The Photographic Society of Philadelphia exhibition of 1886

In 1886, the Photographic Society of Philadelphia planned and executed a pivotal exhibition of photography. Based on European models, this distinctive American exhibition featured both amateur and professional photographers. It was also remarkable in its openness to the different uses of photography and photography as art. There was, however, no catalogue printed for this exhibition and many of its central features have been forgotten. The George Eastman House owns the Report of the Exhibition, assembled by Robert S. Redfield, secretary of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia in 1886. The report is a large scrapbook containing the committee's plans, finances, and reports, along with several photographs and artifacts from the exhibition, and many clipped articles from local and national papers and journals announcing and reviewing the exhibition. From the bits of information in the scrapbook and other contemporary commentaries on the exhibition, a catalogue has been re-created here in order to make accessible the diverse and progressive nature of this exhibition. © 1997 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.