Travels With Outerbridge

This year marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the US entry into World War One (WWI). To mark this occasion we present Travels with Outerbridge, a digital exhibition which includes the mapped letters and photographs of George Outerbridge, a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and a physician who served in WWI.

Outerbridge spent much of his time during the conflict stationed at Base Hospital No. 16 in Le Tréport, France, a British Expeditionary Force hospital. However, toward the end of his tenure with the Unit, he joined Mobile Hospital Unit No. 8, which traveled through Normandy and Brittany, as well as near Verdun and Argonne, the sites of important battles.

NOTE: For the best experience, this exhibit should be viewed on a desktop, laptop. A full-size tablet will also work, but the display may be too cluttered for phone and mini-tablet users.

The George Outerbridge papers (MSS 2/138) at the Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia consists of over seventy letters and postcards dating from August 1917 to July 1918, most of which were written by Outerbridge during his time at Le Tréport. The collection consists of an additional album of photographs, which have been digitized for this exhibit, that span his entire time with the Pennsylvania Hospital Unit, leading up to his discharge in April of 1919.

The collection was donated to the library in 1972 by Mrs. Edward F. Harvey, who discovered the collection after moving into Outerbridge’s former home in Philadelphia.

You can view the finding aid for the George Outerbridge papers here.

NOTE: For the best experience, this exhibit should be viewed on a desktop or laptop. A full-size tablet will also work, but the display may be too cluttered for phone and mini-tablet users.

This exhibit features Outerbridge's photographs taken during his time with the American Expeditionary Forces with accompanying text taken from his letters. These materials are presented on an interactive map placing the photographs in the locations in which they were taken. Before launching the exhibit, please take the time to read the instructions below.

There are two types of markers presented on the map of Outerbridge’s journey. The first are blue markers in the shape of a letter (circled in blue above), representing significant moments in his travels. Second are green numbered markers (circled in green). These contain additional text and photographs grouped together by theme or event.

The “START” button (circled in red) at the bottom of the right-hand column will bring you to the first marker and start you along Outerbridge’s path. The easiest way to track Outerbridge's journey is simply to follow him step-by-step using the “Next” and “Previous” buttons in each content box(circled in yellow).

Clicking the photograph in the content box will blow the image up and display it in a “lightbox” (see image below). This is the easiest way to view the photograph in detail. If you are then curious about a particular photograph, clicking "View in Collection" will bring you to the image page in our digital library, with full metadata.

If you would prefer to navigate on your own, you can you use your mouse to drag the map or use the controls in the upper left-hand portion of the screen (circled in orange) to move the focus or change the zoom depth. The layers icon (circled in purple) in the upper right of the display allows you to switch base maps if you would like to view the locations in the context of their contemporary locations.

Once you have read the instructions, you can view the exhibit by clicking the Launch Exhibit button below. If you need to refer to these instructions again, they will be available for you to read in the exhibit as part of the right-hand column.