[Two men posing with a whiskey still]

During the administrations of Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, the National Photo Company supplied photographs of current news events in Washington, D.C., as a daily service to its subscribers. It also prepared sets of pictures on popular subjects and undertook special photographic assignments for local businesses and government agencies. The bulk of the images were created between 1909 and 1932. The photographic files of the National Photo Company, including an estimated 80,000 images (photographic prints and corresponding glass negatives), were acquired by the Library from its proprietor Herbert E. French in 1947.

The Prohibition Era began in 1920 when the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors, went into effect with the passage of the Volstead Act. Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide ban on the production, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages that lasted from 1920 to 1933. The ban was enacted through the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1919. The goal of Prohibition was to reduce crime and corruption, improve public health, and reduce the negative effects of alcohol on society. However, the ban had many unintended consequences, including an increase in organized crime and the proliferation of illegal speakeasies where alcohol was sold illegally. The ban was eventually repealed through the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Despite the new legislation, Prohibition was difficult to enforce. The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and organized crime led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. The 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, ending Prohibition.