NYT photo exhibit to go on display at arts center

A collection of photographs from the vast archives of The New York Times will go on display this summer in the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina's Walter Greer Gallery, offering visitors a glimpse back at extraordinary -- and ordinary -- moments in time.

From the kitchen at New York's Delmonico Restaurant in 1902 to the arrival of supplies for U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima in 1945 to Buzz Aldrin's descent from the lunar module in 1969, the exhibit captures people and places from the last 150 years.

"Live with History: Extraordinary Images from The New York Times Photo Archives" will feature 74 black and white photographs covering a wide array of subjects, including science, transportation, politics, personalities, Americana, sports, scenes of New York and international newsmakers.

"They're a kind of time machine," said Jim Mones, director of The New York Times Photo Archives, which were closed to the public until 1998. "They bring back memories of days gone by and the things we grew up with."

There are everyday scenes that reflect how much things have changed over the last century. Among the collection is a photo of a horse-drawn advertisement for pickles and one of a Texaco filling station in 1936 selling gas for 15 cents a gallon.

And then there are the momentous events: the Wright Brothers' 1911 flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C., Sir Edmund Hillary ascending Mount Everest, the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lincoln at Antietam, the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

Exhibition-quality prints of all the photos, as well as several hundred images from the archives, will be available for purchase.

"We have more than five million hard copy prints plus another two million photos in our electronic database," Mones said. "I've been doing this job for 10 years and I'm lucky if I've seen 300,000 of them."

The original prints, which bear the photographer's captions and publication dates, are stored in row after row of filing cabinets in a warehouse near the Times building in New York.

"Live with History" will open with a free gallery walk led by Mones at 10 a.m. June 13. Reservations should be made by calling 843-686-3945, ext. 233. The free exhibition can be viewed during regular gallery hours through Sept. 12: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and one hour prior to performances in the arts center's Elizabeth Wallace Theatre.