Holstein Stereograph Collection Gets Press

Curator of Prints and Photographs Sarah Weatherwax contributed an article to the July/August issue of Stereo World, which features a selection from the Library Company’s Raymond Holstein Stereograph Collection, acquired in 2011. “A Pleasant Change from the Routine”: West Point Cadets Visit Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition employs text and images to explore the experience of the 300 cadets who visited Philadelphia over the Fourth of July holiday in 1876.  The cadets traveled by special excursion train from the Hudson River Valley and set up a military encampment on the fairgrounds where they were visited by dignitaries as well as ordinary fairgoers.  The local press dutifully documented the cadets’ daily activities as the men endured the stifling July heat.  Mr. Holstein’s collection includes hundreds of views of the Centennial buildings and exhibitions as well as scenes of the military encampment.  The Holstein Collection as a whole contains approximately 2,000 views of Philadelphia business, churches, and street scenes and is a remarkable visual resource for anyone interested in the city during the last half of the 19th century.