Snapshots of the Past

Pittsburgh Pa. nursery of vast fortunes--Smithfield St. looking N.E. with P.O. at right – Historic Print

Pittsburgh Pa. nursery of vast fortunes--Smithfield St. looking N.E. with P.O. at right, 1903 — historic image
Pittsburgh Pa. nursery of vast fortunes--Smithfield St. looking N.E. with P.O. at right, 1903. Historic image from the Pittsburgh 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: Pittsburgh Pa. nursery of vast fortunes--Smithfield St. looking N.E. with P.O. at right, preserved in this historic image. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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Pittsburgh Pa. nursery of vast fortunes--Smithfield St. looking N.E. with P.O. at right

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Smithfield Street, looking northeast, is the subject here, with the post office standing at the right edge of the frame. The card's title calls Pittsburgh a "nursery of vast fortunes," a boast that fit a city then at the center of American steel, glass, and coal wealth. Issued in 1903, it is a stereograph card, meant to be viewed through a stereoscope so the street's buildings and crowds appeared to stand out in depth. Cards like this were a popular way for early twentieth-century households to see distant cities, and this one records downtown street life at the height of Pittsburgh's industrial growth.

Created / published1903
NotesH29991 U.S. Copyright Office. No. 1. · Harte Bret 1836-1902.
SubjectsCity & town life--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh--1900-1910.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Stereograph Cards
Original scan3,897 × 4,608 px · prints to 13 × 15 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-STV-270793

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