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New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress

Collection Strengths & Sample Images

World-Telegram staff, photographer. Mrs. Rose Covarrubias, half-length portrait, with camera. 1937. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Collection depicts subjects typical of a major city newspaper:

  • New York City events, sites and subjects are heavily covered, often by photographers working for the newspaper.
  • World events are represented, often by images collected from commercial sources. Among the national and international news topics the collection includes are:
    • U.S. presidents,
    • Personalities and productions of the stage and screen,
    • Sports (although there are very few baseball images in the collection).
    • African-American civil rights
    • Politics
    • Demonstrations and strikes
    • World War II and the Korean War.

Particular areas of subject strength are highlighted below.

People

Depictions of people are prolific in the collection, including personalities of stage and screen, royalty, political and cultural leaders both national and international, and U.S. Presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Lyndon Johnson. Perhaps because of his association with the state of New York, Theodore Roosevelt is well-represented.

Sports

Though there are few baseball photographs in the collection, other sports are well-represented. There are images of collegiate and professional football, basketball, golf, and boxing. Individual athletes can be searched for under their names.

African-American Civil Rights

Images related to African-American civil rights can be found in both the Biographical and Subject/Geographical sections of the New York World Telegram & Sun Collection. The photos show demonstrations, including the violence that occurred at some, leaders of the movement, and coverage of school desegregation. Tips to help locate these photos can be found in the Guide's Introduction.

New York City and Environs

There is extensive coverage of the city in the Subject/Geographical portion of the collection. The buildings, inhabitants, leaders, and people of New York City are featured prominently. Tips for locating New York City images can be found in the Guide introduction.

Government, Politics, and War

The collection includes photographs of foreign leaders, national and international government activities, and 20th century wars and uprisings. There is considerable coverage of demonstrations and court cases that took place in New York City.