Snapshots of the Past

Bear pit, the zoo, Buffalo, N.Y. – Historic Reproduction

Bear pit, the zoo, Buffalo, N.Y., c[between 1900 and 1910] — historic photograph
Bear pit, the zoo, Buffalo, N.Y., c[between 1900 and 1910]. Historic photograph from the Buffalo collection.

(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

A window into the past: Bear pit, the zoo, Buffalo, N.Y., preserved in this historic photograph. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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Bear pit, the zoo, Buffalo, N.Y.

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Bear pits were a standard feature of early American zoos, and this 8 x 10 inch glass negative shows one at the Buffalo zoo in New York. The Detroit Publishing Company, which sent photographers across the country to document towns, parks and attractions in the early 1900s, made the image sometime between 1900 and 1910. Sunken enclosures like this one let visitors look down on the animals from railings above, a design that was popular before zoos moved toward moats and naturalistic habitats. The picture offers a glimpse of how urban zoos presented wildlife to the public during the Progressive Era.

Created / publishedc[between 1900 and 1910]
Medium1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
GenreDry plate negatives.
NotesG 6638" on negative. Detroit Publishing Co. no. 071480. Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949."
SubjectsZoos.United States--New York (State)--Buffalo.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
Original scan973 × 782 px
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-DET-72819

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