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Pumpkin Spice Up Your Fall with the Library of Congress

By / / General, Libraries are Awesome
An array of pumpkins, ready for the autumn customer rush at the Kelp's Pumpkin Patch stand near Nashville in Brown County, Indiana. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Sept. 2016.

Autumn is here! For many around the United States, leaves are changing colors and falling from trees, the temperatures are getting chillier, apple cider and pumpkin spice are flowing, and Halloween decorations are slowly starting to appear in homes and stores.

If you’re like us, you love to fill your spaces with sights, sounds, and smells of fall. Thankfully, the Library of Congress has a plethora of free resources that can be used to add instant autumn ambiance, including a fascinating selection of copyright-free posters and images that can be downloaded and hung anywhere you want to add some seasonal flavor.

Here are some of our faves:

Autumn scene in rural Pomfret, Connecticut
An autumn scene in rural Pomfret, Connecticut, by photographer Carol M. Highsmith.

 

A lithograph of the 1880 painting, "Autumn on the Wissahicon," by W.R. Hallowell.
A lithograph of the 1880 painting, "Autumn on the Wissahicon," by W.R. Hallowell.

 

A "pumpkinhead" man, out front for the autumn season at the Maggie Valley Rock Shop, a gem and antiques shop in Maggie Valley, in the Great Smoky Mountain Range of far-western North Carolina
Photo of a "pumpkinhead" man, out front for the autumn season at the Maggie Valley Rock Shop, a gem and antiques shop in Maggie Valley, in the Great Smoky Mountain Range of far-western North Carolina, by Carol M. Highsmith.

 

An 1895 poster for Lippincott's magazine by William L. Carqueville.
An 1895 poster for Lippincott's magazine by William L. Carqueville.

 

When the leaves are turning. Pillow cover advertisement. Woodcut. [United States], 1906.
A woodcut advertisement design on a pillow cover from 1906.
For those looking to fill their homes, offices, dorm rooms, and cars with the sounds of autumn, the Library has a treasure trove of archival recordings from which to choose—everything from early 20th-century big band tunes about the season to poetry readings about the wonders of fall. The selections definitely make our "Autumn Dreams" come true.

Autumn Dreams album image
"Autumn Dreams," by Leo Zimmerman, 1914.

Fall into the autumn-related selections at the Library of Congress online today.

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Image: An array of pumpkins at Kelp's Pumpkin Patch stand near Nashville in Brown County, Indiana. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2016.

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