Scope and Content Note
Louis Dunham Goldsberry gathered this extensive collection of images for a book she drafted to demonstrate the value of open-air education programs for disease prevention in children. Chiefly produced in the 1910s when the open-air movement was expanding, the photographs and half-tone illustrations feature school children of various ethnic and racial backgrounds in public and private facilities - including institutions for tubercular, anemic, deaf and blind children, as well as those with no medical challenges. Caucasian, African American, Asian, Native American, and Latino children are sometimes pictured in interracial settings. This collection includes pictures from 43 U.S. states and 19 countries; coverage is particularly strong for California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania as well as England and Switzerland. Among the 78 activities enumerated in the collection, ranging from Maypoles to chess, are children exercising, eating, sleeping, knitting, sewing, studying, playing in the snow, and gardening. Of special note are images of tooth brushing and nose blowing drills, children roller-skating, dancing, playing basketball, and wearing snow suits (referred to as "Eskimo suits" on the items). Among the 20 distinct architectural forms listed are ferryboat schools, solariums, rooftop gardens, pagoda designs, and outdoor study rooms. Special types of schools - such as all-girls schools and Montessori schools - are documented. Examples of topical groups include playground work, rural schoolhouses, and tent schools. Several photographs of adult patients are included in the collection. [See appendix for a more complete listing of topics covered in the collection.]
Images range from tiny snapshots and photographic postcards to 8 x 10 in. professional prints and panoramic images. Also included are photographs removed from albums and school pamphlet illustrations. Many images are copies of photographs, and periodical illustrations from school reports such as the Children's Service Bulletin. A few newspaper clippings are included.
Identification
Most images have captions, often handwritten and brief; many images bear the name of a state or school; some images remain unidentified. The abbreviation "O.A.S." means Open-Air School. References to page numbers and non-LC negative numbers have not been deciphered. The sources from which the periodical illustrations were removed or copied are rarely identified.
Photographers
A few photographers or publishers are identified on the images, including Jessie Tarbox Beals among the New York City photographs.