Collections

The Allen family photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of various individuals, including members of the Allen family of Mayville, Michigan.

The Allen family photograph album (13cm x 10cm) contains 22 cartes-de-visite, 13 tintypes, one lithograph, and one printed card. The cartes-de-visite and tintypes are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Most items show a single person, though some, such as a woman and a young baby, were photographed in pairs. The lithograph depicts a young girl holding a dog. An educational card, one of a series of "Little People Lesson Pictures" issued by the American Sunday-School Union (volume IV, number 1, part 5), is laid into the volume. The card has a colored print of a Biblical scene entitled "Beginning of the Hebrew Nation," and the reverse side has questions and answers about Abraham's journey to Canaan. The cartes-de-visite were made by photographers in locations such as Imlay City, Michigan; Owosso, Michigan; and Peterborough, Ontario. The volume's covers are leather, with a Maltese gold-embossed cross stamped in relief on each side.

The Wabash (Ind.) family photograph albums contain tintype and carte-de-visite studio portraits of men, women, and children in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the 19th century.

The Wabash (Ind.) family photograph albums (both 14cm x 10cm) contain tintype and carte-de-visite studio portraits of men, women, and children in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The first volume contains 19 tintypes and five cartes-de-visite, and the second volume contains 16 tintypes and nine cartes-de-visite; an index of subjects in included at the back of the second album. Some of the tintypes have raised decorated borders on their cardstock frames, and many include hand coloring. Most items are individual portraits, though some men and women posed in pairs. One man appears in a Masonic sash and apron. Each album has a brown leather cover with a raised geometric design and floral patterns stamped in gold.

This photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken primarily in Ionia and Clinton Counties, Michigan, in the mid- to late 19th century.

This photograph album (15cm x 12cm) contains 27 carte-de-visite and 15 tintype portraits of unidentified individuals taken in the mid- to late 19th century. Only one subject, Mr. J. C. Sessions, is identified. The studio portraits mostly show adult men and women of various ages, sometimes photographed in couples and, on two occasions, with children. A few portraits of individual children are included, including two of a young boy who was also photographed at a later date. The album has a green cover with a raised geometric design; a metal clasp that was once affixed to the volume is no longer extant.

The Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype studio portraits of men, women, and children taken around the 1870s-1880s. Most of the tintypes are hand-tinted.

This album (13cm x9cm) contains 16 carte-de-visite and 13 tintype photographs taken in Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland circa 1870s-1880s. Most items are individual portraits, with three exceptions: a carte-de-visite of two women, a tintype of a woman holding an infant, and a tintype family photograph of six people, mostly children. The majority of the tintypes and at least two of the cartes-de-visite have hand coloring. One photograph of an infant is identified as Estelle Simcoe. The volume's brown cover has a raised geometric design, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on the spine.

The Gerta Gage family photograph album contains cabinet card portraits of men, women, and children taken in various Michigan cities around the mid-1880s to mid-1890s. Some of the pictured individuals posed in groups or with animals, and two men wore Shriners uniforms. The album likely belonged to Gerta Gage, of Big Rapids, Michigan.

The Gerta Gage family photograph album (22cm x 29cm) contains 80 cabinet card photographs of men, women, and children, few of whom are identified. The studio portraits were taken in Michigan towns and cities such as Muskegon, Big Rapids, Petoskey, Jackson, Allegan, Ovid, and Traverse City, as well as in other locales such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Decatur, Illinois; and Chicago, Illinois. Two men posed in Shriners hats, a few posed with dogs, and one man, photographed by A. S. Green of St. Thomas, Ontario, blew cigar smoke while having his picture taken. Though most items are individual portraits, some subjects posed in groups of two to four; one image is a group portrait of seven men. The volume's padded covers are bound in blue and yellow cloth. "Gerta Gage" and "Gerta Gage Big Rapids Michigan" are engraved on the album's large metal clasp. The pages of the album are decorated to resemble wood.

The Fiske carte-de-visite album contains formal studio portraits of various men and women, most of whom are unidentified. The photographs were taken in locations such as New York City; New Haven, Connecticut; and Litchfield, Connecticut.

The Fiske carte-de-visite album (13cm x 9cm) contains 9 cartes-de-visite and 3 tintypes, all of which are formal studio portraits of men, women, and a young boy. With the exceptions of a young boy named "Ralph," a woman identified as a daughter of [Sereno] Scranton, and Reverend Samuel A. Fisk, a Civil War officer pictured in his uniform, the subjects are anonymous. Some of the pictures were taken in locations such as New York City; New Haven, Connecticut; and Litchfield, Connecticut. The album, which may have belonged to Albert Mentandon of "Geneva," has a cloth cover with a floral pattern stamped in gold.

