Snapshots of the Past

[Early photographic view of Washington, D.C. from the Capitol, looking southeast] – Antique Photo Print

[Early photographic view of Washington, D.C. from the Capitol, looking southeast], [ca. 1863] — historic photograph
[Early photographic view of Washington, D.C. from the Capitol, looking southeast], [ca. 1863]. Historic photograph from the U.S. Capitol 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

[Early photographic view of Washington, D.C. from the Capitol, looking southeast] comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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[Early photographic view of Washington, D.C. from the Capitol, looking southeast]

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This albumen print, dated about 1863, was taken from the Capitol and looks southeast over the city's streets and rooftops. The Capitol's cast-iron dome was still under construction during the Civil War, so the photographer worked from a building that was itself in the middle of a major change. In those years Washington was a crowded wartime capital, with soldiers, government clerks, and new arrivals swelling a city that had grown more slowly than its planners had hoped. Views like this one, with their sharp detail and open spaces, show how sparse and unfinished the capital still looked compared with the monumental city of later decades.

Created / published[ca. 1863]
Medium1 photographic print : albumen.
GenreCityscape photographs 1860-1870.Albumen prints 1860-1870.
SubjectsBuildings--Washington (D.C.)--1860-1870. Streets--Washington (D.C.)--1860-1870. Washington (D.C.)--1860-1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,304 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-203516

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