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Collection

Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau Family Photograph Album, 1900s-1930s

approximately 308 photographs, 4 manuscript items in 1 album

The Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau family photograph album contains approximately 308 photographs and 4 manuscript items related to the family and friends of Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau, a prominent lawyer based in Niagara Falls, New York, and a representative of the Photo-Pictorialist movement in photography.

The Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau family photograph album contains approximately 308 photographs and 4 manuscript items related to the family and friends of Augustus J. J. Thibaudeau, a prominent lawyer based in Niagara Falls, New York, and a representative of the Photo-Pictorialist movement in photography.

The album (26 x 31 cm) has black cloth covers with “Snap Shots” embossed in silver on the front. The 4 loose manuscript items are contained in a Mylar enclosure at the beginning of the album and include two letters from Marie Thibaudeau written to her mother and father while abroad in England in 1923; a booklet made of faux-bark paper containing a watercolor illustration and poem about fishing titled “Stower’s Fish”; and a hand-written recipe booklet containing 18 recipes for various dishes.

Around 111 loose photographs of various sizes and formats are also contained in a Mylar enclosure and mostly include individual and group portraits (both indoors and outdoors), natural landscape views, and images of homes. A small percentage of these photographs have captions on their versos, including some that identify subjects. Of the loose photographs, images of interest include a group portrait of young women at Wellesley College in 1918 during their freshman year; portraits of Marie Thibaudeau, including several showing her posing with her beloved dog Sam-Sam; snapshots taken during a trip to Rome in 1932; and numerous images showing exterior views of houses as well as swimming, fishing, boating, and other outdoor activities taking place near the Thibaudeau family cottage on the Georgian Bay in Ontario.

Approximately 197 photographs are pasted into the album proper. A number of these photographs are partially unglued and in some cases writing on their versos is accessible. The album has many photographs showing waterfront summer vacation scenes from what appears to be different trips to the family cottage over a span of several years; some of these images in the front end of the album have inscriptions on their versos which indicate those photographs were taken in August 1910 by “D.B.” Other images of note include a picture showing a group of young women in a large sleigh with the verso caption reading “Marie Thibaudeau ΖΣΕ Jan, 24, 1912”; a pair of photographs showing siblings Kenneth Fraser Allan and Dorothy Elizabeth Allan when aged 3 and 6 respectively; two group portraits of young men in military uniforms standing in formation; photographs taken at Wellesley College showing buildings, students, campus scenes, large group activities, and a commencement ceremony; two photographs of a biplane mid-flight; and a series of interior views of an unidentified home that appears to have a menorah above the fireplace.

Collection

Chilocco Indian School Collection, 1908-ca.1950

16 tintypes, 18 photographic prints, 73 postcards, 1 piece of realia, 1 school yearbook, 1 pamphlet, 1 manuscript, and 1 graduation certificate in 3 boxes.

The Chilocco Indian School collection consists of 1 piece of realia, 1 school yearbook, 1 pamphlet, 1 manuscript, 1 graduation certificate, and 107 photographic images in various formats related to the Chilocco Indian School in northern Oklahoma.

The Chilocco Indian School collection consists of 1 piece of realia, 1 school yearbook, 1 pamphlet, 1 manuscript, 1 graduation certificate, and 107 photographic images in various formats related to the Chilocco Indian School in northern Oklahoma. Many of the images are portraits of individuals, structures, and activities associated with the Chilocco Indian School; most are individual and group portraits of Native Americans, but there are also several images showing school buildings, agricultural activities, sports teams, and white American adults and children. The majority of the images are real photo postcards from the 1910s.

A total of 16 tintypes (mostly 8 x 5 cm) are present in the collection. Included are studio portraits of Native American men, women, boys, and girls wearing western clothing. Many of the tintypes have been moderately hand-colored. None of the subjects nor their tribal affiliations have been identified.

Also present are 18 photographic prints (6 unmounted and 12 mounted). The 6 unmounted prints are all 11 x 6.5 cm snapshots taken in 1920 that appear to have been taken by tourists and were once stored in a photograph album. Inscribed captions include the following: "Gold Fish Pond Chilocco OK 1920"; "Three Indian Boys"; "View of the lake at Chilocco"; "Little Girls Dormitory at Chilocco Government School 1920"; "Dairy at Chilocco"; "Chilocco OK Indian School Stadium 1920." Of the mounted photographs, there are 10 of approximately the same size (8.5 x 6.5 cm; all albumen prints) that show individual and group studio portraits of Native American men, women, boys, and girls. The remaining two mounted photographs (12.5 x 8.5 cm and 10.5 x 6.5 cm respectively; both albumen prints) are studio portraits of a very young Native American girl and a Native American boy with his mother which bears the verso inscription "T. Wolf." None of the subjects nor their tribal affiliations have been identified.