The Shelter Island (N.Y.) photograph albums contain portraits of young female vacationers, pictures of visitors enjoying leisure activities on and around a beach, and views from the steam yacht Meteor.

The Shelter Island (N.Y.) photograph albums contain 188 pictures taken during a visit to Shelter Island around the late 19th century. Volume 1 (26cm x 22cm) contains 98 photographs from an Original Kodak or Kodak #1 camera and Volume 2 (32cm x 28cm) contains 90 photographs from a Kodak #2 camera, mounted 4 to a page. Each album has black covers with the title "Kodak" originally printed in gold on the front; the title on the second album has faded.

Both albums contain similar photographs of people enjoying outdoor leisure activities, particularly on a beach. Many items are informal portraits of young women alone or in pairs, often identified in manuscript captions. Women, men, and children are shown sitting and walking along the beach, wading in the water, riding in carriages, and watching baseball at "Jim-town," among other activities. The seaside hotel Manhausett House appears as does "the Casino." Several images are of spectators at a tennis pavilion. Of note are a group of images in the second album from a trip on the steam-powered yacht Meteor, including shots of passengers relaxing on deck and crew members. A monkey appears in one photograph in each of the albums. A photograph vendor's wagon appears on the beach, and a man is posed with a camera on a stand.

The Buffalo Soldiers carte-de-visite album contains cartes-de-visite and tintype photographs of African American soldiers, civilian men and women. Some of the photographs were taken in Webster, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota).

The Buffalo Soldiers carte-de-visite album contains 16 cartes-de-visite and 7 tintype photographs taken circa 1870s and 1880s, now housed separately. Included are formal studio portraits of unidentified African American and Caucasian civilians and soldiers. Some individuals posed in pairs or groups. Many of the photographs, including some of the cartes-de-visite of African American soldiers, were taken in the Dakota Territory. The original album (12cm x 15cm) has covers bound in blue cloth; a metal shield is attached to the front cover.

This photograph album contains portraits of direct descendants of Elijah Hubbell and Hannah Fields of Danbury, Connecticut, as well as members of associated families, including the Van Allen family of Janesville, Wisconsin, and the Lynes family of Otsego County, New York.

This album (16cm x 12cm) contains 36 carte-de-visite and two tintype portraits of members of the Hubbell family, Van Allen family, Lynes family, and others. The Hubbell and Lynes families lived in northern and central New York, and the Van Allen family lived in Janesville, Wisconsin. Formal studio portraits show men, women, and children of various ages, and some individuals are pictured more than once. Most of the photographs are labeled, and labels exist for some items that are no longer present. The covers are bound in green cloth, with a decorative design in relief.

The San Francisco (Calif.) autograph album contains manuscript inscriptions, portrait photographs, photographs of western scenes, pictures of statues, and reproductions of popular paintings.

The San Francisco (Calif.) autograph album (20cm x 13cm, 180 pages) contains around 125 photographs and prints, as well as manuscript inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions, dated at San Francisco between 1860 and 1888, include brief quotations and uplifting messages, along with the contributor's signature. A few small dried plant specimens are laid into the album. The brown leather cover has a floral design, the word "Autographs," and an illustration of a quill and book inlaid in gold.

The majority of the album's photographic prints are studio portraits of women and, less frequently, men; pencil captions identify many individuals, such as John S. Hittell, an early author of Yosemite guidebooks, and Benjamin P. Avery, miner, journalist, and diplomat. Some photographs are associated with inscriptions and autographs. A number of images are missing. Images include reproductions of popular paintings, and pictures of statues, primarily busts. A number of the paintings are attributed to David Dalhoff Neal.

Of note are views of Yosemite National Park, likely commercially produced stereograph halves; a photograph of a group of men participating in "Hydraulic Washing" in Yuba County, California, published as a stereograph by Lawrence and Houseworth; a view of tourists under giant Redwood trees; the upended tree stump in Mammoth Tree Grove (Calaveras County, California). One view and one portrait carrying the blind-stamp of photographer Carleton E. Watkins and several other views are similar to known Watkins images; at least one (Crystal Lake House) compares to a stereo by Alfred A Hart.

A small number of images are from Europe, showing cathedrals, the view from Trinità dei Monti in Rome, and a view of a waterfall below a village. The majority of the inscriptions are in English, with several in German.