Alabama Illustrated: Engravings from 19th Century Newspapers Exhibit, December 4, 2017-February 2, 2018

What: Alabama Illustrated: Engravings from 19th Century Newspapers exhibit
When: December 4, 2017-February 2, 2018
Where: Central Library, Fourth Floor Gallery
Details: Free and open to the public

An exhibit from the collections of the Birmingham Public Library Archives will be on display at the Central Library’s Fourth Floor Gallery from December 4, 2017, through February 2, 2018. Titled Alabama Illustrated: Engravings from 19th Century Newspapers, the exhibit features images of Alabama people, places, and events that appeared in national and international newspapers from the 1850s to the 1890s.

Prior to the 1890s, the technology did not exist to reproduce photographs in newspapers inexpensively. To provide illustrations for their readers, national and international papers like Harper's Weekly, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, and the Illustrated London News sent artists around the world to draw pictures that were then engraved onto copper plates and printed in the newspapers. Many of these artists visited Alabama, and this exhibition features 28 examples of their work.

BPL Archivist Jim Baggett will offer a free gallery tour on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. Reservations are not required.

An accompanying book, Alabama Illustrated: Engravings from 19th Century Newspapers by James L. Baggett and Kelsey Scouten Bates is available from Turner Publishing.

For more information contact Jim Baggett at 205-226-3631 or jbaggett@bham.lib.al.us.