News From Over There

A new collection on the Library of Congress’ American Memory Web site makes it easier to picture your WWI-era ancestors’ lives. Newspaper Pictorials: World War I Rotogravures <memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/rotogravures> features articles with illustrations created by the then-cutting-edge rotogravure printing process. The technology, which is still in use, let newspapers print detailed, vivid images and led to sharp increases in readership and revenue.

Articles and accompanying pictorials of weaponry, maps, soldiers and women on the home front appear alongside society news and advertisements. You can browse the newspapers by date and title — such as the New York Times and New York Tribune — and use a viewer to zoom in, navigate across the paper and flip to the next page.