Real photo and photomechanical postcards (mostly 14 x 8.5 cm) make up the remaining 73 photographic images in this collection. Most images consist of individual and group portraits of Native American and white people, the latter of which many appear to have been affiliated with various Indian Agencies and/or boarding schools.

Items of particular interest include an image of a young Native American boy captioned "Jim McKay's kid"; a studio portrait of an unidentified Native American man by George B. Cornish; a studio portrait of a man possibly identified as "Red Fox" through an inscription on the verso; a studio group portrait of an unidentified married Native American couple captioned "New Year Eve. 08-09" in which the photographer appears to have edited the negative by painting fake snowflakes on the subjects; a group portrait of Umatilla Agency superintendent E. L. Swartzlander's children Lawrence and Inez; views of Chilocco Indian School buildings such as Haworth Hall, Home One, the Printing Department, and the inside of a classroom; and three photographs showing young men dressed in World War I-era army uniforms.

Sports-related images include group portraits of the 1912-13 Chilocco men's basketball team, the 1906 and 1915 Chilocco women's basketball teams, the 1945-46 Chilocco men's football team, and a Chilocco men's baseball team from an unknown year.

A relatively small number of postcards have been signed. Of the postcards that have signatories, there are eight signed by Samson B. Harjo (Seminole; name also spelled "Sampson B. Harjo"); one signed by "John Wolf" (tribal affiliation unknown); one signed by "Silas Beal Brown"; three signed by Chief Tishomingo's grandson Joe F. Factor (Chickasaw); and five signed by Umatilla Agency clerk Alvin Barbour.

The Alvin Barbour postcards (6 in total) are the only postcards in the collection that contain correspondence. Writing from Pendleton, Oregon, Barbour was in communication with a girl at the Chilocco Indian School named "Anna" of unknown tribal background who appears to have come from the Umatilla Agency. In one postcard with a view of a school building dated March 4 1914, Barbour expresses delight that Anna was "pleased with the pennant" he sent her and that he hopes it will "remind you of home and of the sender." In another postcard bearing an outdoor portrait of Barbour dated April 18 1914, Barbour states that he is glad Anna has recovered from an illness and that he sent her some Easter lilies. Two postcards dated April 27 1914 show images of Barbour and a Native American girl from the Umatilla Agency identified as "Ruth" taking turns sitting on a fallen tree trunk. Two postcards do not bear any correspondence and include an outdoor portrait of Barbour (signed "Yours very truly, Alvin Barbour") and an unsigned outdoor group portrait of Barbour with two other men posing on a bridge.

The realia item is a double-handled silver basketball trophy (10 x 15 x 6 cm) bearing the engravings "Chilocco Basket Ball League 08" and "Bird's Head - Escudero - Du Bois - Taylor - Jones." The trophy was awarded to "Team Jones" in 1908 after they won all four of their matches in their five-team intramural league. "Bird's Head" may possibly be Jesse Bird's Head, while "Escudero" may possibly be Cipriano Escudero (approximately 1882-?).

Printed publications include a 1932 Chilocco Indian School senior class yearbook as well as an illustrated libretto and associated program from a 1907 Chilocco Indian School production of Hiawatha. The front cover of the libretto bears the inscription "Lulu Gregory, Tonkawa, Okla."

The manuscript item consists of a three-page handwritten document regarding the "Crimson" flag of an unidentified University Preparatory School (possibly the Tonkawa U.P.S.) and its importance being "similar to that of the Stars & Stripes to the United States." The document is unsigned and undated.

Also present is a graduation certificate (51 x 40.5 cm) granted by the Chilocco Indian School in 1897 to Myrtle M. Long (tribal affiliation uncertain). The diploma was signed by Superintendent Benjamin F. Taylor, principal teacher Philena Everett Johnson, and teacher Anna D. Burr.

