William Rau Philadelphia Broad St albumen photo Oct 1898 Peace Jubilee Span-Am

Description

Here is a fantastic large format photograph of the Peace Jubilee held in Philadelphia in October of 1898, upon the victory of the Spanish-American War.  Probably taken by famed photographer William H. Rau as he did a series on this Jubilee. South Broad Street was festooned with classical pillars featuring the battles fought, patriotic slogans like "The Star Spangled Banner - In Triumph Doth Wave" and a giant "Athenian Archway."  This is an original, unpublished photograph.  Great image shows City Hall and surrounding buildings towering above the parade route, with citizens and onlookers anticipating something, including a huddle of infantrymen in leggings and campaign hats standing in the middle, while it is clearly rainin.  In fact, the grand parade was supposed to take place on October 26th but due to heavy rains it was postponed until the following day.  This photo was taken on October 26th.  Photo measures 16 x 20" and is in excellent condition, housed in a frame without glass.
Please see my other current eBay auctions for another great Pennsylvania Spanish American War photograph.
At night, the city was ablaze with light. The “Athenean Arch” and “Court of Honor” had been designed by architect John Huston and constructed for the event. The arch alone, bedecked in nine hundred dollars worth of electric lights, shown brightly…at a cost 0 in electricity. Lamps at the south entrance to the City Hall spelled out “The Star Spangled Banner in Triumph Doth Wave.”
A grand military parade was planned for October 26, but heavy rains forced a postponement . However, the parade stepped off on the 27th at 11:00 A.M. at the corner of Broad and Snyder Streets.
The event drew in President and Mrs.
McKinley
, as well as Vice President and Mrs. Hobart, numerous Cabinet officials and Generals
Shafter
and
Lawton
. Over twenty-five thousand troops paraded through the city, including the
“Rough Riders” (1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry)
, the
9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
,
10th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
, as well as the
8th
,
13th
,
14th
, and
15th
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the crew of the USS TOPEKA, and many, many more.