The Photographic History of the Nineteenth-Century American West POSTPONED

Sponsored by The Caxton Club

POSTPONED: A scheduling conflict arose and we’re hopeful that we can deliver this program during our 2023–2024 season.

Online and open to all.

Quick. What are the two flattest U.S. states? Here’s a hint, neither correct response starts with “Kansas.” First place honors belong to Florida and second … to Illinois, where many folks like to say that, “On a clear day, you can see the back of your head.”

That’s one reason that people first encountering the American West as they ventured from the Midwest were awestruck. Some of those encounters were captured on film – in stunning black and white – and our speaker, Megan Friedel, will be sharing examples of that photographic history with us. She’ll be drawing on the Rare and Distinctive Collections (which includes books and maps) at the University of Colorado Library.

An Amherst graduate, Megan received an MLIS as well as a MA in history from Simmons College. She has served as president of the Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Western Archives.

Western photographs from the nineteenth century often appear as small images clustered on a page in history books or as part of extraordinarily expensive set of collectible volumes. Here’s your chance to see them richly portrayed and in the company of an expert.

Register here: https://www.caxtonclub.org/event-5216101