Collection

David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, ca. 1845-1980

Approximately 113,000 photographs and 96 volumes

Online
The David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography consists of over 100,000 images in a variety of formats including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet photographs, real photo postcards, stereographs, and mounted and unmounted paper prints. The collection is primarily made up of vernacular photographs of everyday life in Michigan taken by both professional and amateur photographers from the 1840s into the mid-twentieth century. In addition to supporting local history research, the collection has resources for the study of specific events and subjects. Included are images related to lumbering, mining, suburbanization; the industrialization of cities; travel and transportation; the impact of the automobile; the rise of middle-class leisure society; fashion and dress; ethnicity and race; the role of fraternal organizations in society; and the participation of photographers in business, domestic, and social life. The collection is only partially open for research.

The subject contents of different photographic format series within the Tinder collection vary, depending in part upon how each format was historically used, and the date range of that format's popularity. For example, cartes de visite and cased images are most often formal studio portraits, while stereographs are likely to be outdoor views. Cabinet photographs are frequently portraits, but often composed with less formality than the cartes de visite and cased images. The postcards and the mounted prints contain very diverse subjects. The photographers' file contains many important and rare images of photographers, their galleries, promotional images, and the activities of photographers in the field. See individual series descriptions in the Contents List below for more specific details.

Included throughout are images by both professional and amateur photographers, although those by professionals are extant in far greater numbers.

Collection

Emmett M. Smith photograph album, 1914-1919

approximately 790 photographs and 6 pieces of ephemera in 1 album

The Emmett M. Smith photograph album contains approximately 790 photographs and 6 pieces of ephemera related to the experiences of American soldier and engineer Cpl. Emmett Merle Smith while he served with the United States Army Air Service’s 800th Aero Repair Squadron in France during World War I.

The Emmett M. Smith photograph album contains approximately 790 photographs and 6 pieces of ephemera related to the experiences of American soldier and engineer Cpl. Emmett Merle Smith while he served with the United States Army Air Service’s 800th Aero Repair Squadron in France during World War I.

The album (28 x 37 cm) has black cloth covers with “Postal Souvenirs” stamped on the front; the covers and spine are in poor condition, as are a relatively small number photographs (some of which bear signs of insect damage).

On the inside of the front cover is a tipped-in copy of A History of the 800th Aero Repair Squadron, an official unit history account of the squadron published by its members in 1919. A small group of 10 loose photos and 6 pieces of ephemera are also present, including postcards, snapshots, YMCA guides to Paris and Marseilles, and two programs related to jointly held French and American Mother’s Day celebrations in Paris in May 1919 that were organized by L’Association des French Homes.

The first pasted-in photographs in the album are a series of 24 panoramic views showing Parisian scenery and famous landmarks. This section ends with another YMCA guide to Paris and a matriculation card for the Université de Paris Faculte des Sciences 1918-1919 for Emmett M. Smith that includes a portrait. Smith appears to likely have been the compiler of this album as he appears in numerous other photographs throughout. He was a member of the 800th Aero Repair Squadron’s Flight A, who were stationed at Camp de Souge near Bordeaux.

From pg. 15 through to the end of the album photographs are individually numbered from 1 to 781. While a typescript index describes photographs #25-28, there is no overarching index for the entire series. Numerous photos have captions (including manuscript captions), though the majority do not. Images come in a range of sizes and appear to have originated from numerous sources including German and French photographers as well as snapshots possibly taken by Smith himself. “AR” also appears on several photographs, possibly indicating that these images were taken by 800th Aero Repair Squadron photographers. However, by and large photographers are not identified for specific images.

In general, this album contains frontline scenes of battlefields, dead soldiers and animals, trench views, and ruined structures as well as images documenting camp life, military bases, and aerial reconnaissance views. Numerous photographs of military equipment, weaponry, airplanes, tanks, warships, soldiers, and street scenes showing cities/towns and civilians are also present. Post-war scenes include documented stays in Paris, southern France, Italy, and Spain.

