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Prohibition: Selected Images from the Library of Congress

Image Gallery

This page includes sample images related to Prohibition from the Prints & Photographs Division collections.

Chemist G. F. Beyer of the Internal Revenue Bureau is here shown using a pipette into which he is drawing a quantity of bootleg whis [i.e., whiskey] to analyze.

Chemist G. F. Beyer of the Internal Revenue Bureau is here shown using a pipette into which he is drawing a quantity of bootleg whis [i.e., whiskey] to analyze. Jan. 14, 1920. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Two women hold sign promoting Prohibition reform.

Women and ballot box: Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform. 1932. Harris & Ewing Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Editorial cartoon shows Al Smith driving a cart of hops and malt, two ingredients necessary for the production of beer. His horse has stopped and turned its head. Frueh drew this cartoon during Prohibition when the production and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Smith, governor of New York from 1919-1920 and 1923-1928, and a well known

Alfred Joseph Frueh, artist. Al Smith express. 1921 Jan. 3. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Holding a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, the criminal shoots at a fleeing pilgrim. He stands next to Barleycorn's tombstone embellished with skull and cross bones.

Ralph Barton, artist. Masked criminal at the grave of John Barleycorn. 1921 Oct. 29. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watching agents pour liquor into sewer following a raid during the height of prohibition

New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watching agents pour liquor into sewer following a raid during the height of prohibition. Circa 1921. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A dog sniffs at a flask in the back pocket of seated man, fishing on a pier.

Hooch Hound [Related image description: "Hooch Hound, a dog trained to detect liquor..."] 1922. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Governor Norbeck signing the bone dry law.

Leeland Art Studio, copyright claimant. Governor Norbeck signing the "bone dry" law. Feb. 21, 1917. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Four men stand around a still and an assortment of distilling equipment.

The Largest still in captivity. 1922. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Officers pull on a rope emerging from a cellar while onlookers observe.

Prohibition officers raiding the lunch room of 922 Pa. Ave., Wash., D.C. 1923. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A line of men throw bottles of beer from boxes into a pit of broken bottles.

A Consignment recently received from Phila., Pa. 749 cases of beer (18,000) bottles were today destroyed in the District of Columbia. 1923. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Two men standing outdoors with small still, one of them holding up bottle of liquor

Two men standing outdoors with small still, one of them holding up bottle of liquor. Between 1921 and 1932. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Barleycorn monument reads: In Memoriam, John Barleycorn, Born B.C., Died Jan. 16, 1920, Resurrection?

Silver City men erect Barleycorn monument. 1920. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A group of officers stand in front of a wrecked vehicle and a patrol wagon. Onlookers observe the scene from the background.

After a thrilling chase through the busiest streets of Washington, ... a couple of bootleggers and their car come to grief at the hands of the Capitol police. 1922. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A group of coast guardsman stand at the bow of the USS Seneca, overlooking a rum running boat and its occupants

One of the rum runners at night & its nemesis; the K-13091 along side the Seneca at the end of the chase. Circa 1924. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Photograph of barrels of possibly confiscated liquor in building.

Barrels of confiscated(?) liquor in building. Between 1921 and 1932. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A man hold up a glass of liquid beside a table with a still on it.

Moonshine still recently confiscated by the Internal Revenue Bureau photographed at the Treasury Department. Between 1921 and 1932. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

Woman putting flask in her Russian boot, Washington, D.C.

Woman putting flask in her Russian boot, Washington, D.C. 1922. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A silhouette of a man holding an umbrella above the dome of the Capitol building.

Representative William D. Upshaw of Georgia, a leader of the drys... 1926. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The Prohibition symbol, Mr. Dry, hauls a cannon labeled: Woodcock.

Kirby, Rollin, artist. The last big offensive. 1930. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

A man tilts a watering can over a globe that shows North America

Representative John Phillip Hill of Maryland...determined...to keep the country wet. 1926. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

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