Galveston Photography, 1860-1890
Rosenberg Treasure of the Month
In 2018, Rosenberg Library exhibited: Galveston Photography, 1860-1890. The exhibit included the earliest known photographs of downtown Galveston which were taken by Sache & Potter Studio in 1861, just before the Civil War. Other images include the aftermath of a devastating hurricane that struck the island in October 1867 as well as damage from a downtown fire in 1877. One of the most striking images in the exhibit was a photograph of three men in a canoe resting above a frozen Galveston Bay after a winter storm in 1886.
Other interesting images were stereographs created by Galveston photographer P.H. Rose in the mid-1880s. Stereographs are double images from slightly different perspectives which appear as a single, three-dimensional image when viewed with a stereoscope. Special viewing lenses were available in the exhibit gallery so that the photos could be seen as originally intended by the photographer. During the opening reception, Anne Peterson, Curator of Photographs at Southern Methodist University’s DeGolyer Library, gave a lecture about the exhibit.
In case you missed the exhibit, here are some of the images:
Central Wharf, 1861
The Aftermath of a Storm, 1867
Frozen Galveston Bay, 1886
Stereograph of the Galveston Cotton Exchange Interior
Explore the Ocean's Depths
Trollbeads Bracelets
Rosenberg Library
Rosenberg Library has offered over a century of community service to the Galveston area, and is the oldest public library in Texas in continuous operation. The building itself was dedicated on June 22, 1904, the birthday of its patron, Henry Rosenberg. The Moody Memorial Wing opened in 1971, more than doubling the floor space and allowing for a children’s library, a history center, several galleries to showcase museum collections, and later, a computer lab. The Library accepted its first museum piece shortly after it opened in 1904. Since then, thousands of rare and interesting objects from around the world have been added to the collection. Each month they display a “Treasure of the Month”. Learn more by visiting the Rosenberg Library page and the Gifts of Henry Rosenberg section.
