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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.

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Cone Export exhibit
The Cone Export exhibit booth at the fairgrounds during the Greensboro Centennial celebration.
Cone Export exhibit
The Cone Export exhibit booth at the Greensboro fairgrounds during the Greensboro Centennial celebration.
Cone Mills drawing
This is a photograph of a drawing or print of the three Cone mills with White Oak Mill in foreground, and the Revolution and Proximity mills in the background.
Cone boys
Herman Cone, Ceasar Cone II, and Ben Cone pose on farm equipment.
Cone boys
Herman Cone, Ceasar Cone II, and Ben Cone pose outdoors.
Cone estate
A view of the Cone estate with the house in the background.
Cone estate
A view of the trees on the Cone estate.
Cone estate
Flowering shrubbery along the porch of the Cone mansion.
Cone estate
Looking down a dirt drive on the Cone estate.
Cone estate
A view of the Cone estate in the winter with a dusting of snow.
Cone family
Members of the Cone family relax on the lawn of the family home.
Cone family
Ten members of the Cone family pose outdoors on the Cone estate. Julius and Elaine are crouching, while Jeanette (Mrs. Ceasar) Cone is standing above Elaine with Ben and Herman.
Cone family
Five members of the Cone family pose on the steps of the Cone mansion.
Cone family house
One of the large houses belonging to a member of the Cone family.
Cone family house
One of the large houses belonging to a member of the Cone family.
Cone family house
One of the large houses belonging to a member of the Cone family.
Cone greenhouse
A view of the greenhouse on the property of the Cone mansion.
Cone greenhouse
Greenhouse on the property of the Cone mansion.
Cone house
A house belonging to one of the Cone family members.
Cone mill village
A landscape view of one of the Cone mill villages.

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