Nostalgia – Museum of Peter D. Erdman

The Nostalgia Collection brings together items that evoke past memories and sentiments. These pieces serve as reminders of bygone times, capturing the essence of familiar places, people, and experiences.

Photos

Rochester

Earlier Rochester

Modern Rochester

These photos show what some of the above buildings look like today.

Medical Sciences

Greater Rochester Area

Twin Cities

Technology

Library Regiscope

The Library Regiscope, used primarily during the mid-20th century, was a specialized photographic device designed for capturing images of library users' identification documents, such as library cards and ID photos. This technology was part of a broader effort to improve security and record-keeping in public libraries, ensuring that borrower's information was accurately documented and easily retrievable. The device typically worked by photographing the identification document onto microfilm or another small format, allowing libraries to store large volumes of records in a compact space. The Regiscope represents an early intersection of photography and data management in public institutions.