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Bernard Cone Photograph Albums

Bernard Milton Cone (1874-1956) was born in Baltimore as one of the youngest of Herman and Helen Cone's thirteen children. His elder brothers, Moses (1857-1908) and Ceasar (1859-1917), built Proximity Cotton Mills in Greensboro in 1895, and later launched Revolution Mill, White Oak Mill, and Proximity Print Works, creating one of the largest textile mill companies in the South. Educated at Johns Hopkins University and Columbia Law School, Bernard Cone worked as a lawyer in New York for seven years before settling in Greensboro in 1904. Over the next 45 years, he held various positions in the family's textile empire, including that of president of Proximity Manufacturing Company from 1917 to 1938. Cone was a skilled amateur photographer, and his photos provide a rich picture of life in Greensboro in the 1900s and 1910s. Images show: members of the Cone family and their mansions on Summit Avenue, the textile mills and their employees, the mill villages and their residents, and mill-sponsored schools and recreational activities. Cone also captured street scenes in downtown Greensboro and the city's 1908 centennial celebrations. In addition, the albums include several creative self-portraits.

Example pages from Bernard Cone photo albums
Example pages showing the layout and arrangement of photographs within the Bernard Cone photo albums. One page from each scrapbook is represented.
Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. float
The Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. furniture store float in the Greensboro Centennial parade. The float is decorated with flags and a woman and two children ride aboard on furniture.
Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. float
The Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. furniture store float in the Greensboro Centennial parade. The float is decorated with flags and a woman and two children ride aboard on furniture.
Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. float
The Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. furniture store float in the Greensboro Centennial parade. The float is decorated with flags and a woman and two children ride aboard on furniture. Greensboro Motor Car Co. is in the background.
Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. float
The Huntley-Stockton-Hill Co. furniture store float in the Greensboro Centennial parade. The float is decorated with flags and a woman and two children ride aboard on furniture.
Proximity Mill
A view of Proximity Mill from across the pond.
Proximity Mill
A view of Proximity Mill from across the railroad tracks.
Proximity Mill
A view of Proximity Mill from across a cow pasture.
Seidenberg & Co. parade float
The Seidenberg & Co. float for the Greensboro Centennial parade. The float advertises Prince George cigars for five cents, and aboard it are four ladies, a man dressed as Uncle Sam and an over-sized cigar prop.

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