Images of particular interest include:
  • #3 (image showing charging soldiers, some in gas masks, with one man appearing to be clutch his throat while falling; captioned “Actual photo of action at Verdune”)
  • #7, 651 (800th Aero Repair Squadron group portraits)
  • #12 (shot of Kaiser Wilhelm talking with German officers)
  • #15, 17 (aerial views of Albert, France, in November 1916)
  • #48, 70.1 (pictures of German tanks)
  • #73, 76 (view of citadel with German signage and view showing street signage by ruins; amongst other views that appear to be in Belgium)
  • #109 ("Toul - French plane ready for a flight")
  • #110, 111 (images showing the French and American sections of the 1918 panoramic painting Panthéon de la Guerre)
  • #142, 143 (two images of a train wreck by “Chiljian,” possibly Armenian American photographer Pvt. Henry B. Chiljian)
  • #146, 148 (two images showing plane crash wreckage)
  • #167 (French observation balloon being inflated)
  • #209 (Georges Clemenceau visiting aviation field)
  • #219 (clipping showing aftermath of the Halifax explosion with inscription reading “Spent 10 day aboard ship here right after explosion was supposed to have been here just before explosion but was delayed”)
  • #374 (post-war image captioned “U.S.A. bound” which precedes series of naval voyage images)
  • #451+ (images from Italy and Southern France)
  • #525 (railroad scene with “Chicago Opera Association” sign in view)
  • #631 (view of three men at typewriters working in an office with maps and aerial photographs pinned to the wall)
  • #638 (aerial view captioned “My aviation camp. Camp de Souge - North of Bordeaux from the 2nd Artillery Aerial Observation Island 1917-1918-1919”)
  • #649 (view showing surgery being performed on a man in operating room captioned “Hell - without [anesthesia]”)
  • #699 (view showing a queue outside of a YMCA in Bangor, Maine)
  • #712, 715 (two portraits of young women captioned “My Italian fiancée” and “My Spanish fiancée”)
Collection

Howard F. Barnum World War I photograph album, 1905-1919

1 volume

The Howard F. Barnum World War I photograph album contains 216 items relating to Barnum's service during the war. A majority of the collection are personal photo-postcards of his time overseas and postcards from his travels with the Army of Occupation in France, Germany, and Luxembourg. Also included are photographs, letters, a print, and ephemera.

The Howard F. Barnum World War I photograph album contains 216 items relating to Barnum's service in the American Expeditionary Forces. The majority of the collection is comprised of personal photo-postcards of his time overseas and postcards from his travels with the Army of Occupation in France, Germany, and Luxembourg. Also included are photographs, letters, a print, and ephemera.

The album begins with 92 personal photo-postcards, many of which have a short handwritten caption on the front. The majority were taken while Barnum was stationed near the Rhine River, in Mayen, Germany. They show daily life, the ammunition dump, M.O.R.S. details, studio portraits, monuments and castles along the Rhine, and a Rhine River boat tour. One image is of the men he served with, "Billet #6," and lists the name and hometown of each man. There are a few images included from his training at Camp Hancock in Augusta, Georgia.

Seemingly unrelated to Barnum’s service, are five photos likely taken in the United States of construction on a neighborhood street. Following, are an image of captured American soldiers, one of a simulated gas attack, and 15 smaller images similar in content to the photo-postcards. Most of these smaller images have handwritten captions on the back.

This album includes a total of 78 picture postcards include a complete collection of 20 black and white views from the painting Panthéon de la Guerre. Other locations depicted include Paris, Southampton, Koblenz, and Camp Dodge and Rock Island in the United States

The last portion of the album contains ephemera from Barnum's military service, with the exception of one letter from August 6, 1905 written by Barnum to his mother while on vacation with his father and brother. Other items include the board game Trench Checkers, a Third Army Carnival program, a Mother’s Day pamphlet, an honorable discharge chevron, a USS Santa Paula billet card, and a "Souvenir Roster of the New York Masonic Club of the Army of Occupation."

Collection

Jerome, Arizona Mining Photographs, ca. 1903-1917

56 photographs in 3 boxes

The Jerome, Arizona mining photographs consist of 56 photographs (including 33 real photograph postcards) related to mining operations, anti-labor vigilantism, and Arizona scenery.

Most of these images appear to have been taken by an anonymous photographer who referred to himself as "Bob" and who may have been associated with a Philadelphia-based contracting firm, Charles A. Sims & Co., that was hired by the United Verde Mine. Many of the photographs have handwritten captions and bear evidence of having previously been mounted in a scrapbook; many captions have been rendered partially illegible after being affected during the removal process. The captions directly refer to details within the photographs, particularly related to mining operations.

A total of 33 real photo postcards are present, including 14 locally produced images by The Fotoplace and Areldson Studio. Several real photo postcards bear correspondence, and "Bob" appears to have sent some of these images to a woman named "Kitty."

Items of particular interest include at least two photographs depicting J. E. O'Rourke (the superintendent of the United Verde Mine); multiple views of Jerome, Arizona, including street and bird’s-eye views; multiple views of mining facilities and encampments; three images of Native Americans (likely Yavapai); two views of the Montezuma Castle cliff dwellings; a view of stalactites taken from the inside of a cavern; and eight images documenting the expulsion of I.W.W. strikers in Jerome in July 1917 by local citizens who were organized into a vigilance committee. Also present are at least five images taken near present-day Tonto Basin, Arizona, north of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam, which may be associated with another project on which the Charles A. Sims & Co. firm was contracted. While the dam itself does not appear in any of these images, the photographer wrote that the area depicted was to be inundated. Since the dam was constructed by the U.S. Reclamation Service between 1903 and 1911, these images are likely older than those taken in Jerome.

For a complete list of the collection’s contents, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing section below.

Collection

Mugshots Collection, ca. 1892-1920

approximately 100 photographs

The Mugshots collection consists of approximately 100 photographic portraits produced between 1892 and 1920, the vast majority of which are mugshots.

The Mugshots collection consists of approximately 100 photographic portraits produced between 1892 and 1920, the vast majority of which are mugshots. The collection includes real photographic postcards, mounted and unmounted paper prints, and one severely tarnished tintype. Also present are two fingerprint identification cards with handwritten lists containing names of numerous individuals represented in the collection. A small number of photographs appear to be standard studio portraits. Photographs range in size from 6 x 10.5 cm to 11 x 17 cm.

Many of the mugshots have printed and/or handwritten information on their versos, including names, known aliases, nationalities, birth dates/locations, occupations, arrest dates, names of arresting police officers, criminal charges, sentences, prison locations, remarks on physical appearances, and Bertillon measurements. Most of these images were produced in various places in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, with Philadelphia being the most represented location. The mugshots are mainly of white male subjects, though there are also four mugshots of women present. Five African American individuals (four men, one women) are also pictured. A substantial number of mugshots are of individuals from immigrant backgrounds, including Italians, Irish, Austrians, Germans, Poles, Greeks, Jews, etc. Approximately 90 individuals are personally identified in total. Recorded criminal charges include shoplifting, pickpocketing, larceny, burglary, forgery, embezzlement, false pretense, flimflamming, auto theft, horse theft, conspiracy, attempted murder, and murder. Specific police departments and correctional facilities represented include the Pennsylvania Department of State Police, Harrisburg Department of Police, Philadelphia Bureau of Police, Hartford Police Department, Newark Department of Police, Auburn Prison, Sing Sing Prison, City of New York Police Department, City of Boston Police Department, Camden Bureau of Police, Baltimore Police Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the New Jersey Reformatory in Rahway (now East Jersey State Prison), U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, City of Paterson Police Department, Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, Montgomery County Prison (Norristown), Columbus Department of Police, City of Wilkes-Barre Bureau of Police, Trenton Department of Public Safety, New York House of Refuge, and the Reading Department of Police.

Items of particular interest include:
  • a 1921 mugshot of an Italian man named Peter Erico, who was executed by electric chair on September 25 1922 along with Antonio Puntario after the pair were found guilty of murdering Detective Samuel Lucchino
  • a 1909 mugshot of an eighteen year old Jewish man named Albert Steinberg, accused of pickpocketing
  • two different mugshots of Irishman John Shelvin (accused of pickpocketing) taken in 1897 and 1906 following arrests in Philadelphia and Baltimore
  • a 1920 mugshot of German houseworker Minnie Schissel, charged with theft
  • a 1909 mugshot of accused shoplifter Marie Clark
  • a 1915 mugshot of an African American man named King Brown, charged with illegal dynamite explosion, assault, and other crimes
  • a ca. 1903 mugshot of larceny suspect Edward Stevenson, a "fugitive from Phil. Pa."; handwritten inscriptions on verso include note to address information to Detective E. H. Parker
  • a ca. 1906 mugshot of German engineer and fireman Frank Schleiman with identifying details and a $50 reward notice for information on his whereabouts following his escape from Sing Sing Prison on December 9 1906 handwritten on the verso
  • a 1908 mugshot of “dishonest servant” Blanche Grisson
  • a 1919 mugshot of a Mexican man named Pedro Susman, charged with shoplifting
  • two copies of a portrait or mugshot of African American man James Timberlake with identifying details handwritten on verso
  • a 1908 mugshot of an Austrian butcher named Herman Haubt, convicted of 2nd degree murder
  • an undated mugshot of an African American woman named Pearl Williams, charged with being a dishonest servant
  • a 1906 mugshot of bartender Sam Davis (accused of pick pocketing) produced by detective Harry C. White of Harrisburg
  • a ca. 1918 mugshot of Oliver Denton Bender taken in Columbus, Ohio, including an attached note that lists twelve of Bender’s known aliases
  • a 1900 mugshot of Irishman John Mackey, charged with till tapping; two 1918 mugshots of Italian barbers Nicholas Shieno and Frank Rinaldo, both of whom were charged with flimflamming after being arrested in Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • a 1918 mugshot of Jewish printer David Schleimer taken at the New York House of Refuge on Randall’s Island
  • a 1917 mugshot of Michael J. Sullivan, charged with murder

