Date of use : 1915 USA

Underwood & Underwood: Stereoview Giants of New York

At the beginning of the twentieth century, photography evolved into a medium that extended far beyond the production of individual portrait images. It increasingly became a central instrument in the global circulation of news and information. Newspapers, magazines, and educational institutions relied more and more on photographic agencies to obtain visual documentation of events occurring around the world. Among the most influential actors in this transformation was the American photographic agency Underwood & Underwood. The commercial envelope dated 7 May 1915 provides a revealing example of the professional relationships this agency established with academic institutions and offers insight into the early networks through which photographic images were distributed.

Underwood & Underwood was a photographic publishing and distribution company founded in the United States during the final decades of the nineteenth century. The firm was established by the brothers Elmer Underwood (1864–1947) and Bert Elias Underwood (1862–1943). Initially, the two entrepreneurs concentrated on the production and sale of stereoscopic photographs. Stereoscopic images consisted of paired photographs designed to be viewed through a specialized device that created the illusion of three-dimensional depth. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such images enjoyed widespread popularity. Underwood & Underwood rapidly became one of the world's leading producers in this field and distributed millions of stereoscopic photographic cards to international markets.

Over time, the company expanded its activities and assumed an increasingly significant role in the field of press photography. From its headquarters in New York, the firm managed the production, archiving, and distribution of photographic images on a global scale. Photographers working for the agency operated across a broad geographical range, from Europe to the Middle East, documenting contemporary events and social developments. The phrase "World Events in Pictures," printed on the envelope, reflects the company's self-presentation as a provider of visual documentation of global events. This slogan offers an important indication of the early institutionalization of news photography during this period.

The envelope is addressed to Prof. Frank P. McKibben, who is associated with Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Founded in 1865, Lehigh University developed a strong reputation particularly in engineering and scientific education. In the early twentieth century, stereoscopic photographic collections were widely used as teaching materials in universities. Such visual resources were employed in subjects such as geography, history, and industrial studies in order to provide students with visual insight into the wider world. It is therefore likely that the academic recipient maintained a professional relationship with Underwood & Underwood, possibly acquiring stereoscopic images or educational photographic sets for instructional use.

This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
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