Snapshots of the Past

The Johnstown calamity. A slightly damaged house – Antique Wall Art

The Johnstown calamity. A slightly damaged house, [1889] — historic photograph
The Johnstown calamity. A slightly damaged house, [1889]. Historic photograph from the Johnstown Flood 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 The Johnstown calamity. A slightly damaged house. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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The Johnstown calamity. A slightly damaged house

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Unlike the wreckage scenes that dominate this group, this stereograph focuses on a single house that came through the flood only slightly damaged. The disaster followed the failure of the South Fork dam above the Conemaugh Valley in May 1889, and the resulting flood killed more than 2,000 people and swept debris through Johnstown. Stereo cards like this one were sold widely, and viewers looked through a stereoscope to see the scene in depth. The record credits George Barker of Niagara Falls, New York, but that attribution comes from an old caption card and has not been verified.

Created / published[1889]
Medium1 photographic print on stereo card : stereograph.
NotesStereo photo half by George Barker, Niagara Falls, New York. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,153 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-123801

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