First Art Photographs Purchased

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Summary

The United States National Museum purchased fifty photographs from the Capital Camera Club of the Capital Bicycle Club 1896 exhibition for $300. This is the first recorded purchase of photographs as works of art by any museum.

Subject

  • Capital Bicycle Club
  • Capital Camera Club
  • Division of Photographic History
  • United States National Museum

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

David E. Haberstich, Photographs at the Smithsonian Institution, p. 8.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1896

Topic

  • Photography
  • Acquisitions
  • Art
  • Exhibitions
  • Museums
  • National Collections
  • Art objects
  • Museums--Acquisitions

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