Collections

The Oklahoma Homesteader's photograph album contains pictures of ranch or homestead buildings, cowboys, and Native Americans in an unidentified prairie region in the late 19th century. Some of the Native Americans posed with guns and white soldiers, and one group wore military uniforms. Two items are photographs of watercolor paintings.

The Oklahoma Homesteader's photograph album (36cm x 29cm) contains 49 prints showing pictures of buildings, scenery, cowboys, women, Native Americans, and watercolor paintings. Sixteen images are exterior views of a ranch home and outbuildings in a flat, grassy area with few trees. Two men in wide-brimmed hats are sometimes visible, including one driving a two-wheel horse-drawn carriage. Nine photographs are interior views of the residence showing a wallpapered living room or office, a paneled bedroom, dining area, and kitchen.

Of particular note are the interior views that show hats, bridles, lassos, and rifles mounted on the walls in combination with full bookshelves, framed art and photographs, and decoratively arranged wheat stalks. A large framed print or painting of a cow is featured over the mantelpiece along with small cabinet photographs, feathers, and artifacts; the beds are covered with Native American blankets and carefully arranged newspapers; books, papers, and a book-press are visible. Also of note are views of the rustic kitchen with coffee advertising signs and genre prints displayed. One view shows a dinner table set for seven, while another shows a bearded man cooking over an iron woodstove. Two pictures show a pair of women posed outside of the house with a dog. Two images are exterior views of a property with a larger wood frame house that appears to have been recently constructed.

A group of 14 pictures depicts cowboys roping cattle, performing farm work, pitching horseshoes, and relaxing alone or in groups. One photograph shows a group seated on a blanket, playing cards with guns drawn.

The album has six photographs featuring groups of Native Americans; a band of Native American men brandishing rifles appear posed with a white soldier in a uniform jacket; a mixed-gender group of Native Americans includes several men in military uniforms, women and children; a group of women and children in front of a tipi; a group of women and children with a child's wagon; three Native American men in military uniforms; and a large group with uniformed men on horseback, women, and children, taken at distance with tipis in the background. The final two pages have photographs of watercolor paintings of prairie scenes featuring small buildings. The album has a brown leather binding with a moire-patterned blue cloth cover, and a spine label "0013" from a previous unknown owner.

A wall calendar appearing in an interior view indicates June 2 falling on a Sunday, which occurred in 1889 and 1895.

The Olean (N.Y.) cabinet card and carte de visite album contains 3 cabinet cards from ca. 1880s and 12 cartes de visite from ca. 1860s. The album likely dates to ca. 1880s.

The Olean (N.Y.) cabinet card and carte de visite album contains 3 cabinet cards of women from ca. 1880s and 12 cartes de visite mostly of men, women, and children from ca. 1860s. The album likely dates to ca. 1880s. An inscription on the interior front cover reads "Merry Christmas, Harrington School, Dec. 25, 1903, Daisy May Spencer, Teacher," and does not appear to be related to the material within.

The images take place in a formal studio setting from photographers located in Olean (New York), Rock Island and Chicago (Illinois), Titusville (Pennsylvania), San Francisco (California), and Nashua (New Hampshire). Some photos include handwritten names on the bottom front of the mounts. One photograph of a structure is identified by a handwritten inscription as "Olean Baptist Church."

The album is 19.5 x 25 cm with decorative green celluloid covers.

The Ontario carte-de-visite album contains formal portrait photographs of men, women, and children, including members of the compiler's family. Many of the photographs were taken in southern Ontario cities such as Brantford, Simcoe, and Woodstock.

The Ontario carte-de-visite album (15cm x 11cm) contains 33 carte-de-visite and 9 tintype photographs of numerous men, women, and children, some of whom are identified as members of the compiler's family. The formal studio portraits were taken by photographers in cities such as Brantford, Simcoe, and Woodstock, Ontario, in the mid- to late 1860s. Some family members are identified by their relationship to the owner, including a sibling, a pair of grandparents, and "Grandmother Merrill." Some subjects were photographed in pairs, and some held objects such as hats. A few of the cartes-de-visite and tintypes have hand coloring, and two cartes-de-visite have colored background designs printed directly onto the cards. A gold design is stamped on a raised portion of the album's front and back covers, which are made of pebbled brown leather.

The Ost family photograph album (17.8 x 22.8 cm) contains approximately 60 portrait snapshots, including some taken at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. There are several images of people wearing and holding the flag of the United States.

The Ost family photograph album (17.8 x 22.8 cm) contains approximately 60 portrait snapshots. The album is a souvenir from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair with "Gerard Ost" stamped on the front, but the photographs included were not taken at the World's Fair. Many of the photographs appear to have been removed from an earlier album and inserted into this album. The first three pages include photographs taken at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan, depicting groups of people, the conservatory, the Detroit Boat Club, beaches, and a seaplane on the Detroit River. Also included are many photographs of women and children with a large American flag. The majority of images are of groups of men, women, and children posing in front of houses.

