Columbian Exposition (1893) Collection

In 1893, Clark University exhibited materials from the University at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. According to an article from the Worcester Daily Spy (June 9, 1896):

“The exhibit of Clark University at the Columbian Exposition consisted chiefly of publications of 160 books, memoirs, theses, or articles by members of the university. These were bound uniformly in 25 volumes, while the walls of the alcove set apart for the university were covered with about 200 photographs of buildings, apparatus, and processes.”

What survives of this material, in the form of 174 photos, is a unique tie to our institutional past. It represents how our University, in its infancy, represented itself through images that tell the story of the growing campus and our scholarly activities and teaching resources in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Psychology. By identifying who is in the photos, it seems that the images were made during the 1891-92 and 1892-93 academic years. However, it has not known which photographs of the series were actually included in the exhibit.

Introductory text from Clark University's Higgins Exhibition page

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