Library - It starts with a single page 1920 - Side by Side
by Mike Savad
Title
Library - It starts with a single page 1920 - Side by Side
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1920
Original Title: Old Library - Cathedral Room
Location: 629 Vine St. Cincinnati OH
From the collection of the public library of Cincinnati and Hamilton county
I was never able to really find out what the year of this photo was taken, I believe this was taken around 1920-30. The librarian told me it was taken in the early 1900s, but those work lights look too modern to be 1900. And the guy is not wearing a suit, a hat, and he has a wrist watch.
He looked like he's from 1930 or so, roughly in that era. The work lights however, I found the exact match from 1920. And according to my research, the wrist watch didn't come out until 1916, so it couldn't be before that. The library closed in 1955 and they said the shelves and every space was packed with books. The paint was peeling and no one really missed it when it was torn down. So the fact there are empty spots on the shelves, shows it couldn't be too close to the closing date. And the peeling paint on the ceiling, hasn't spread to the rest of it yet, so I placed it at around 1920.
This makes for a decent black and white, but I think the color helps to bring it in. I wanted a look where it shows how dark it was and how tall it was. I found a video on you tube about a page that worked there, describing how he would set out on a mesh that you can see through. In very dark conditions, they would scurry over to any light source they could. So I wanted that look.
This building was supposed to be an opera house, I have no idea how they colored those then, but I found blue was a popular Victorian color. I chose a red, blue, and gold combo because I felt it could have looked like that.
There was a lot of glare in this place, so this was taken some time during the end of the day. I kept some of the glare, but merged the rest. The railing was probably black, but I think brass just looks nicer.
Uploaded
July 21st, 2016
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