Lansing Library and Historical Society to host collector’s showcase

The Capital Area District Library and the Historical Society of Greater Lansing is hosting the 11^th Annual David R Caterino Collector’s showcase Saturday May 1 in the lower galleries and auditorium at the main library on 401 S. Capitol. The event features more than 15 area residents displaying and discussing their collections in an informal manner. The event runs from 10 a.m-3 p.m. and at 1 p.m. Mark Harvey, the state of Michigan archivist will make a presentation on the Leavenworth Photograph Collection which is the largest of any in Lansing. Leavenworth was a commercial photographer who began shooting industrial and business-related photos as early as 1919.

Harvey said that Leavenworth, using a horse-drawn darkroom, started photographing lumbering and mining camps in northern Michigan and relocated to Lansing in 1919 to document Lansing’s transformation from the dirt roads of its pre-capital days through its boom into a major industrial city and automotive capital. There are more than 200,000 photographs in the collection.

Read more about the event by clicking here. The above photo is part of the Caterino Collection and was taken in 1940 in the 400 block of South Washington.