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Collection

Washington & Jefferson College Student album, 1862-1865

1 volume

The Washington & Jefferson College Student album contains carte-de-visite portraits of Jefferson College students and various other individuals, many of whom are identified. Several of the college students belonged to the fraternity Delta Tau Delta. Many photographs originated in Washington, Pennsylvania; Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Washington & Jefferson College Student album (13cm x 18cm) contains 79 cartes-de-visite, 1 tintype, and 1 lithograph. The original brown leather cover, now detached, has a partially raised geometric design and two metal clasps; a floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. Most items are individual portraits of young men, though a few pictures of women and children are also present, including a group portrait of four women and three men. One carte-de-visite has a decorative border printed directly on the card backing.

Many of the individuals pictured signed their photographs and wrote brief notes; several of the men photographed in Washington and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, mentioned their membership in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A large number of photographs are attributed to George C. Gillett of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the album contains a portrait of University of Michigan professors Alonzo Benjamin Palmer, Samuel Glasgow Armor, and Corydon L. Ford; and a lithograph of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. A number of the other portraits taken in Ann Arbor are signed by men who took courses in medicine at the University of Michigan during the 1860s. The volume includes one portrait of a young child that may have been taken postmortem and one carte-de-visite with artificial coloring.

Collection

Eagleswood Academy photograph album, 1863-ca. 1890

1 volume

The Eagleswood Academy album is a 50 page cartes de visite album given to Theodore Weld by his former students at Eagleswood Academy in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on November 23, 1863. The 24 x 31 cm album has a brown leather cover, entitled "Theodore D. Weld" in gilt inlay. The album contains 194 photographs the majority of which are cartes de visite with some tintypes and gem tintypes interspersed. All of the photographs in the album are studio portraits. Most are presumably former students of Eagleswood Academy. Many of the individuals in the album are unidentified. Four loose items are also present in the album: an 1895 lithograph portrait of John Adams; a calling card for Mrs. Silas F. Overton; a calling card for a Miss Moseley; and a list of names, presumably of people within the album, that seems to have been created at a later date, presumably by Weld's daughter Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.

The Eagleswood Academy photograph album consists of a single bound volume of carte de visite photographs tucked into the pages along with some gem tintypes, one of which is encased. The album contains slots for four different photographs on each page. There are 169 cartes de visite in the album, all of them studio portraits of either individuals or small groups. There are also a few instances where gem tintypes are placed within the same slot as a carte de visite.

The album appears to have been gifted to Theodore Weld in 1863 from his former students. While many of the photographs were likely present in the album at that time, it appears that other photographs were added through the 1870s and possibly later. The photographs are mostly of Weld's former students, though some are individuals who appear to have no explicit connection with the school.

Enclosed in the album is a folded sheet of paper containing a list of names. Individuals on this list partially correspond to the physical order within the album. The list appears to have been created during the late 1860's and amended up until approximately 1877. Asterisks seem to indicate that the person had passed away, though in some cases the individuals without asterisks on the list had been dead for years prior. It appears that no new entries were added after 1877. The authorship of the list is uncertain, but appears to have been Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.

In 1886 Theodore Weld began reaching out to former students for additional photographs to put together in an album. Some of the photographs in this album may come from this period. A January 1, 1899 letter from Sarah Hamilton to her daughter mentions that she received her father's old school album with many pictures of her old classmates and their spouses and children. From this statement it appears that not all the people in the album necessarily went to or taught at Eagleswood.

Three other loose items are also present in the album: an 1895 lithograph portrait of John Adams, a calling card for Mrs. Silas F. Overton, and a calling card for a Miss Moseley.

Some of the photographs within the album have names written on the back, while others offer no clues as to who the person is. Through other sources some of the unnamed individuals in the album have been tentatively identified.

One interesting item of note is the photograph in slot #196 of the album, which has portraits taken many years apart of the same (unidentified) individual on both the front and back of the paper mount.

Other items of note include:
  • A portrait of Charles Burleigh Purvis, African-American doctor and cofounder of Howard Medical School. (slot #53)
  • A portrait of Bayard Wilkeson in Civil War uniform. Wilkeson died aged 19 at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. (slot #85)
  • A portrait of Ellen Wright Garrison, daughter of Martha Coffin Wright and niece of Lucretia Coffin Mott, the famed women's-rights activists who organized the 1848 Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, NY. (slot #32)

The Eagleswood album contains penciled inscriptions beneath the various photographs, often times recording the name of the photographer as well as any other information written on the back of the paper mount of the photograph. Researchers should be aware that this information was added by a former member of staff and numerous errors are present. For conservation reasons these inscriptions have not been erased.

Researchers should refer to the following indices for more accurate information on identified individuals, photographers, and inscriptions within the Eagleswood album:
  • Photographer Index, containing the names of all the photographers in the album as well as any inscriptions handwritten on the photographs.
  • Individuals Index, containing the names of all the identified, and tentatively identified individuals who have portraits present in the album.

Collection

Kellogg family photograph album, 1864-1865

1 volume

The Kellogg family photograph album contains formal carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of men, women, and children taken mostly in Morenci, Michigan, and Wauseon, Ohio, around the mid-1860s.

