Purchased by the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College on August 12, 2020 from Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York.

Remarkable Photograph of Peace Conference: This is the first good photograph made of the Peace Conference. Seated directly under the clock are President Woodrow Wilson, Secretary of State Robert Lansing, Colonel Edward House, President Raymond Poincaré, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Arthur Balfour and Andrew Bonar Law. At the long table to the right are Premier Georges Clemenceau, Stephen Pichon and Marshall Ferdinand Foch.

On January 18, 1919, in Paris, France, some of the most powerful people in the world met to begin the long, complicated negotiations that would officially mark the end of the First World War. Leaders of the victorious Allied powers–France, Great Britain, the United States and Italy– would make most of the crucial decisions in Paris over the next six months. For most of the conference, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson struggled to support his idea of a “peace without victory” and make sure that Germany, the leader of the Central Powers and the major loser of the war, was not treated too harshly. On the other hand, Prime Ministers Georges Clemenceau of France and David Lloyd George of Britain argued that punishing Germany adequately and ensuring its weakness was the only way to justify the immense costs of the war. In the end, Wilson compromised on the treatment of Germany in order to push through the creation of his pet project, an international peacekeeping organization called the League of Nations. Representatives from Germany were excluded from the peace conference until May, when they arrived in Paris and were presented with a draft of the Versailles Treaty.

On recto: Clear label attached near bottom left corner, "Copyright by / Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. / From Elliott Service Co., N. Y."

On verso: Typewritten label attached in center, "REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPH OF PEACE CONFERENCE / This is the first good photograph made of the Peace / Conference. Seated directly under the clock are / President Wilson, Secretary of State Lansing, / Colonel House, President Poincaire, Lloyd George, / Balfour and Bonar Law. At the long table to the / right are Clemenceau, Pichon and Marshal Foch. / UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS ELLIOTT SERVICE CO. EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTORS 141-145 West 36th St., NEW YORK C 1782". Handwritten in graphite in top left corner, "UU-021".

Ferrotyped prints are processed in such a way that they are shiny. The print has a sensitive surface, usually thinner, because it was put through a press while still wet.

Ferrotyped prints have a sensitive surface, usually shiny and thinner, because they are put through a press while still wet. Ferrotyping makes the surface of the photograph smoother. Light does not scatter as much on a smoother surface, so this increases contrast. That makes ferrotyped images better for press photography.

This object has the following keywords:

• Allied Powers
• Andrew Bonar Law
• Andrew Bonar Law
• Armistice of 11 November 1918
• Arthur Balfour
• Arthur Balfour
• Château de Versailles
• Col. Edward House
• David Lloyd George
• David Lloyd George
• Edward House
• Ferdinand Foch
• Ferdinand Foch
• Georges Clemenceau
• Georges Clemenceau
• Paris Peace Conference
• Raymond Poincaré
• Raymond Poincaré
• Robert Lansing
• Robert Lansing
• Stephen Pichon
• Stephen Pichon
• Stephen Pichon
• Treaty of Versailles
• Woodrow Wilson
• Woodrow Wilson
• World War I

This object is a member of the following portfolios: