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The Colosseum, through the arch of titus, Rome, Italy. Stereograph by Griffith & Griffith, [between 1890 and 1930]. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s28634

When in Rome

Posted by: Jan Grenci

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If you have read any of my earlier blogs, you know that I like to point out the connections between items from different collections housed in the Prints & Photographs Division. Keep reading to see what links a travel poster and a stereograph.

This gorgeous travel poster of Rome by Roger Broders was published in 1921:

Rome, par le train de luxe “Rome Express”. Lithograph by Roger Broders, 1921. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g12901

Not much is known of Broders. Many of his posters feature a distinct foreground and background and use the object in the foreground, here the Arch of Titus, to frame the object in the background, here the Colosseum.

Compare the poster to this early twentieth-century stereograph that shows the same view of the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus:

The Colosseum, through the arch of titus, Rome, Italy. Stereograph by Griffith & Griffith, [between 1890 and 1930]. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s28634
The view is not all that these two images have in common. Both include what could be the same gentleman beneath the Arch:

Detail of: Rome, par le train de luxe “Rome Express”. Lithograph by Roger Broders, 1921. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g12901
Detail of: The Colosseum, through the arch of titus, Rome, Italy. Stereograph by Griffith & Griffith, [between 1890 and 1930]. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s28634

The Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway, known as PLM, sent Broders to many of the locations seen in his posters, so he had firsthand knowledge of a number of the scenes he depicted. Perhaps he was in Rome and met the man he placed under the Arch.

Learn More:

  • View more stereographs from the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog of the Colosseum.
  • Gaze in wonder at early color images of Rome from the Photochrom Collection.
  • See the world through travel posters from the Library’s Poster Collection.

Comments (3)

  1. Elisabeth Parker says:

    Fascinating!

  2. Cynthia Swank says:

    Perhaps the LoC has some megalethoscope slides that I believe often were images of the European Grand Tour subjects.

  3. Gay Colyer says:

    Great sleuthing!

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