Guide to Photographs and Print Collections - Missouri History Museum

Company; Admiral; Argand; Bald Eagle; Burlington; Capitol; City of Clifton; City of
Helena; Columbia; Columbian Steam Engine; Dubuque; Eagle; Glenmont; Golden Eagle;
Guiding Star; M.S. Mepham; Yazoo Valley.
43 boxes, 1 oversize item, 2 oversize folders
U.S. Custom House and Post Office Building
The U.S. Customs House and Post Office building, now commonly known as the Old
Post Office, occupies an entire city block at 815 Olive Street. Architect Alfred B. Mullett
designed the building and William C. Potter and James G. Hill made alterations.
Construction began in 1873 and was completed in 1884. It was originally built to house
federal offices, including a U.S. Post Office, Custom House, U.S. Courthouse, and
Subtreasury. It is also an excellent example of the Second Empire style. The building was
declared surplus property by the federal government in 1957, and its last tenant moved
out in 1975. In 1982 it was converted into a mixed-use facility shared between federal
offices and private commercial establishments.
The St. Louis Custom House and Post Office Building file contains seven large mounted
photographs of the construction of the building made by Robert Benecke from 1874 to
1881, three large copy photographs of the Benecke photos, and five large mounted
photographs of the old post office building taken by Arteaga ca. 1955.
1 box ca 1873 - ca 1990
Arteaga photographs are for reference purposes only.
United States
The United States file contains photographs and other illustrations of locations and
items from states other than Missouri and Illinois. It is arranged by state or subject.
Please request the folder list for a more detailed description of the contents.
2 boxes, 3 oversize folders
United States and Foreign Lithographs and Engravings
This file contains oversize lithographs and engravings of United States subjects outside
the state of Missouri or of foreign subjects not in other collections
one large folio drawer
United States, Foreign and Genre Stereographs
Photographic companies produced stereoscopic view cards from the 1850s to the 1930s.
Popular topics were landscapes, genre scenes, portraits of famous people, architectural
views, war scenes, and natural disasters such as floods, fires and earthquakes. Although
independent photographers produced stereo views of local subjects, large companies like
Underwood and Underwood and Keystone supplied many family parlors and school
libraries with views of national and international subjects. Underwood and Underwood
and Keystone standardized both the format and content of most view cards by the 1890s.
4 May 2003 page 39