Unmounted stereograph shows goods made of rubber and pre-plastic materials displayed on a booth in the India Rubber and Gutta-Percha Department on Union Avenue. Items include dolls in the foreground and smaller figurines on shelves in the background. A banner displaying the department title hangs under patriotic bunting on the wall. The Great Central or Sanitary Fair held June 7-28, 1864 on Logan Circle was one of several national fairs that displayed art, craft, and historical exhibits to benefit the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a soldier relief organization., Title from printed paper label below image., Labeled copy at HSP., Originally part of McAllister scrapbook on the Sanitary Commission., Reproduced in The Print and Photograph Department of the Library Company of Philadelphia's Center City Philadelphia in the 19th century (Portsmouth, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), p. 121., Arcadia caption text: During the Civil War, many benevolent and relief organizations were formed to aid soldiers and their families. One of the largest was the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which held fundraising fairs in a number of major cities in the North, including Philadelphia at Logan Square, June 7-28, 1864. Often temporary buildings, such as this one, built after the designs of H. E. Wrigley, were constructed to house the art, craft, industrial, and historical exhibits. Fair offerings included product displays; a re-creation of an 18th-century German-American kitchen; a horticultural exhibit containing a fishpond; and a miniature model house showcasing the most desirable construction methods of that time. Shown below is one of the product display booths on Union Avenue, the fair’s main thoroughfare., Cataloging funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator
Watson, A., photographer
Date
[ca. 1864]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department stereo - Watson - Fairs [5781.F.159c]
