Selections of vintage photos from Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company will be shown at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 16, during a program hosted by Readfield Historical Society at Asa Gile Hall, 8 Old Kents Hill Road, Readfield.
The program will follow the historical society’s brief annual meeting.
Kevin Johnson, photo archivist for the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, will share the story about the company and present a slideshow of historical views of Readfield and the neighboring towns of Winthrop, Wayne, Fayette, Mount Vernon, Vienna, Belgrade and Manchester.
According to Johnson, the company was founded in 1909 in Belfast by Rudolph Herman Cassens. He photographed small towns and rural areas from Maine to New York, producing “real photo” postcards that were used for promoting tourism. Cassens’ company produced more than 50,000 glass-plate negatives between 1909 and 1947 including some of businesses, houses, local landmarks and lakeside scenes in this immediate area.
Viewers will be taken back in time to when the roads were not yet paved, horse drawn carriages outnumbered cars, lakesides were less developed and elms lined the streets.
Refreshments will be served. There is no fee and donations are welcome.
For more information, contact readfieldhistorical@gmail.com or 377-2299.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
