A World on Display

Photography was an essential tool for scientists in many fields at the turn of the century. The 1904 world's fair offered anthropologists an unprecedented chance to see and record the world's 'primitive peoples' -- a final opportunity, many felt, for it was then widely believed that these 'vanishing races' would die out or be assimilated into the dominant societies around them. The images here are largely the work of seven photographers -- notably Jessie Tarbox Beals, the first woman photojournalist, and Frances Benjamin Johnston. Eric Breitbart discusses how and why the images were taken, and examines the photographers' widespread disregard for accuracy (few subjects were correctly identified by tribe, let alone name) and authenticity.