Fairmount Park glass plate negatives
Creation: after 1908Abstract
This collection consists of thirty-five glass negatives and one box. It documents locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Fairmount Park system. While the photographer is unidentified, and the images are undated and unlabeled, most images appear to depict Wissahickon Valley Park, historically part of the Fairmount Park system.
Dates
- Creation: after 1908
Creator
- Unknown (Organization)
Extent
35 item(s)
Physical Description
36 glass plate negatives : b&w ; 4.25 x 6.5 in. 1 box.
Historical Note
This collection was purchased in 1971 as part of a lot that included a number of other small collections. The photographer is unknown, but a box included in the collection identifies the images as originating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Fairmount Park system. This network of parks began being developed by the city in 1820 in an effort to establish a sustainable water supply for the city and to preserve its diminishing green spaces. Most of the photographs appear to have been taken in Wissahickon Valley Park, which, from 1867 to 2010 was also part of and managed by the Fairmount Park System. The Wissahickon Valley Park is located in Northwest Philadelphia, and includes Wissahickon Creek from its confluence with the Schuylkill River, and extends to the northwestern boundary of the city with eastern Montgomery County.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of thirty-five glass negatives and one original box. The negatives themselves include no identifying information, but a sticker on the box indicates that the images are of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many of the images include identifiable landmarks. While the photographs are undated, it is estimated that they were taken no earlier than 1908, based on the presence of what appears to be Walnut Lane Bridge, completed in October of that year, in one of the images.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized and can be viewed in Hagley's Digital Archives.
Access to Collection
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Glass plate negatives DO NOT CIRCULATE.
Language of Materials
English
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Fairmount Park glass plate negatives
- Author:
- Skylar Harris
- Date:
- 2019.
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
