights-free.

Rights Restricted Collection--Seeking Permission for Educational Use is Encouraged

Herblock Collection (summary & search)
Herbert L. Block ("Herblock") chronicled major social and political events in editorial cartoons that began to appear in newspapers in 1929 and continued until 2001. Herblock regularly commented on international events and domestic developments during the Cold War, including nuclear weapons, Cuba in the 1960s, Russia and China in the 1950s and 1960s, the Korean and Vietnam wars, communism and anti-communism. Permission for use must be requested from the Herblock Foundation; they are generally generous in granting permission for classroom and student use (see the Herbert Block rights information).

Collections with Content That May Be Rights Restricted

Artist Posters (summary & search)
While posters promoting cultural events and travel predominate in this collection, it includes a sprinkling of Soviet and Chinese posters as well as U.S. campaign posters from the Cold War era.
LOOK Magazine Photograph Collection (summary & search)
Photos created to illustrate Look magazine, 1952-1971, covered many aspects of Cold War lifestyles and concerns. Particularly strong is coverage of life in Russia and Eastern bloc countries (including a large "job" titled "Iron Curtain"). Also covered are the Cuban Revolution and life in Cuba under Castro, the Korean and Vietnam wars and their aftermaths, and developments in nuclear technology and space.
Cartoon & Caricature Collections (research guide)
In addition to works by cartoonists listed above, the division has holdings by other cartoonists who provided incisive commentary on events of the Cold War. In particular, Ann Mergen, Bill Mauldin, Edwin Marcus, Gib Crockett, and Oliver Harrington commented prolifically on international relations of the 1950s-1980s. Some cartoons with call numbers that include the word "Unprocessed" may require an advance appointment for viewing.
Motion Picture Posters (catalog record)
To the extent that products of the American motion picture industry expressed American attitudes relating to nuclear development, space, and relations with communist countries, this collection, which is organized chronologically, may offer relevant imagery.

Groups of Images

Groups of Images (LOTs) from National Information, News, and Cultural Agencies

These groups offer a sample of the information or propaganda national groups offered during the Cold War. Examples:

Photographs, under the general title, "Chronicle No. 1," issued by the U.S.S.R. Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Moscow, 1949 - LOT 5262 (catalog record)
Photographs of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic issued by the U.S.S.R. Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Moscow, 1948 - LOT 5265 (catalog record)
Photovistavka, a series of Russian propaganda photographs - LOT 2617 (catalog record)
Telegrafnoe agentstvo SSSR (search result)
The Russian news agency (TASS) documented life in various Eastern bloc countries.
United States Information Agency sets (search result)
Some of the groups deal with conditions in Communist countries (e.g., Words and deeds; Soviet promise and Soviet reality, 1952 or the development of international cooperation - LOT 6488). Although a federal agency produced the sets, sometimes they collected images from foreign or commercial sources, making the rights uncertain.

Groups of Images Transferred from Personal Papers in the Manuscript Division

The Manuscript Division has personal papers from many government officials and journalists who were involved in decision-making or coverage of Cold War events. Sometimes visual materials from the papers are transferred to the Prints & Photographs Division; in other cases, the materials remain integrated with the papers. Examples where the Prints & Photographs has groups of transfers include the following (those with call numbers that include the word "Unprocessed" may require an appointment set up in advance in order to view the materials, and the papers may come with additional access restrictions):

Visual Materials from the Henry Brandon Papers (search result)
Brandon was a journalist who served primarily as a correspondent for the Sunday Times of London. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm95082722.
Visual materials from the Zbigniew Brzezinski papers (catalog record)
Born in Poland, Brzezinski was a foreign policy advisor, political scientist, educator, and author whose research particularly focused on the Soviet Union. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2003084951.
Visual materials from the Paul Nitze papers (catalog record)
Nitze was U.S. delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm89080281.
Visual materials from the Clark M. Clifford papers (catalog record)
Clifford was an adviser and counsel to four Democratic presidential administrations, 1946-1980. He served as United States secretary of defense, 1968-1969. The collection includes portraits of government officials. NOTE: Some photographs remain in the papers in the Manuscript Division. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm00084499.
Visual materials from the Joseph Kingsbury-Smith papers (catalog record)
Kingsbury-Smith was a journalist with Hearst Corporation. The materials include documentation of trips to the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2010085569.
Visual materials from the Irving R. Levine papers (catalog record)
Levine was a broadcast journalist, serving as chief correspondent for NBC News in Moscow (1955-1959), with later postings elsewhere overseas and in Washington, D.C. Materials include photographs from reporting in Rome, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the USSR. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm96083623.
Visual materials from the Daniel Schorr papers (catalog record)
Schorr was a journalist who covered post-World War II reconstruction and international relations. The collection includes his work in the Soviet Union, Germany, Cuba, etc. NOTE: Some photographs remain in the papers in the Manuscript Division. Catalog record for the papers: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2008085407

Cold War: Finding Images in the Prints & Photographs Division

Prints & Photographs: Ask a Librarian