We are pleased to announce that The Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center have begun a new collection of images that are available to order as prints from the Request-a-Print website. This is a new partnership between Special Collections and Request-a-Print to share the wonderful collections of Bryn Mawr College. The initiative has been developed by Marianne Weldon, Collections Manager, Art and Artifact Collections at Bryn Mawr College who worked with me and Cheryl Klimaszewski, Digital Collections Specialist on getting the new Greenfield themed images included in this service.

As you will see, we have collected them under the heading ‘History of Women’s Education’, but there are other historical images available in the ‘College Archives’ collection. There are also collections of prints and drawings that we hold in Special Collections that you can order, including work by Mary Cassatt  and John Rubens Smith to name just two artists.

Many of the older images from the early twentieth century have proved particularly fascinating for us as we have developed the visual identity of the site. What always strikes me is the fact that many of these photographs are candids, implying ownership of cameras at a time when they were not the common commodity they are today. I have a particular fondness for the commencement photographs, although the women in the early science labs are also fascinating, confounding as they do the notions of appropriate feminine educational boundaries that existed in earlier times.

There are four different options to choose from for each of the images, from a standard canvas print to a wood or metal frame. If there is an image you are familiar with in our collections that you’d like to see made available through this service be sure to let us know! We will be continuing to develop this service throughout the year so keep an eye out for new images coming soon….