Part of my research for the Versailles Vignette Guide is searching for public domain photos and paintings to use as illustrations for each vignette. I found this photograph a few weeks ago in the Library of Congress online archives and found it too beautiful not to share. There's something about the quiet of it and the juxtaposition between the opulence of the Hall of Mirrors and the soldier's stance.
I wonder what he was thinking at that moment. I wonder what he had gone through before he got to Versailles.
The summary states:
Pvt. Gordon Conrey of Milford, N.H., one of the first Americans to visit Versailles after its liberation, standing in the hall of mirrors.
If I find more interesting photos that don't make it into the guides, I'll be sure to post them.