Photographic postcard of capital grounds in Springfield, Illinois

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A black-and-white photographic postcard of military encampments at the capitol grounds of Springfield, Illinois. The photograph shows the Springfield capitol building and grounds hosting the encampment of state militiamen, called in to quell the race riot which destroyed parts of the city. Rows of pitched tents line the neat grass of the ground, as men and uniform and in business wear walk through the space. Electrical poles and their wires frame the trees and the building in the foreground. Inscribed in black ink at the bottom right is “SPRINGFIELD RACE WAR 1908 / 1036”. The postcard is unused and, on the reverse, has a divided back with respectively marked spaces, [CORRESPONDENCE HERE] and [NAME AND ADDRESS HERE], for inscriptions. The postcard is printed on AZO paper, with an AZO stamp space in the upper right corner.

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