Guide to the Robert Bagby Stereographs and Lantern Slides

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of thirty-three Stereo Realist color slides, with viewer, in a fitted case, arranged according to the container listing; and four 3-1/4" x 4-1/4" black-and-white lantern slides in a Kodak envelope. Several images depict the photographer himself, possibly self-portraits. One lantern slide shows him with a motorcycle. Other subjects include landscapes, houses, covered bridges, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, Mount Vernon, the Supreme Court, and other landmarks from the District of Columbia, cherry blossoms in Washington, fashion models, and a commercial still life. Although one of the lantern slides is a photograph of the young Robert Bagby astride a motorcycle, the other slides seem quite early (all dated 1919 on the labels) and were probably collected by Bagby from other sources. All lantern slides are cracked to varying degrees and are very fragile.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two series.

Series 1: 35mm slides

Series 2: Black-and-White Lantern Slides, 1919

Biographical / Historical

Robert C. Bagby (1896-1972) was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 16, 1896. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1914, Bagby attended the Illinois College of Photography. He graduated in 1916 and moved to New York City, where he worked for Stadler Photographic Company. In 1933, Bagby left Stadler to open his own commercial photography business, Robert Bagby Inc., and traveled around the world. Robert Bagby was a well-known commercial color photographer whose subjects included landscapes and fashion. He specialized in advertising and was one of the first to become known for his photographs of food for Vanity Fair in 1934. He was a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, New York) from 1953-1968, where he taught courses in color photography, specifically in advertising. He also wrote a book entitled Make Your Own Color Prints, published by McGraw-Hill in 1961.