Scope and Contents note

The collection is composed largely of photographs related to world's fairs, especially the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, particularly in the form of stereographs. Other photographs document Williamsburg, Old Sturbridge, Mass., and other locations.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged into one series. Arranged geographically and topically.

Historical

Stereographs were employed to document and popularize the great world's fairs of the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century in the United States and Europe. The Centennial Photographic Company, in particular, was formed essentially to disseminate information about the 1876 fair and to profit from its "educational" products. More generally, the three-dimensional photographic medium was considered an ideal way to provide views of regional attractions in the United States. This collection contains both subjects.

Ownership and Custodial History

Photographs collected in the Division of Domestic Life by curators Rodris Roth and Susan Myers. Ms. Myers donated some of the stereographs from her personal collection. The stereographs of the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition were collected in connection with the production of the Smithsonian re-creation of the exhibition in the Arts and Industries Building, "1976." Other donors are represented in the collection. Transferred to the Archives Center in 2000 by the Division of Social History, through Rodris Roth, Domestic Life Collections.