Snapshots of the Past

[Bear pit, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.] – Antique Print

[Bear pit, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.], [between 1900 and 1910] — historic photograph
[Bear pit, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.], [between 1900 and 1910]. Historic photograph from the Detroit 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: [Bear pit, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.], preserved in this historic photograph. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Bear pit, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.]

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Bears kept in a pit at Belle Isle, the island park in the Detroit River, make this view stand apart from the company's many street and river scenes. The island had become a popular public park by the early 1900s, and its small zoo drew families who came by streetcar and ferry to see the animals. The Detroit Publishing Company made views like this for sale as prints and postcards, recording American cities and leisure spots at the turn of the century. This copy survives as a large glass dry plate negative, cracked and taped, which shows the fragile materials behind these early photographs.

Created / published[between 1900 and 1910]
Medium1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
GenreDry plate negatives.
NotesTitle from jacket. Negative cracked and taped. G 5988" on negative. Detroit Publishing Co. no. 068067. Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949."
SubjectsZoos. Bears. Parks.United States--Michigan--Detroit.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
Original scan973 × 786 px
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-DET-71533

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