whole collection 737 items. | 732 photographs : prints on board mounts ; sheets 49 x 49 cm. | 5 volumes : illustrations ; 28 x 35 cm and smaller. | The Königliche Preussische Messbildanstalt (Royal Prussian Photogrammetric Institute) created architectural photographs as part of an early historic preservation program to document exteriors and interiors of cathedrals and churches, castles and palaces, town halls and half-timbered buildings, and other cultural heritage sites as they appeared around 1900. The buildings are primarily in Germany, with approximately 100 views in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, France, Poland, and Russia. Institute director and architect Albrecht Meydenbauer developed the special camera and precise measurement system used to create these sharply focused, large-format, photogrammetric (measurement) images in order to provide for the study and restoration of landmark buildings.