The Visual Resources Collection is an instructional resource of over 200,000 35mm slides documenting major works in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Planning, Art, Craft and Design. Its primary function is to provide College of Design faculty with visual materials in support of College of Design courses.

We have a fabulous collection of glass lantern slides in the VRC. No longer used in classroom presentations, these lantern slides languished for many years in file cabinets. However, when I had the opportunity to take part in the North American Lantern Slide survey, co-sponsored by the Visual Resources Association and ARLIS/NA, I jumped at the chance to conduct an inventory of this collection of over 5,000 slides.

These lantern slides were used primarily by the Department of Landscape Architecture during the first half of the 20th century and represent significant landscape projects by many of the best landscape architects of the day. Parts of the collection are horticulture photographs, the best of which are from Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Parts of the collection are documentation of the many projects undertaken by Landscape Architecture Chair and Professor P. H. Elwood. We have many slides of projects by landscape architect Warren Manning, and a huge collection of slides of the National Parks.