The Kremlin, the beating heart of Moscow, is surrounded by a brick wall with access through five gates. Inside are the most important representations of architecture and history, including Lenin’s tomb, various cathedrals and architecturally-outstanding buildings honoring czars and church luminaries.  In this albumen photograph taken toward the end of the 19th century by an unknown photographer, and which is part of Haverford’s photography collection, the viewer can see a portion of this magnificent site.   In the background one would normally see the amazing church and tower of Ivan Veliki (St. John the Great) with its bells collected from all over Russia, but in focusing on the “King of the Bells (Tsar’ Kolokol)” itself, the photographer pointed his camera away from the tower.  The original King of Bells was forged in 1655 by decree of Empress Anna. As it was being hoisted for installation in the tower in 1674, it fell and broke apart.  Some 30 years later, the empress decreed that a new bell be built using the bronze from the original bell. The result was the bell seen here, weighing some 200 tons, 6.14 meters in height and 6.6 meters in diameter, making it the largest bell in the world. Inscribed in the bell were images of Tsar Alexei and Empress Anna and atop, a Greek cross.  While the bell was waiting for installation, a fire engulfed it, and when water was poured on, a chunk broke off. The photographer captured the dimensions of the bell and its chunk by positioning a man in front of it. Note: As of 2007, the author confirms that the bell is still as seen in this photograph.

Sometimes called the “Father of the Motion Picture,” photographer Eadweard Muybridge employed an array of carefully timed cameras to produce his revolutionary action photographs of men, women and children, as well as animals from the Philadelphia Zoo. Supported by the University of Pennsylvania, the results of Muybridge’s experiments with photographing motion were met with great acclaim by artists, scientists, critics and the public. 781 nineteen-by-twenty-four-inch collotype plates were the result of Muybridge’s experiments. Haverford’s set of 90 plates was donated in 1916. Haverford’s extensive collection of fine art photography spans the history of the medium from daguerreotypes to digital images and includes more than 3,000 photographs.

The accompanying photograph from the College Archives depicts members of the Haverford Emergency Unit, ca. 1917, standing in front of Morris Infirmary holding litters, with the Carvill Arch to their right. In that year, Haverford College professor, Rufus M. Jones, organized the Unit on campus, which drew from Haverford’s undergraduates. Their training included physical and manual exercises, auto mechanics, and first aid to prepare them for non-combatant participation in World War I while remaining in college.  Nonetheless, by May 1917, 19 Unit members left college to volunteer for hospital work and 11 for Army training.  The Unit ceased at the end of May, replaced in June by students and faculty training for the work of relief and reconstruction in France in conjunction with the newly formed American Friends Service Committee.

Special Collections puts many of its digitized objects into Triptych: the tri-college digital library.  Materials documenting the history of the College can now be found in one collection, "The History of Haverford College."  The collection combines over 500 historic photographs, documents from the College Archives, and published histories of the College.

Primary materials relating to Japan are a strength among our collections, but these materials are mainly textual.  We have, relatively, much less pertaining to China, though in recent years, we have seen a notable increase in these holdings. In the last week, we’ve received a small group of photographs taken or purchased in Japan and China in the early 20th century by Lloyd Balderston, an American Quaker teacher of  physics and chemistry, whose daughter, Esther, became a missionary in Japan.  The  photograph posted here depicts an aspect in the manufacture of white leather at Matsubaramura on the island of Honshu, ca. 1919.  There is at least one other image of what Balderston called a "primitive industry" among the collection donated by Charles Lord.  Lord has offered to donate more such images and we have been enthusiastic in accepting his offer.