Columbia Exhibit - University of Colorado - 3bd079b8911ff1ce69c41e174c45a652

photographic paper photography (process) The World Columbian Exhibition was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. It is not known why the celebration was a year late. One can guess that what is shown here is the University's display in Colorado's pavilion at this exhibition. The negative is spotted and deteriorated but a great deal can be identified. The portrait at the upper right is James H. Baker who had just become president of the University on January 1, 1892. It appears on page 148 of "Glory Colorado". At the upper left is a picture of a 14-man instrumental singing group (the Glee and Mandolin Club) dressed in formal attire and posed in the President's office in Old Main. Mosaic photos of University scenes can be identified. To the right is a l4-man "UC" athletic team. One man holds a ball that could be a basketball or a soccer ball. It is like the football team shown on page 68 of "Glory Colorado". At the top is a banner "The University of Colorado" and at the bottom center is a view of the University from the north that was very common. It shows Woodbury, Main, Hale, the President's house, and Mt. St. Gertrude Academy - which puts it after about 1892-93 when Hale was built and it does not show the Chautauqua Auditorium which was built in 1898. There are then 36 more pictures in groups of 12 in three large frames. On 5/3/1973 I found the 36 pictures of this display, each mounted on heavy cardboard, in the files of the University Museum. Some are badly faded but they can be clearly identified as these even though the nice labels here have been removed. Several of the pictures shown here are Brackett photos from this collection as identified above. Their appearance here gives a very clear criterion for dating all that appear here. They could not have been taken later than early 1893. In fact, two - the President's Office 23-1 and Law School (interior) 14-1 - can be clearly identified as being taken in February 1893 which suggests that Brackett may have been charged with taking a large number of pictures of the University specifically for this display. Thus many of the interior scenes may have been taken close to February 1893. The view of the University from the north with the University Seal is probably the picture that is hanging in the shop-office of the University locksmith, Verne Miles, in the stadium. The picture that Verne has is the same photographic view as shows here but Verne's picture has been framed without the large white mask which shows here. The University Seal, which was introduced by President Baker at Commencement in 1893 (G.C. pg 107), is loose in the lower left corner of the picture Verne has. Verne says that he found the picture discarded in a trash can in Macky some years ago.