Materials are arranged sequentially by the number given to the image by the photography studio. Un-numbered images are placed at the end of the arrangement.
Accession No.RARE.2026.0028: Purchase, 2025 August
[identification of item], Underwood & Underwood Photographs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Nearby Locations, SPEC.RARE.0383, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
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Processed by: Casey Blackmore, 2026 March; Finding aid written by: Casey Blackmore, 2026 March
Underwood & Underwood was established in 1882 by Elmer and Ben Underwood in Ottawa, Kansas. The company originally focused on distributing Eastern photographers' stereographs in the West through a network of door-to-door salesmen. In 1887, the headquarters of the company was moved to New York. Manufacturing continued in Ottawa in the building of a plant to manufacture stereographic cameras, stereoviews, and stereoscopes in 1891. By 1901, Underwood & Underwood was a leader in stereographic image production and distribution. In 1920, the company divested itself of its stereograph productions, selling their stock and rights to the Keystone View Company. Underwood & Underwood ceased operations in the 1940s.
The Underwood & Underwood Photographs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Nearby Locations, dated 1918-1923, documents landmarks found in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a smaller amount of photographs taken in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Foz de Iguazu, Brazil, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Subjects documented in the photographs include Sugar Loaf, Corcovado, Iguazu Falls, the Tijuca Road, the jungle, botanical gardens, harbor views from fishing boats at the Market Quai, the docking facilities at the custom house wharf. Photographs also include street scenes with sellers of brooms, flowers, vegetables, and pottery, the public water fountain, and architecture in and around Rio de Janeiro including the National Museum, the Museum do Ypiranga, the Municipal Theatre, the market, the Avenida Hotel, the Plaza de la Republic, storefronts, and mosaic sidewalks.
The Brazilian Independence Centennial Exposition was a major world's fair held in Rio de Janeiro from September 1922 to July 1923, commemorating 100 years of independence from Portugal. The exposition was an opportunity to show case Brazil’s growing industries and commercial opportunities. Several of the photographs in the collection document buildings that were erected for the exposition, including the Food Pavillion, the Fish and Game Pavillion, the Administration Pavillion, the Japanese Pavillion, the Reception and Entertainment Pavillion, the public restaurant, the States Pavillion, and other views across the festival grounds.
Photographs in the collection were assigned identification numbers by Underwood & Underwood. Identification numbers were either written directly on the photographs or on captions included with the image. The photographs have been assigned a storage number (listed in the collection inventory as the "Item" number), which is different than the identification numbers originally provided by Underwood & Underwood. Empty slots in the photograph pages were left intentially blank in order to maintain the correct order of images and to account for different sizes as photographs. The titling of each image comes direclty from the image caption.
Forms part of the Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture.