[Illumination, Panama Pacific International Exposition]

Walter D'Arcy Ryan was an early lighting engineer who worked as the director of General Electric's Illuminating Engineering Laboratory. Among other things, he was responsible for overseeing the lighting of the Panama-Pacific Exposition. In 1916 he delivered a paper to the Illuminating Engineering Society in which he described the process of lighting the exposition. Similar versions of the photographs in this album were used to illustrate his paper, which was reprinted in The transactions of The Illuminating Engineering Society, vol. 11 (1916)

A single album of gelatin silver prints depicting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915, in San Francisco (The World's Fair). The photographs themselves depict a number of different outdoor lighting techniques, particularly at night, and often illustrate a dramatic usage of high-powered spotlights. The lighting setup was planned and executed by the General Electric Company, which established a branch of its Illuminating Engineering Laboratory on the grounds of the exposition.

Boston Public Library (Rare Books Department) copy bound in morocco grained sheepskin with a gilt label on the upper cover that reads: Miss Grace Miller. Verso of upper cover bears two embossed gilt labels. The first reads "Compliments Walter D'Arcy Ryan," and the second, "Photographs by F.F. Schilling, Illuminating Engineering Laboratory, General Electric Company, Schenectady, N.Y." The front flyleaf bears the embossed stamp of "Walter D'A. Ryan, GE, Illuminating Engineer."