[D.C. Wash. - White House - 7 officers of Caning Machinery & Supplies Ass'n posed in auto in front of White House]

Share

Seven officers of the Canning Machinery & Supplies Association sit together in an automobile parked in front of the White House, a pose that shows how novel motorcars still were around 1903. The record spells the group's name "Caning," though the trade it names was almost certainly the canning industry. Visiting delegations and business groups often had their pictures taken at the capital's landmarks, and the White House's familiar façade gave an ordinary organizational outing a sense of prestige. The photograph offers a useful glimpse of early motoring and of how Washington's best-known buildings became settings for civic pride.

More from the White House collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.