Legacy Collection Archivist Jesse Peers will host a talk on March 7 at noon to reveal what was happening in George Eastman’s life in 1920
Rochester, N.Y., February 28, 2020—One hundred years ago, George Eastman was entering what would be his final full decade—and his most productive as well. The George Eastman Museum has recently opened One Hundred Years Ago: George Eastman in 1920, a display exploring aspects of Eastman's life through artifacts. Objects on view include an album of photographs from the construction of the Eastman Theatre, newspaper articles, the first issues of Kodak Magazine, and souvenirs from his trip to Japan. On a touchscreen tablet, visitors can also see snapshots taken by Eastman himself during that trip.
FOCUS 45 TALK
George Eastman in 1920
Saturday, March 7, 12 p.m., Dryden
In this annual lecture on George Eastman’s life one hundred years ago, Legacy Collection Archivist Jesse Peers will explore what George Eastman and the Eastman Kodak Company were up to in 1920. Free to members; incl. w/museum admission. Talk only: $6 general, $3 students.
With World War I over and Eastman Kodak Company’s global expansion well underway, Eastman focused on making Kodak a leader in industrial relations and making Rochester a better place to live for his employees. He spent 1920 giving shape to the Eastman Theatre, Eastman School of Music, the University of Rochester Medical School and overseeing Rochester’s first tonsillectomy marathon. Kodak grew its operations that year by establishing the Tennessee Eastman Corporation which lives on today as Eastman Chemical. Kodak also founded the Kodak Employees Association to handle the new welfare fund, along with Eastman Savings and Loan to help Kodak employees purchase homes.
Aside from business and philanthropy, Eastman traveled regularly in 1920. He took his only trip to Asia after being invited on a delegation to Japan to better industrial relations between the United States and Japan. He also spent time camping throughout British Columbia for the second time in the late summer of 1920; visited Oak Lodge, his rustic hunting retreat in North Carolina twice; and ended 1920 by taking one of his many trips to New York City.
One Hundred Years Ago: George Eastman in 1920 will be on display through the end of the year in the Sitting Room, located on the 2nd floor of the historic mansion.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 450,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and, through its two joint master’s degree programs with the University of Rochester, makes critical contributions to film preservation and to photographic preservation and collections management. For more information, visit eastman.org.
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