The Otto C. Thompson family photograph album contains group and individual portraits of family members, pictures of farms and scenery in rural Indiana, and views of downtown New Albany, Indiana, taken during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Otto C. Thompson family photograph album (16.5cm x 30cm) contains 130 photographic prints taken from September 14, 1898, to 1916. The album covers are missing. Pictures are pasted one or more to a page, and most are captioned. The majority of images were created from 1898-1913.

The photographs depict middle-class life in the Midwest with portraits and views of urban and rural scenery, family and business activities. Included are views of downtown New Albany, Indiana in the early 20th century, and views of two of the city's Presbyterian churches. Other locales include Lafayette, Indiana; Borden, Indiana; and Mitchell, Indiana. Of particular note are a group of three images showing the exterior, interior, and signage of Otto C. Thompson's gramophone dealership at 107 East Main Street. A page of notable portraits of men includes a mail-carrier and a hunter with ammunition belt. Other portraits show Sherley Thompson as an infant and toddler, children bathing in a washtub, and photographs of various individuals family groups taken outdoors, sometimes doing farm work or posing by houses. A large group appears gathered around an early automobile and another posed at the time of a funeral. Other vehicles pictured include an interurban electric car in a snowy winter landscape, paddlewheel riverboats, and steam trains in motion along the countryside and emerging from a tunnel. A group is shown riding a miniature train in front of St. Louis Union Station. Some images feature farm animals such as horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens, and others were taken during the flood of 1913.

"Our Generals" is a lithograph album (17 x 13.25 cm) consisting of 24 gray-toned lithograph carte de visite sized portraits of Union Civil War generals sold commercially by Leavitt & Allen of New York in 1862.

"Our Generals" is a lithograph album (17 x 13.25 cm) consisting of 24 gray-toned lithograph portraits of Union Civil War generals sold commercially by Leavitt & Allen of New York in 1862. The initials "A.W." appear in pencil on the inside front cover. There is a pre-printed index of names.

On each page, there is one lithographed carte de visite mounted into pre-cut slots surrounded by red and white decoration. The images themselves are either close ups or full body portraits. The name of the subject is handwritten in pencil under each image.

The album's covers are brown leather embossed with a floral pattern, with two large decorative brass clasps. The two brass closure tabs are stamped with "Our Generals."

The Pageant of the Dunes photograph album contains 92 photographs including snapshots of scenery in and around the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois, as well as images of the “Pageant of the Dunes” event held in Port Chester, Indiana, in 1917.

The Pageant of the Dunes photograph album contains 92 photographs including snapshots of scenery in and around the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois, as well as images of the “Pageant of the Dunes” event held in Port Chester, Indiana, in 1917.

The album (19 x 29 cm) is string-bound and has black paper covers and pages. Contents begin with images of Chicago scenery including views of Navy Pier, Edgebrook, and the Chicago River, while the following section features several images that appear to be related to an exhibition of statues of World War I soldiers at an unidentified venue. Photographs in the section captioned “Pageant of the Dunes, 1917” consist of images of crowds as well as actors and actresses, including some dressed as Native Americans. Three photographs dated to 1918 are also present.

The Pan-American Expo and Travel photograph album (17 x 19 cm) has 60 amateur gelatin silver prints consisting of architectural photographs taken at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y, as well as photographs of Niagara Falls, General Grant’s Tomb, and caged animals at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. The album also includes images of the Old Fort in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, and shipbuilding in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. There are also images of the U.S. Navy Battleships U.S.S. Kearsarge, Indiana, and Texas.

The Pan-American Expo and Travel photograph album (17 x 19 cm) has 60 amateur gelatin silver prints, 18 of which are architectural photographs taken at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. It also includes 4 photographs of what appears to be a demonstration of Coast Guard lifesaving procedures. Other views show a War of 1812 cannon on display, Niagara Falls, General Grant’s Tomb, and caged animals at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. The album also documents a trip to Fort Independence in Boston, as well as to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, including images of the Old Fort in Annapolis, N.S., and shipbuilding in Yarmouth, N.S. There are also images of the U.S. Navy Battleships U.S.S. Kearsarge, Indiana, Texas. Also of note are a group of 4 photographs of the St. John's River and harbor in New Brunswick accompanied by a newspaper clipping describing the tidal movements in the harbor. All of the photographs in the album are accompanied by handwritten captions.

The album has a brown cover inscribed with the title "Photographs," and is housed in a light blue box.

The Pan-American Exposition photograph album contains 33 photoprints taken by an amateur photographer of the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. Included are a nighttime view of the exposition; city views; candid photographs of children, images of houses, possibly in Ossining, N.Y.; and two images of Sing Sing Prison.

The Pan-American Exposition photograph album (14 x 18 cm) contains 33 photoprints taken by an amateur photographer of the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. Included are a nighttime view of the exposition; a city view featuring streetcars; candid photographs of children and images of houses, possibly in Ossining, N.Y.; and two images of Sing Sing Prison. One loose photo is identified as a church in Ossining, N.Y. Of note is an interior photograph of a bedroom dresser with many portrait photographs, and alarm clock, and hair brush displayed facing the last page of the album, which in turn features a portrait of a man with light colored eyes and a mustache.

The album has a gray cover with the printed title "Photographs" in white ink, and is housed in a pale blue cardboard box.

