Our current Ben’s Lens shows the German Pavilion at the Centennial Exhibition and is one in a series of collecting cards produced in Machinery Hall during the fair. Printed on the “Liberty Press” manufactured by Degener & Weiler, this card was part of a set that included various state buildings and the English and Spanish government buildings. This card, as well as other collectibles like trade cards, postcards, and stereographs, can be seen in the Library Company’s current exhibition Remnants of Everyday Life: Historical Ephemera in the Workplace, Street, and Home on view through December 13th. To learn more about the exhibition and related programming, please visit http://www.librarycompany.org/visualculture/events.htm.

The following people correctly identify our Ben’s Lens. It also needs to be noted that William Kriebel identified our last Ben’s Lens (the Methodist Orphanage), but his emailed response went astray and his correct response was not acknowledged.

Joe Benford
Don Cresswell
Francis W. Hoeber
Ray Holstein
Steve Lynch
William Kriebel
Herb Moskovitz