Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Collection Photo, Print, Drawing Look magazine photograph collection (Library of Congress) Look.

[ original digital photo ]

Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

About this Item

Title

  • Look magazine photograph collection (Library of Congress)

Other Title

  • Look.

Summary

  • The photographs depict mid-20th century American life, culture, and interests, as well as some views of other countries (including Russia, China, Cuba, and India) and international events such as the Vietnam War. The broad range of subjects covers: people (families, teenagers, children, celebrities, and public figures); fashion; food; lifestyles; architecture and interior decoration; sports; entertainment, motion picture and television industries; aeronautics; cities; education; medicine and technology; politics; religion; social issues such as civil rights and women's changing roles; and international affairs.

Names

  • Cowles Communications, Inc., donor

Created / Published

  • 1937-1971 (1952-1971 cataloged)

Headings

  • -  Aeronautics--1950-1970
  • -  Architecture--1950-1970
  • -  Celebrities--1950-1970
  • -  City & town life--1950-1970
  • -  Clothing & dress--1950-1970
  • -  Education--1950-1970
  • -  Entertainers--1950-1970
  • -  Families--1950-1970
  • -  Food--1950-1970
  • -  Manners & customs--1950-1970
  • -  Medicine--1950-1970
  • -  Motion picture industry--1950-1970
  • -  Politics & government--1950-1970
  • -  Religion--1950-1970
  • -  Sports--1950-1970
  • -  Television broadcasting--1950-1970

Format Headings

  • Contact sheets--1950-1970.
  • Fashion photographs--1950-1970.
  • Film negatives--1950-1970.
  • Portrait photographs--1950-1970.
  • Slides--Color--1950-1970.
  • Still life photographs--1950-1970.
  • Transparencies--Color--1950-1970.

Genre

  • Contact sheets--1950-1970
  • Film negatives--1950-1970
  • Slides--Color--1950-1970
  • Transparencies--Color--1950-1970
  • Portrait photographs--1950-1970
  • Fashion photographs--1950-1970
  • Still life photographs--1950-1970

Notes

  • -  Arrangement: cataloged images (ca. 4,000,000) Arrangement: Photographs are arranged chronologically by photographer's shooting assignment, referred to as a "Look-Job." A Look-Job may include any combination of b&w contact sheets of published and unpublished negatives as well as transparencies. A Look-Job may also include photocopies, made by Library of Congress staff, of color and b&w images published in the magazine. Only the published images have captions.
  • -  Arrangement: The negatives (chiefly black-and-white) and transparencies are arranged by size and job number in series that begin with the code "L9". Sizes range from 35mm to 8x10 inches.
  • -  The cataloged images are by salaried Look staff photographers or by photographers on contract for single assignments. An average of 12 photographers worked on staff as salaried employees in any one year. Many staff photographers worked only for a short time, but several had long careers at Look and produced thousands of images. Heavily represented are: Joel Baldwin, Frank Bauman, Cal Bernstein, Charlotte Brooks, Bob Dierks, Paul Fusco, Milton H. Greene, Jim Hansen, Phillip Harrington, Paul Himmel, Hiro, Douglas Jones, James H. Karales, Douglas Kirkland, Thomas R. Koeniges, Stanley Kubrick, Bob Lerner, Archie Lieberman, Fred J. Maroon, Vincent Nanfra, Marvin E. Newman, Hy Peskin, Harold Rodenbaugh, Arthur Rothstein, Bob Sandberg, John Shearer, Ben Somoroff, Maurice Terrell, Earl Theisen, Stanley Tretick, Michael A. (Tony) Vaccaro, John Vachon, and Robert Vose.
  • -  The collection's Supplementary Archives include annotated issues of Look magazine, photographer logbooks, a subject card index, photos from the magazines Quick and Flair, and published images purchased from wire services and other commercial sources for one-time use in the magazine. Images purchased for one-time use are not being cataloged.
  • -  Cataloged Look-Jobs are accessible through the Prints and Photographs Division online catalog. The online records provide access by job numbers, photographer's names, story titles, subject headings, and keywords in subject summary notes.
  • -  Collection title devised by library staff.
  • -  Special Collections in the Library of Congress / compiled by Annette Melville. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1980, no. 147
  • -  Gift; Cowles Communications, Inc.; 1971 (DLC/PP - 1972:282)
  • -  Look was a biweekly, general interest popular magazine published from March 1937 to October 1971 by Gardner Cowles, Jr., under various company names: Look, Inc. (1937-45); Cowles Magazines (1946-65); and Cowles Communications, Inc. (1965-71). Look began as a tabloid-style magazine that emphasized sports, movie stars, and sensationalism. After World War II, it became more family oriented and included articles on social and political subjects, as well as regular features on personalities, food, fashion, and sports. Look's "golden years" (1954-64) followed improvements in the magazine's design and focus by editor Fleur Cowles, art director Alan Hurlburt, managing editor Dan Mich, and others.

Medium

  • contact sheets ca. 100,000 photographic prints (ca, 3,500,000 images) ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
  • slides 1,000,000 transparencies : chiefly color slides ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
  • negatives ca. 3,750,000 : chiefly b&w ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller.
  • miscellaneous prints 150,000 : various sizes.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Guide Record (Filing series: LOOK - Job) [P&P]

Repository

  • Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov /loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 94837687

Rights Advisory

Access Advisory

  • For unprocessed portion of the collection (most jobs that date before 1952; photos bought by Look for one-time use in its publications; and other supplementary materials): Please allow fourteen days advance notice to view materials. To make a request, see "Access to Unprocessed Materials," https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For information about assessing rights, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page.

  • Rights Advisory: Publication may be restricted. For more information, see "Look Magazine," https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/074_look.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: Guide Record (Filing series: LOOK - Job) [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: For unprocessed portion of the collection (most jobs that date before 1952; photos bought by Look for one-time use in its publications; and other supplementary materials): Please allow fourteen days advance notice to view materials. To make a request, see "Access to Unprocessed Materials," https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/022_unpr.html

Obtaining Copies

Generally, Guide Records describe large groups of items from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

  1. 1. Determine whether the desired materials can be retrieved online.
    • Select the "About this Item" tab and look for a note about tools for searching the group
    • If there is a note such as "Digitized images of most prints along with associated descriptive information are available through the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog," try searching the name of the collection in Search All
    • Select the "Obtaining Copies" tab for any retrieved items that are of interest.
  2. 2. If the desired material cannot be retrieved online:

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Cowles Communications, Inc., Donor. Look magazine photograph collection Library of Congress. , 1937. to 1971 1952 to 1971 Cataloged. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/94837687/.

APA citation style:

Cowles Communications, I. (1937) Look magazine photograph collection Library of Congress. , 1937. to 1971 1952 to 1971 Cataloged. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/94837687/.

MLA citation style:

Cowles Communications, Inc., Donor. Look magazine photograph collection Library of Congress. to 1971 1952 to 1971 Cataloged. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/94837687/>.