In 1899 the photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston documented the public schools of Washington, D.C., from a flag salute at a primary school to a chemistry lab at a high school. The Library of Congress holds the prints, and they are in the public domain. These nine show a school day over a century ago, mostly in lines and rows and very good posture.
Art class, Eastern High School
Frances Benjamin Johnston photographed this art class at Eastern High School in 1899. A young woman in a white dress holds a pose at the left while the students draw, and plaster casts of classical statues crowd the shelves behind them. Nobody in the room is looking at the camera.
Saluting the flag, Whittier Primary School
At the Whittier Primary School in 1899, the pupils formed a ring around a flag. From this distance they read as a band of dark coats and white aprons, and the bare trees behind them say it is a cool day.
Basketball, Western High School
The Library of Congress record describes this as a cyanotype of female students playing basketball at Western High School, which explains the deep blue. The game was only about eight years old in 1899. A chalkboard keeps score on the wall while the players jump for the ball in their dark uniforms.
Learning a dance in a school yard
The record describes children learning a dance in a school yard in Washington, D.C. They stand in a long row with their hands behind their heads and their elbows out. Most are in step, and a few are clearly thinking about something else.
A chemistry experiment, Western High School
The chemistry lab at Western High School in 1899 had benches lined with rows of glass bottles and scrolled iron stands, and the students worked in aprons. In the foreground a girl bends over a flask with total concentration. The tall windows behind them are the main light in the room.
Landing of the Pilgrims, first division
The record files this as a classroom scene from the 1st Division of the Washington public schools, around 1899. A chalk drawing of a sailing ship and a poem about the Pilgrims fill the blackboard. The children have crowded in close to the teacher, who is for the moment the center of everything.
Exercises with rods, third division
This is “outdoor exercise with rods,” according to the record, in the 3rd Division of the Washington public schools. The children lean forward in one long line with their rods held out ahead of them, and from a distance the line looks like a single creature crossing the lawn.
The fancy step, third division
The record calls this the “fancy step” around the classroom, in the 3rd Division. The girls march along the blackboard in a single line with their hands on their hips, and the desks wait in neat rows. The girl at the front is taking the job very seriously.
A cooking lesson on a wood stove
The record describes African American schoolgirls and their teacher learning to cook on a wood stove in a classroom. The blackboard behind them lists food compounds and measures and carries a diagram of the cuts of a pig, so the lesson clearly covered more than recipes.
