Administrative Information
Provenance
Purchase; 1914; (DLC/PP-1914:44722) (Inventory control number was PR 06 CN 002).
Processing History
The Prints and Photographs Division (P&P) accessioned this collection in January 1914, which provides an upper limit for the dates of the photos. The initial processing was completed by the mid-1900s and included labeling the backs of the photo mounts with hand-written building and place names using predominantly English words and place names and some German words, sometimes putting phrases in parenthesis. The Messbildanstalt index numbers were also written on the photos. P&P changed the Messbildanstalt original order, which was alphabetical by city. Using a hierarchical geographic arrangement, P&P added a continent designation (abbreviated as "Eu" for Europe) and country name to the labels. These 732 photographs were stored upright on shelves in 21 four-flap portfolios.
In 2011, Brett Carnell created a basic container list. In 2021, Emma Esperon created an item-level contents list for this finding aid. Building names and locations are based on the item labels provided by previous P&P staff, which have not been extensively verified. Misspellings, mistranslations, and abbreviations were corrected when found. Library staff also added general descriptive language to supplement the staff created labels, including adding terms such as exterior, interior, nave, and arches. The photos often show more of the building than the description implies. For example, many of the "nave" photos also show altars, sculptures, and stained glass windows. In addition to spelling corrections, an attempt was made to translate building names, common German words, and modern city names; these are included in brackets. For example, the label "Rathouse" was changed to "Rathaus [Town Hall]" in the finding aid. The presence of people in the photographs was noted in a few cases. Finding aid encoded by Emma Esperon in 2021.
Related Material
Additional materials with similar subjects or types of materials are described in our Online Catalog and searchable by call number or descriptive words:
- Foreign Geographic File filing series (Call No.: FOREIGN GEOG FILE)
- Stereograph Foreign Geographic File (Call No.: STEREO FOREIGN GEOG FILE)
- Historic American Buildings Survey (Call No.: HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (Call No.: HAER), Historic American Landscapes Survey (Call No.: HALS). For more information see the Collection Profile
- Medieval buildings in German cities (Call No.: LOT 2716)
- Schloss Monbijou (Call No.: LOT 6537)
Related Material at Other Repositories
Messbildarchiv at the Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum, Wünsdorf, Germany.
Online Content
To see already digitized images from this collection, search our Online Catalog by call number or descriptive words.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Photographs selected from the Königliche Preussische Messbildanstalt, LOT 15198, and item or reproduction number, if available [e.g., LOT 15198, no. 1 or LC-USZ62-80392]