Collection

Northern Michigan Photograph Collection, ca. 1906-1940s

77 photographs

The Northern Michigan photograph collection contains an assortment of 43 photographic postcards, 28 mounted photographs, and 6 unmounted photographs showing people and scenes related to logging camp operations in northern Michigan, street views most likely from the town of Trenary, and road construction between Rapid River and Masonville.

The Northern Michigan photograph collection contains an assortment of 43 photographic postcards, 28 mounted photographs, and 6 unmounted photographs showing people and scenes related to logging camp operations in northern Michigan, street views most likely from the town of Trenary, and road construction between Rapid River and Masonville.

Per Albert Peterson (1886-1968), grandfather of collection donor Anne Peterson, is identified in two photographs. It is unclear whether members of the Peterson family took any of these photographs themselves. According to occasional annotations (many of which are not contemporary to when the photographs were taken), members of the “Johnson” family, including Oscar Johnson, John Johnson, and Manny Johnson, are the most frequently represented individuals. One group portrait of loggers is captioned “Wessling Johnson Camp” while another is captioned “Harry Schmit Camp 14.” Several postcards are addressed to an Eva Bannister located in Winters, Michigan, and a Henry Roos of Rapid River and Blaney, Michigan.

Depictions of logging camp operations include several group portraits that illustrate the size of a typical early 20th-century logging camp. A few images also highlight the cookhouse and social side of camp life, while there is also one photograph that shows the first motorized tractor used in log transport in the region. Other images show aspects of town and domestic life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from approximately 1908 to 1920. There are group portraits of railroad workers, ice cutters, maple sap gatherers, a baseball team; family members at home or being pulled in dog sleighs; and scenes of town life including a parade that appears to involve individuals dressed in blackface, an early movie theater, a fire engine, and a train crossing. One group portrait appears to have been taken around the 1940s.

A sequence of 13 photographic postcards provides a detailed overview of the stages of rural road construction in the early 1920s including views of trains unloading material onto conveyors, narrow-gauge gravel trains delivering materials to the work site, work crews and horse-drawn graders contouring the surface, and steamrollers compressing the roadbed. The postcards include brief annotations typewritten on the front of the cards.

Collection

Salomon Family Photograph Album, ca. 1860s-1925

55 photographs in 1 album

The Salomon family photograph album contains 55 photographs of friends, family members, and religious and political figures compiled by the family of Haitian President Lysius Salomon.

The Salomon family photograph album contains 55 photographs of friends, family members, and religious and political figures compiled by the family of Haitian President Lysius Salomon.

The album (30 x 22.5 cm) has embossed brown leather covers, gilt edges, and a metal clasp; it was produced and copyrighted by English firm T. J. Smith, Son, & Co. under the product name “Album Arbora.” A gilt-print index accompanied by a quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on pg. 2 lists the locations of 13 decorative illustrations of various “Flowering Shrubs” found within the album.

Photographs mainly consist of carte de visite and cabinet card studio portrait photographs of various men, women, and children taken between the 1860s and 1880s. Also present is a souvenir from the funeral of a young Frenchman named Pierre Bertagne who passed away in 1925 at the age of 25 (between pgs. 2 & 3; includes a portrait of the deceased). Works of Haitian, French, English, German, Jamaican, Italian, Curaçaoan, Puerto Rican, and American photographers are represented. Black, white, and mixed subjects are included, and most individuals are unidentified. Eight portraits of President Salomon appear throughout the album; also present are photographic reproductions of illustrated portraits of Pope Pius IX (pg. 3), Italian statesman Giuseppe Garibaldi (pg. 7) and Prime Minister of Madagascar Rainilaiarivony (pg. 9) as well as a photographic portrait of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy (pg. 10). Numerous portraits of Catholic priests are also included.

