Panama-Pacific International Exposition Photographs now online

We’re pleased to announce that the images from our Panama-Pacific International Exposition Photograph Collection are now online. This collection was processed by Photograph Archivist Patsy Inouye before her retirement.

The collection contains photographic glass negatives of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) taken by the Cardinell-Vincent Company, the official photographers of the Exposition. The PPIE was a world’s fair, held in 1915 in San Francisco, to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. The fair featured commercial, scientific, and educational displays in exhibition palaces and courts, amusement concessions, and an aviation field. Nearly nineteen million people attended the fair which was held on 635 acres in the area now known as the Marina District.

The photographs show examples of the exhibits, as well as images of entertainers and contest winners. One photograph (No. 15493 seen below) features Henry Ford and Thomas Edison looking at an Edison Telegraph. You can view all of the photographs online here.

We’re highlighting images from this collection as part of our blog series, Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) centennial. The PPIE100 website has information regarding the celebratory events that are being held in San Francisco for the PPIE centennial.

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford at Western Union exhibit. Liberal Arts Palace, Panama Pacific International Exposition, 1915.