Finding Aid to the Aerial Views of Lynchburg and Vicinity photographic prints

Text

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
AERIAL VIEWS OF LYNCHBURG AND VICINITY, 1924,
BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
The bound collection includes 49 photographic prints of aerial views of Lynchburg, Va.,
and surrounding areas in Central Virginia, including the town of Monroe, the town of Amherst,
and Pedlar dam in Amherst Co.; the surrender grounds at Appomattox in Appomattox Co.; New
London, Peaks of Otter, Poplar Forest, and the town of Bedford in Bedford Co.; the Thomas
Fortune Ryan estate in Nelson Co.

UNDERWOOD AND UNDERWOOD
Underwood and Underwood company was founded in 1881 in Ottawa, Kansas, by two
brothers, Elmer Underwood and Bert Elias Underwood. They moved to Baltimore and then to
New York City in 1891. At one time, Underwood & Underwood was the largest publisher of
stereoviews in the world, producing 10 million views a year. Offices were also opened in
Canada and Europe. In 1891, Bert learned how to operate a camera and thus the firm of
Underwood & Underwood Publishing entered a new merchandising sphere. By 1897, the
company had a number of full-time staff and free lance photographers. By 1910, Underwood &
Underwood had entered the field of news photography. Due to this expansion, stereograph
production was reduced until the early years of World War I. Altogether Underwood &
Underwood produced between 30,000 and 40,000 stereographic titles. In 1920 stereograph
production was discontinued and Underwood & Underwood sold its stereographic stock and
rights to the Keystone View Company.
In 1924-25, Underwood & Underwood took the first vertically controlled aerial photographs of
the new cities of Miami and Miami Beach. Approximately 400 images were taken showing the
final phase of the first building boom, which collapsed shortly after when the Great Hurricane of
1926 destroyed both locations. The quality of the images was superb for the day and rivals
modern aerials in detail due to the low altitude of the aircraft taking them. Little else is known
about this aspect of the company's work.
In October, 1924, Lynchburg, Virginia, was fortunate enough to have the services of Underwood
& Underwood for aerial photographs of the city and the surrounding areas.
The company ceased business in the 1940s.

MS1106

Dublin Core

Title

Finding Aid to the Aerial Views of Lynchburg and Vicinity photographic prints

Subject

finding aids
aerial photographs
photographs
Underwood & Underwood

Description

Finding aid to the Aerial Views of Lynchburg and Vicinity by Underwood & Underwood collection of 49 photographic prints held at Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia

Creator

George M. Jones Memorial Library

Publisher

George M. Jones Memorial Library

Date

2023

Rights

George M. Jones Memorial Library

Format

PDF file

Language

English

Identifier

MS1106FA

Citation

George M. Jones Memorial Library, “Finding Aid to the Aerial Views of Lynchburg and Vicinity photographic prints,” Digital Collections, accessed March 28, 2024, https://digitaljones.omeka.net/items/show/136.