Lawrence Laser, Now the Capitol's Assistant Electrical Engineer, Points to the Oldest Chandelier
| Title | Lawrence Laser, Now the Capitol's Assistant Electrical Engineer, Points to the Oldest Chandelier |
| Artist/Maker | Washington Post News Service |
| Date | 1969-10 |
| Medium | Photograph, black and white |
| Dimensions | h. 9.875 x w. 8 in. (h. 25.0825 x w. 20.32 cm) |
| Credit Line | U.S. Senate Collection |
| Accession Number | 38.01270.001 |
- Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
- Sticker
(verso, top left, printed): abu 205
Inscription (verso, top right, handwritten in black ink): D C / Capitol
Newspaper clipping (verso, center, printed, adhesive used): [b]y ARRON LATHAM / Washington Post Service / WASHINGTON — "The / chandeliers in the White / House used to bother Theo- / dore Roosevelt," says Law- / rence Laser, who has helped / light Capitol Hill for half a / century. "The wind used to / blow through them and they / tinkled." / Roosevelt, an old Rough / Rider who admired guns and / horses a great deal more than / crystal lighting fixtures, got / fed up with the tinkle and in / 1903 ordered eight chandeliers / moved from his office and the / corridor that led to it. / The eight were taken to the / Capitol and that began the / revolution. Soon everyone / wanted one in his office and / there weren't nearly enough / to go around. Today Teddy / Roosevelt's eight unwanted / chandeliers have spawned a / total of 389 others, the latest / bought only six months ago. / LASER, now the Capitol's / assistant electrical engineer, / has made the study of all / these chandeliers a consum- / ing hobby. / When he first came to wor[k] / on the Hill in 1921 as an assi[s-] / tant switchboard operator / the old "Dynamo Roo[m"]
Stamp (verso, center of newspaper clipping, in brown/red ink): NOV 11 1969
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