Snapshots of the Past

[Capitol, elevation of new dome] – Vintage Print

[Capitol, elevation of new dome], [between 1853 and 1878] — historic photograph
[Capitol, elevation of new dome], [between 1853 and 1878]. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive 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

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of [Capitol, elevation of new dome]. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[Capitol, elevation of new dome]

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Unlike the street-level views that usually show the Capitol, this print presents the new dome in elevation, a flat, frontal drawing-like view that makes its proportions easy to read. It comes from an album kept by Benjamin Brown French, who, as Commissioner of Public Buildings, oversaw the Capitol's expansion in the 1850s and 1860s, including the rebuilding of the dome in cast iron. Salted paper was an early photographic process, so the print is a useful record of how the project was documented while construction was still underway.

Created / published[between 1853 and 1878]
Medium1 photographic print : salted paper ; 38 x 21.5 cm.
NotesIn album: Benjamin Brown French Photographs
SubjectsUnited States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)--1850-1880. Domes--Washington (D.C.)--1850-1880.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan883 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-158022

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