Keystone View Company Lantern Slides collection
Collection Overview
Collection consists of 218 images from the "600 Set" of glass lantern slides produced by the Keystone View Company, a distributor of stereographic images formed in 1892 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, by B. L. Singley. For use in the classroom, each slide is approximately 4 inches by 3.25 inches and labeled with a number and a short description. Images depict a wide range of subject matter but primarily illustrate places of urban and rural commercial and agricultural industry including farms, quarries, textile mills, ports, and manufacturing plants, places of architectural, natural, and historical significance, and places of natural beauty in North America, Europe, South America, Africa, and Australasia. Also included are astronomical images of Saturn, Uranus and Morehouse's Comet. Images date from the 1890s through the early twentieth century.
Dates
- Creation: 1890s-1940s
Creator
- Keystone View Company (Organization)
- Singley, B. L. (Benjamin Lloyd) (Person)
Language of Material
Materials in English
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Historical Note
The Keystone View Co. was formed in 1892 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, by B. L. Singley, a former salesman at Underwood & Underwood. Incorporated in 1895, the company went on to become the largest publisher of stereographs. In 1905 it created its highly successful Education Department which produced the "600 Set," a boxed set of images and descriptive text illustrating culture, industry, commerce, and history for classroom use. Although the company hired its own professional photographers, it also purchased rights to other negatives including several series of Underwood & Underwood negatives in 1912. It continued operations until the 1970s.
Extent
1.5 linear feet (218 lantern slides)
Abstract
Collection consists of 218 images from the "600 Set" of glass lantern slides produced by the Keystone View Company, a distributor of stereographic images formed in 1892 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, by B. L. Singley. For use in the classroom, each slide is approximately 4 inches by 3.25 inches and labeled with a number and a short description. Images depict a wide range of subject matter but primarily illustrate places of urban and rural commercial and agricultural industry including farms, quarries, textile mills, ports, and manufacturing plants, places of architectural, natural, and historical significance, and places of natural beauty in North America, Europe, South America, Africa, and Australasia. Also included are astronomical images of Saturn, Uranus and Morehouse's Comet. Images date from the 1890s through the early twentieth century.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the item level.
Acquisitions Information
Materials donated by John H. Newell, date unkown
Alternate Form of Materials
Digital reproductions available online in the Lowcountry Digital Library.
Processing Information
Processed by Special Collections staff, date unknown.
Source
- Newell, John H. (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Keystone View Company Lantern Slides Collection, 1890s-1940s
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by: Joshua Minor
- Date
- 2016
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)