All images by the Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.
These Library of Congress images from the early 20th Century would feel right at home under Instagram’s urban exploration hashtag.
Climbing the rooftops of tall buildings for “Likes” is not a new concept in the least. Some of today’s IG daredevils can find their photographic ancestors in and around the U.S. during the 1920’s. In a recent blog post in the Library of Congress’ Double Take, a series of images from the Harris & Ewing collection and the National Photo Collection features acrobat J. Reynolds (it’s not known if the subject’s real name was John, Johnnie, or Jammie), and his aerial stunts in and around Washington D.C. in the early 20th Century. These images share an interesting resemblance to many images you might find by searching for urban exploration or #rooftop on Instagram today.
Bridging the gap – Spectacle and Photography
For context, in the years after the First World War, the U.S. found itself enjoying economic prosperity (mostly because our infrastructure was largely unaffected by the devastation that occurred throughout Europe). One of the cultural trends of the time was a publicity stunt like pole sitting or scaling the face of tall buildings.
Yes, it was a trend…
At the time these were over the top spectacles that drew crowds and photographers hoping to capture the moment. These early 20th century images capture the spectacle of Reynolds’ street performances much in the same way many Instagrammers share their perspectives of the world around them–except that, you know, they had permission to do this kind of stuff back then and didn’t sneak into places. Each of the images conveys a sense of freedom, wonder, and uniqueness about their subject.
