'Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State'

Photographer Harold Hone photographed cities, towns and landscapes in Wisconsin from 1936 to 1940. Most of the images in this collection were done as part of his role as staff photographer for "Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State," the 1941 publication by the Wisconsin Federal Writers' Project. The Works Progress Administration, a Depression-era New Deal program, created the project to put people back to work on public works projects. In addition to downtown views of Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Wisconsin Dells and other major Wisconsin cities, the collection includes images of Vilas Zoo in Madison, the Lake Michigan shoreline, major Wisconsin industries including lumber and milk production, mass-produced housing, and the landscapes of Wisconsin.

The collection held in the Society's library and archives consists of more than 769 photographs and 705 negatives, and around 25 oversize photographic prints. This gallery includes select images from the whole collection, focusing on the images used in the "Guide to the Badger State" and those depicting the Madison area.

Harold N. Hone, Madison Photographer (1892-1970)

Harold Hone, a well-known Madison portrait photographer, created many of the images in this gallery. Hone was known for his artistic work and original photographic methods, including his use of the "soft lens" technique. Throughout his career, Hone photographed many noteworthy Wisconsin figures, including governors, Senator Gaylord Nelson, all of the La Follette family members, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many prominent University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty members.

According to Hone's May 3, 1970, obituary published in The Capital Times newspaper, his landscape photography was also, "highly regarded for its excellence." His obituary described that, while he was originally born in Toledo, Ohio, Hone moved to Madison in 1914 after living in Minneapolis and, "worked in every phase of commercial photography for the old Photoart Studio. He returned to Minneapolis for a time, then turned back to Madison, where he was employed as a cameraman and dark room man for Oscar De Longe. Several years later he opened up his own studio and operated it in a number of sites along State Street. He operated as a photographer from his home on Ridge Street after moving there. Hone was never highly promotional in the business, but was highly regarded by other photographers throughout the nation."