Photographs

The Library of American Broadcasting holds a wide-ranging collection of photographs illustrating all aspects of radio and television broadcasting. They lift the curtain and give a behind-the-scenes look at radio and television production from the early 1920's to the present. They show the announcers, musicians, comedians, actors,newscasters, sportscasters, and disc jockey's, the on-air talent and local stations and national networks who entertained and informed millions. These photographs also illustrate the technology of broadcasting: the microphones, turntables, antennas, transmitters, cameras, sound effects equipment and other tools necessary for sending a program over the airwaves. Remote broadcasts and news broadcasts also document the history of the twentieth century: the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the Cold War

The primary photograph collections include:

• Jerry Lee On-Line Photo Archive:
  
  With funds generously donated by Philadelphia broadcaster Jerry Lee, a collection of 8,000 photographs that have been digitized and made available on the website in thumbnail form and searchable by keyword. Of particular note are 2,000 photographs documenting the pioneering radio quiz program Vox Pop (1932-1948). Read more about Jerry Lee and his generous donation.
  
  
• Don West Broadcasting and Cable Photo Archive:
  
  A collection of approximately 250,000 photographs published in Broadcasting Magazine from 1931 to the present. Arranged alphabetically by name and by subject. A list of the names and subjecsts will be completed soon. This collection also contains a significant number of photographs documenting broadcast coverage of the United States space program.
  
  
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch Collection:
  
  A collection of 20,000 publicity photographs originally published in the radio and television pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. The collection is arranged by performer and by program with a particular emphasis on television stars and program stills from the late 1940's to the mid-1960's. This collection also contains several photographs of individuals involved in covering the United States space program
  
  
• Alois Havrilla Collection:
  
  A collection of 485 photographs of radio personalities gathered for a planned photo history of radio entitled "Radio's Age of Adventure".
  
  
• Personal Collections:
  
  Many personal collections contain photograph documenting the subject's career. They are often in the form of loose prints or prints arranged in scrapbook form.