Misery loves company. Multitudes are no doubt making the last-minute scramble to finish taxes today. If that's the case for you, perhaps you can take solace in the fact that this tax misery is a long-lived American tradition.
These photos from Life magazine's archives were taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1944. He used a telephoto lens at a New York Internal Revenue information center to capture one doleful face after another. See the full gallery, and happy taxing; may the odds be ever in your favor.
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![A man at an Internal Revenue information center in New York in 1944](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/48644ec/2147483647/strip/true/crop/718x1000+0+0/resize/880x1226!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F04%2F16%2Fnpr_tax2_custom-6b3b968042077cf9282fd609aa37aec8fda0c754.jpg)
Alfred Eisenstaedt / Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
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Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5bcd315/2147483647/strip/true/crop/712x1000+0+0/resize/880x1236!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2012%2F04%2F16%2Fnpr_tax1_custom-1ab3bd73585e1685d92fcf1f7b5aa6f65e0d47eb.jpg)
Alfred Eisenstaedt / Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
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Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images