A collection of 60 glass plate negatives spanning roughly two decades, in sizes ranging from approx. 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. to 10 x 8 in. Unknown photographer operating in Washington D.C. and Baltimore. 

This varied and visually rich archive preserves an expansive record of American life and activity at the turn of the twentieth century. Among its highlights is a large plate depicting Theodore Roosevelt seated in an office interior. Accompanying it are eight large plates of Washington, D.C. architecture, most notably views of the White House, suggesting the intriguing possibility that the Roosevelt portrait was taken within the presidential residence during his administration.

Also of particular interest are 14 plates documenting the American role in the construction of the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914. These views capture not only U.S. troops at work on the canal, but also scenes of daily life in Panama, including horse-drawn conveyances and passengers disembarking from a ship. Altogether, they offer a compelling visual record of one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of the early modern era.

The collection further includes 10 plates showing large ships underway or at leisure, among them the SS Harvard and a U.S. Navy paddlewheel steamboat, as well as four plates depicting the Boston & Maine Railroad in the early twentieth century. Yet the greatest portion of the archive consists of 27 plates devoted to scenes of ordinary life, each preserving fleeting but evocative moments from the period. Several bear descriptive titles such as “Young People in Love,” “2 Women on Lake Shore, seated, with some men in Canoes in lake adjacent,” “Old Woman With a fan, seated in rocker on porch,” and “Boy in Admirals Costume.” A larger plate of the Maryland State House may further suggest that at least part of the group was made in or around Maryland. 

[Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards]

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