Besides Lysius Salomon, other members of the Salomon family that may possibly be represented in the album include his second wife Florentine Salomon (pgs. 11, 15, and loose image between pgs. 40 & 41), daughter Ida Salomon Faubert (loose image between pgs. 40 & 41 and loose cabinet card between pgs. 42 & 43), and grandson Raoul Faubert (ca. 1920s real photo postcard, loose between pgs. 24 & 25).

Several photographs include inscriptions in French. Many of these inscriptions indicate that a photograph was given as a souvenir to either President Salomon himself or to Mrs. Salomon (presumably Florentine Salomon). For instance, on pg. 19 a portrait made in 1882 of a French priest of “Abbé de Aldrovandy” in Paris bears an inscription addressed to “Monsieur le General Salomon, President de la Republique D'Haiti,” indicating that the subject desired to have a fellow priest named Mathieu send this photograph to Salomon upon his death; a second inscription (presumably written by Mathieu) states the gentleman pictured has passed away and that his wish is being fulfilled by the portrait being sent to Salomon. Pg. 21 includes portraits of two women with inscriptions made out to “Mme La Presidant” and “Mde. Salomon” respectively, as well as a portrait of a young black man bearing an inscription in French that translates to: “Gratitude to our respectful and revered Father Le Duc de Saint Lous du Sud, President of the Republic of Haiti.” Also present on pg. 31 is a cabinet card portrait of the President of the Dominican Republic Fernando Arturo de Meriño with a verso inscription in Spanish that translates to: “To his Excellency General Salomon, President of the Republic of Haiti, his loyal friend Fernand A. de Merino Puerto Plata, February 5 1882.”

For conservation and preservation purposes, facsimile reproductions of each photograph have been put in place of the original photographs to replicate the arrangement of the album as it appeared when received. The original photographs are housed separately within the album container.

Collection

Same-Sex Affection and Gender Studies Photograph Collection, ca. 1850s-1940s

approximately 150 photographs

The Same-sex affection and gender studies photograph collection contains approximately 150 examples of photographs that illustrate closeness between subjects of the same sex as well as aspects of non-traditional gender presentation.

The collection includes photographic examples in multiple formats with real photo postcards, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and small format mounted photos being the most numerous. 145 images are contained in Box 1 of the collection while an additional 5 photographs on larger format card mounts are stored in Box 2. Images mainly consist of portraits of men posing familiarly with other men, women posing familiarly with other women, and portraits of groups and individuals engaged in cross-dressing. Due to the subjective nature of assessing these images combined with historical differences in what was considered socially acceptable displays of affection and the general lack of verifiable context, many of these photographs remain open to a variety of interpretations.

Numerous photographs show same-sex duos and larger groups holding hands, placing their hands on each other, leaning on each other, or demonstrating affection in some other observable way. Most subjects are unidentified, though occasionally individuals have been identified through the presence of inscriptions. In some cases, individuals pictured together have been confirmed to be relatives.

Numerous photographs of male and female individuals and groups engaged in cross-dressing are also present. In many instances, the cross-dressing most likely occurred for humorous reasons.

Examples of images of interest include:
  • Postcard showing two men embracing with the printed caption "We're looking for girls at Lansing, Mich."
  • Real photo postcard bearing a studio group portrait of two men, one of whom appears to have an unbuckled belt.
  • Cabinet card studio group portrait by Beardsley of Charlotte, Michigan, showing two men, one of whom holds a guitar, whose arms appear to align behind them in a manner that suggests they may have been holding hands.
  • Two different group portraits of the same female couple identified through inscriptions as "Agnes Davis" and "Anna Wickerham."
  • 1940s group portrait of four men included in a souvenir packet for “Swing Rendezvous,” a New York City-based lesbian/gay bar.
  • Real photo postcard bearing a portrait of an unidentified man wearing women's clothing, including a dress, flower-laden hat, and beaded necklace.
  • Postcard showing a man wearing women's clothing sat on a bench with the printed caption "The Male is late!"
  • Outdoor portrait of two women dressed in men's clothing captioned "A pair of Peaches."
  • Real photo postcard captioned "Four of a kind" showing two cross-dressed male-female couples sitting together, with the women sat in the men's laps.
  • Series of four images showing a woman posing in World War I-era soldier's uniform.