Christmas tree at the District Jail, Washington, D.C. and some of the prisoners – Antique Print
![Christmas tree at the District Jail, Washington, D.C. and some of the prisoners, [between 1909 and 1932] — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/05/0594f77f3340-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Christmas tree at the District Jail, Washington, D.C. and some of the prisoners. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
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Christmas tree at the District Jail, Washington, D.C. and some of the prisoners
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A decorated Christmas tree stands among the men in this group portrait, an unexpected holiday scene inside the District of Columbia penitentiary. The National Photo Company, which documented daily life in the capital in the early twentieth century, made the picture sometime between 1909 and 1932. Its staged, posed look reflects the conventions of the period, when institutions and photographers often showed prisons in a tidier light. Holiday observances in jails and asylums were common then, and the image invites viewers to consider how the season was marked behind bars.
| Created / published | [between 1909 and 1932] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
| Genre | Portrait photographs 1900-1940.Group portraits 1900-1940.Photographic prints 1900-1940. |
| Notes | National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress). No. 3456. |
| Subjects | Penitentiary in the District of Columbia--People--1900-1940. Christmas trees--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1940. Prisons--Washington (D.C.)--1900-1940. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,109 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-163644 |
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