Estate sale find, original photo on a decrepit matte, matte is embossed with information about photographer Waterman and 54th St. & Jackson Ave, Chicago, Illinois. Also, there is handwritten on the matte Nov. This appears to be a photo of a pre-presidential election campaign parade on October 30, 1896, perhaps the photo was printed in November. Or, this is a post-election parade and the October date refers to something else. The 1896 election was a contest between William Jennings Bryan and WIlliam McKinley. Monetary policy was a key issue in the late 19th century, and bimetalists like the Democratic candidate Bryan support “free silver, ” or the use of silver in addition to gold as currency. Bryan lost to McKinley, and the United States formally adopted the gold standard in 1900. We haven’t located any information about the Hide and Leather Club of St. Louis, but the Hide and Leather Club of New York was a tanners’ organization that was involved in New York politics including Tameny Hall. Matted photo measures about 9 x 11″ and the actual photo is about 6 x 8″. As noted above the matte itself is decrepit with many condition issues. The photo is better, with a sort of crazing or cracking along part of the edges. Item Location: Book Room, SP01.