Shorpy was a real person, a young boy who worked as a greaser in a coal mine. In 1910, his photo was captured in Jefferson County, Alabama, by a photographer named Lewis Wickes Hine. Now, more than 100 years later, that photograph has inspired a cult following on the wildly popular website bearing his namesake: Shorpy.com.
The site was created by a former Washington Post editor. He scours the Library of Congress web archives for photographs and digitally enhances them in high-definition to focus light, shadow, contrast, luminescence and composition in a most remarkable way. They are then resold as enlarged prints on Shorpy.com.
Photos from the “100-Year-Old-Photo Blog” span the 1850’s to 1950’s. For vintage photo buffs, this site is a goldmine, especially for those who like to share on Pinterest.
Virtually every image on the Library of Congress site is public domain, so long as republications are cited (which Shorpy does, see any image caption on the site.) Some say the Shorpy process of earning cash and loyal followers by replicating prints with minimal alteration is shady. Some think it’s genius. Either way, Library of Congress images largely belong to the American people, the site is a golden egg for website owners who are willing to dig. For those who aren’t so willing to dig, there is Shorpy who is doing it for you.
You will see throughout World on a Fork that we use a lot of images from the Library of Congress. Like this one of Harry Houdini — Self-Marketing Magician Extraordinaire; or this iconic image of John F. Kennedy giving his Inaugural Address. Or of French literary master, Honoré de Balzac. We do not use images from Shorpy because that’s his ball of wax. But we will post them here because there are some dandy’s:
Shorpy Higginbotham, a greaser in a coal mine. Bessie Mine, Alabama. November 1910. (Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
Elvis Presley in 1956 at home in Memphis with his three-wheeled Messerschmitt “bubble car” and Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and grandfather Jessie Presley. (Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
Washington, D.C., circa 1917. “Indians: Redwater and group.” (Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
June 1940. Washington, D.C. In the cafe at a truck drivers’ service station on U.S. 1.(Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
“Gang of Four” c. 1905 … Somewhere in the American South.(Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
A model floating in the water at Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida. The image by fashion photographer Toni Frissell was published in Harper’s Bazaar in December 1947. (Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
“Boy Scout training demonstration, 1912.” Washington, D.C. Our fourth look at Scout first aid, this one showing a litter made using two poles and some clothing. (Courtesy Shorpy.com | Library of Congress)
Shorpy died in a coal mine accident in 1927.
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