Waterway Scene II (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "Waterway Scene II (c. 1911)," shows part of a canal in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Four boats float in the water and tightly-packed houses abut the waterfront edge.Amsterdam is known as “the Venice of the North” because of its more than one hundred kilometers of canals. The city has around ninety islands and fifteen hundred bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, which were dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city. The canal ring and surrounding area were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010. This lantern slide was taken as part of a scout trip to Holland via the Port of Hull in England. This lantern slide was taken as part of a scout trip to Holland via the Port of Hull in England. According to older catalog records, one of the scoutmasters is James Archibald Kyle. Kyle worked as Organizing Secretary of the south West London District until 1909, when Baden-Powell appointed him the second Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters, developed the Equipment Department, and resolved many of the problems that arose with the eye of a businessman. For his work with the Association, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. He also wrote “Band and Music for Boy Scouts,” “Firedrill for Boy Scouts,” and “Training Camps and Standing Camps for Boyscouts.” The Boy Scouts started around 1908, when Robert Baden-Powell, a Lieutenant-General in the English military, wrote a book entitled “Scouting for Boys.” Edgar M. Robinson (Springfield College class of 1901) involved the International Y.M.C.A. Training School (now known as Springfield College) with the fledgling Boy Scout movement in the United States around 1910. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Fragile—single glass piece only