Adirondack Portraits: The Photography of Osmond D. Putnam

The Osmond D. Putnam photographs (ARL-081) provide a glimpse into the close of the 19th century as the Adirondacks moved from an isolated wilderness to a permanently settled part of the state. The communities in which Putnam took photographs were not the great camps and high peaks of the seasonal tourist. Rather, they were the remote valleys where settlers labored to eke out a hard-scrabble existence from the land around them. Originally shot on glass plate negatives, select images curated for this exhibit document everyday life, industry, landscapes and people near Johnsburg, New York. Taken in the 1880s, the photographs document the end of one era and the birth of New York's Forest Preserve. To learn more, please contact arl@union.edu.  A digital collection is available through New York Heritage.

Selected images from the exhibit

Adirondack Photo Showcase 1

Adirondack Photo Showcase 2

Adirondack Photo Showcase 3

Adirondack Photo Showcase 4

Adirondack Photo Showcase 5

Adirondack Photo Showcase 6

This exhibit can be found in the Beuth Atrium, which is on the 1st floor of Schaffer Library, just behind the reference desk.