PENNSBURRY_9-12_Flipbook

Barksdale, the pioneer of school photography, celebrates 101st anniversary Mr. S.P. Barksdale, the founding father of the school picture industry, was employed by the WilsonMagazineCompany in theearly1900s. In1922, hisgood friendwas the superintendent of the Philadelphia Public School System. As the district was building its student files, Barksdale was asked to provide photos of each student to be attached to the records. He agreed, as long as he could also sell the photos to the parents to help pay for the service. Other school districts heard of the idea and asked Barksdale for photos of their students. The school picture industry was born. S.P. Barksdale even built the first school picture camera. Today, Barksdale – under the leadership of S.P.’s great grandchildren – provides school picture services to more than 2,000 schools across the country from their headquarters in the suburbs of Philadelphia.