The Parrish family photograph album contains 110 photographs assembled by the Parrish family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including images of family and friends, political figures, celebrities, and popular illustrations as well as photographs related to Union efforts to educate freed slaves during the Civil War in the Port Royal Experiment.

The album (15.5 x 24 cm) has embossed brown leather covers and two metal clasps. 63 loose photographs are stored in Mylar sleeves and many appear to have been separated from the album over time. In some cases, it is possible to match loose images with a specific page slot through pairing inscriptions on the photograph with annotations present in the album. However, many loose images do not contain any identifying information, so it is unclear where some may have been located within the album or if they were ever associated with the album in the first place. It is possible that a small portion of the loose images were never originally included in the album since there are more photographs present in the collection than there are available photo slots in the album. At least two portraits from the 1890s do not appear to have belonged to the original family collection.

Compilation of the album may have first begun in the 1860s, but it was most likely completed during in the 1870s with photographs that the Parrish family had acquired over time. Sarah H. Parrish, née Wilson (1836-1892), the wife of Joseph Parrish’s grandson John Cox Parrish (1836-1921), may have been one of the primary creators of the album. She and John had a daughter named Caroline L. Parrish (1863-1915), who may be the “Carrie” whose name is written on the back of some of the photographs. Overall, there appear to be three different styles of handwriting present in the album. Captions for several of the album’s portraits were made in pencil in a flowing cursive while other names appear in a more juvenile-looking cursive hand, and a distinctive third hand also appears sporadically. The two cursive hands may well have been Sarah’s and Carrie’s as mother and daughter worked on the album together in the mid to late-1870s, with an occasional contribution (the third hand) possibly made by one of Carrie’s three younger brothers. One other detail supports this hypothesis: a portrait labelled “Fred” with “Mrs. Parrish, with love of Fred” inscribed on the verso. The individual photographed here was most likely Sarah’s cousin, Frederick Cleveland Homes (1844-1915). Additionally, the portrait on the page next to Fred’s portrait is of a young child identified as “Charlie Homes,” and it is likely that this is Fred’s son Charles Ives Homes (1872-1939).

Parrish family members are well represented in this album, while other unidentified family members may also be portrayed in some of the loose photographs without captions. Likely family friends or acquaintances of the Parrishes whose portraits are present include George and Catherine Truman, James and Lucretia Mott, the Rev. Richard Newton, and Phillip Brooks, all of whom were active in the same abolitionist organizations as the Parrishes. The album also contains many images of admired religious, political, and cultural figures, including Quaker heroes George Fox and Elizabeth Fry; Civil War leaders Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant; George and Martha Washington; social reformers Dorothea Dix and Anna E. Dickinson; actor Edwin Booth; and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A number of these images are photographic reproductions of painted, engraved, or lithographic portraits. Also present are four hand-colored photographs of Dutch women in traditional dress as well as photographic reproductions of popular sentimental genre scenes such as “The Unconvanience of Single Life.”

Of particular note are a series of photographs related to the Port Royal Experiment, an ambitious effort to provide education for freed slaves following the capture of islands off the coast of South Carolina by Union troops in 1861. Relief committees in the North raised money and sent volunteers to set up schools and other institutions. Among the most successful was the Penn School, established by Laura Matilda Towne with support from the Philadelphia Freedmen’s organization in which the Parrish family was actively involved. People and places are identified with ink captions on the photographs themselves in a hand that differs from other inscriptions in the album. Towne may possibly have compiled these images herself and sent them to supporters back home. This series of photographs includes seven images of Beaufort, South Carolina, (four of which were produced by Sam A. Cooley, photographer to the Tenth Army Corps) captioned “Beaufort Soldiers’ Chapel and Reading Room,” “Path to the river of Smith’s Plantation,” “Beaufort House / Where we Stopped, showing the Beaufort Hotel and nextdoor office of the Adams Express Company,” “Soldiers’ Graves,” “Gen. Saxton’s Headquarters,” “Father French’s House,” and “Our House.” Three cartes de visite produced by Hubbard & Mix show instructors Towne, Ellen Murray, and Harriet Murray respectively posing with freed black children. The photograph with Ellen Murray bears inscriptions identifying her students as “Peg Aiken” and “Little Gracie Chapin (one of Miss Murray’s brightest pupils).” A fourth Hubbard & Mix image captioned “I’m a freeman” shows an African-American man dressed in clothing made from rags and includes an album page inscription that reads: “Young Roslin says, ‘Now I’m free, I go to bed/ when I please I’se gits up/ when I please. In olden times/ I’se help gits de breakfast/ but no’se time to eats it myself/ Ha-ha-I’se happy boy now.” Also present are three cartes de visite produced by photographers based in Nashville, Tennessee, including one portrait by T. M. Schleier of an African-American woman with two children (one of whom has a much lighter complexion than the other) with the recto caption “Lights & Shadows of Southern Life” and verso caption “Aunt Martha and children/ Slaves/ Nashville, Tenn.,” as well as two other images by Morse’s Gallery of the Cumberland that show the same young African-American boy looking sad “Before the Proclamation” and then grinning broadly “After the Proclamation.”