My mom sent me a link to a post on the NYPL Blog about their Photo Collection, specifically trying to demonstrate the ways in which it was a more intriguing, and possibly better resource than Google’s image search. I’ve long been a fan of the Photo Collection, from which I’ve pulled more than one image that I’ve used on this site. So I thought I’d pull another, as a nod of agreement to the blog post. My search term was “outsider.”
The above is Image #1259993 from the Collection. According to the site, it depicts: “Carpenters and construction workers waiting outside Florida State employment office trying to get jobs on Camp Blanding… [White and African American carpenters and construction work…] (December 1940)”
Clearly the NYPL search function didn’t understand the fraught and often problematic meanings of “outsider.” Nevertheless, it’s an intriguing image.
