Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Lantern Slide Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0686
Creators:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Dates:
1890-1920
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.2 Cubic feet
2 boxes
Repository:
Approximately 200 lantern slides, of various scenes in America and Canada, many of them published by railroad lines, presumably to arouse tourist interest in travel by rail. New York State and California are especially emphasized. Some images depict the railroads, railroad stations and railroad equipment. One group of images is from the Nabisco factory.

Scope and Contents note

Scope and Contents note
Approximately 200 glass lantern slides [exactly 214], of various scenes in America and Canada, many of them published by railroad lines, presumably to arouse tourist interest in travel by rail. Especially emphasized are New York State and California. Some slides feature the railroads and railroad equipment. Some of the slides are scenes from a cereal factory, showing the manufacture of shredded wheat.
Some slide makers are unidentified. Captions quoted are from labels on the slides, except that descriptions in brackets are supplied by the cataloguer.
Slide manufacturers include Chas. Beseler Co.,
The two original wooden storage boxes in which the slides were received are included. Slides shown in boxes 1-10 were originally stored in one wooden box, while those in boxes 11-20 were originally in the second wooden box.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is arranged into one series.

Administration

Author
Cathy Keen
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Immediate source of acquisition is unknown. Almost certainly transferred from one of the curatorial divisions, because it has an inventory tag (1980), predating the Archives Center's existence, but no other information is known.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Cathy Keen, 2015.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Preferred Citation
Archives Center Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1890-1920, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Probably public domain, copyrights expired. Fees for commercial reproduction.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Railroad travel Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tourism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Travel photography Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lantern slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nabisco, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu