 This is a black and white photograph of the Bradley Horological Band taken in 1902. Nineteen young men and an older man, presumably their teacher, have assembled on the steps of a building to have their picture taken. They hold their instruments… flutes, drums, trombones, trumpets, a French horn and a tuba. The first two rows of men are seated on the steps, and the last two stand on the steps above. They pose in front of a double door which has glass panels and is likely the front door of Bradley Hall, the Bradley Polytechnic College's first building. The young men are not smiling. Most of them look out at the camera. They are all wearing dark suits, white shirts, bow ties or long narrow ties. Each wears a hat - either dark bowlers, light colored straw hats with dark bands, or dark felt hats. The young man who sits in the center of the front row holds a bass drum and inscribed on it's side is the band's name. The Bradley Polytechnic Institute had its beginnings as the Parsons Horological Institute where students learned to make watches. They continued to teach watch making for several years after Bradley Institute opened in 1897. | |
