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Keystone View Company Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-2010-052

Scope and Content

The collection consists predominantly of correspondence by between salesmen in the field and the management of the Keystone View Company from 1903-1906, 1908.

Most of the letters are written to and from Walter W. Barnhart and include information on customers and accounts, new products, and company business. The collection also contains a single folder of blank order forms (referenced in some of the correspondence), purchase receipts, and two of Barnhart's draft cards (1918).

Dates

  • 1903-1918, undated
  • Majority of material found within 1903 - 1908

Creator

Language of Materials

The material in the collection are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Administrative History

The Keystone View Company was a major distributor of stereographic images, and was located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. From 1892 through 1963 Keystone produced and distributed both educational and comic/sentimental stereoviews and stereoscopes. The Company primarily marketed themselves to schools in the early twentieth century. As of 1905 the Company was the world's largest stereographic company.

Dozens of staff photographers were employed in the early 1900s. Also in the early 1900s, when stereoviewing was declining and other companies were in trouble, Keystone bought their stocks and incorporated them into their own holdings. Notable amongst many such purchases were the huge and varied inventories of B. W. Kilburn, the H. C. White Company, and Underwood & Underwood. As a result, Keystone claimed to have had some 2 million negatives by the mid-1930s.

By the 1920s the Keystone Company was the sole surviving major producer of conventional card-mounted views anywhere in the world. They had offices in London, Paris, Sidney, Capetown, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Part of this prominence was derived from the sale of World War I stereograph sets, as Keystone was one of the only publishers to secure permission to photograph battlefields and military operations.

Extent

0.2 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Abstract

The collection contains correspondence between Keystone View Company management and salesmen in the field, predominantly W. W. Barnhart. The collection also includes blank order forms.

Arrangement

The collection is organized by material type. Correspondence folders are in chronological order.

Source of Acquisition

The Keystone View Company Papers were purchased by Special Collections in March 2010.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Keystone Company View Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Keystone View Company Papers commenced and was completed in July 2010.

Title
Keystone View Company Papers, 1903-1918, undated (Bulk 1903-1908)
Status
Completed
Author
Josh Howard, Library Assistant
Date
2010 (CC0 1.0)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308