The Kellogg family photograph album (14cm x 21cm) contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken mostly in Morenci, Michigan, and Wauseon, Ohio, around the mid-1860s. The photographs, comprised of 41 cartes-de-visite and 4 tintypes, show men, women, and children, sometimes photographed in pairs or groups. Some photographers are identified, such as "traveling artist" W. H. Cunningham. Mary McKenzie Stranahan presented the album to Mrs. Reba Kellogg, her daughter, in Wauseon, Ohio, on June 5, 1865. The brown leather cover has a tooled geometric design, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on the spine.

Collection

King's Own Borderers photograph album, 1864-ca. 1890

1 volume

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are cartes de visite, with some larger albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album appears to have evolved over time in several different stages.

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British Army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are largely cartes de visite, with albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The album appears to have had at least three different stages of construction. The first as a traditional 1860s carte de visite photograph album kept by its namesake G. Ormond Stoney (hereafter referred to as Ormond) comprised of photographs of family members interspersed with related newspaper clippings.

The album appears to have been revised with significant additions in the 1870s-1880s, including more photographs of family members as well as commercial photographic prints. The majority of those represented were army officers, with Anglican priests and politicians; many being contemporaries and associates of Ormond's father, George Butler Stoney (1819-1899). Clipped autographs of many are included beneath the photos and appear to be from correspondence to George Butler Stoney.

Various clues to point to Ormond Stoney's sister Jane (Janie) Stoney Smith as a contributor to the album. Not only is she frequently represented in the album, but the album has several pictures of her husband Arthur Smith and his family--many more so than any other family that married into the Stoney family. Arthur and Janie married on September 19, 1867--the same date on the autograph posted under Arthur's picture. Arthur died in 1870 leaving Janie a pregnant widow with a young son, Herbert (see p.24 for his portrait), and an even younger daughter, Ethel Maud. Newspaper clippings around the portrait of Arthur on p.13 mention his death as well as the birth of Herbert and Ethel, though not of Florence, the youngest daughter. Although Jane's two daughters are not represented in the album, on page 44 it appears that at one point a photograph of both of her daughters was extant.

While Jane's younger sister Wilhelmina married Colin McKenzie Smith, another son of William Smith, she did not do so until 1889. The focus on Janie's husband Arthur and their children, suggests Jane rather than Wilhelmina as a significant contributor to the album.

George Ormond's wife Meylia has not been identified in the album and may not be present, however, her father, Sinclair Laing is represented. Laing appears to have been a correspondent with George Butler Stoney.

At some later date, likely in the late 19th century, decorative gold painted borders were added, along with chromolithograph stickers, known as "scraps." These include a series illustrating Robinson Crusoe. Unlike the earlier additions which point to Janie Smith, these later additions might have been the work of a child playing with what would have been a 30 year old album. The gold paint overlapping earlier items (see p. 28 for example) suggests a later date, as do the "scraps" made popular after 1880. The seemingly random nature of the placement of the "scraps" is quite the opposite of the carefully placed and planned addition probably done by Janie Smith.

Of the children represented in the album, three of them would be killed in World War One: Thomas Ramsay Stoney (1882-1918), George Butler Stoney (1877-1915), and Herbert Stoney Smith (1868-1915).

Other items of note include:
  • Two group portraits of young men in military uniform, presumably with George Ormond present in both photographs (p.2, and back inside cover).
  • A portrait of a dog that if viewed from another angle appears to be an individual with a disfigured face (p.7).
  • A commercial carte de visite of a Zulu warrior identified as King Cetewayo (likely incorrect, the chief of the Matabele) (p.41).
  • A portrait of Napoleon, Prince Imperial, in his military uniform ca. 1879 before he died in the service of the British Army during the Anglo-Zulu War (p.40).
  • A print of Rosturk Castle in County Mayo, Ireland (p.47).
  • A retouched portrait of a dog posed with a military hat, cane and pipe. (p.23).
  • An 1873 program for an "evening reading" of two different farces, "Little Toddlekins," and "The Dead Shot," done to raise money for Mrs. Palmer, the retiring battalion nurse (p.53). On the outside of the program is a print of Portland House, a manor owned by members of the Stoney family.

Collection

Ladd family carte-de-visite album, 1865

1 volume

The Ladd family carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of members of the Ladd and White families, as well as other individuals. The volume belonged to a woman named Annis.

The Ladd family carte-de-visite album (14cm x 12cm) contains formal studio portraits of members of the Ladd and White families, as well as other individuals. The photographs are comprised of 30 cartes-de-visite and 6 tintypes. An index to the photographs is partially filled out, though some items may not remain in their original positions or may have been removed. The volume contains pictures of men, women, and children, sometimes photographed in pairs; one child is shown sitting in a baby carriage. Some items have the photographer's name and studio location printed on the back; many were taken in Sterling, Illinois, and various towns in Michigan. The volume's brown cover has a raised geometric design, and the book has one metal clasp.

Collection

Levy & Cohen's Views of the Rebel Capital and its Environs, 1865

26 photographs

Levy & Cohen's views of the rebel capital and its environs contains 26 photographs of historically significant monuments, locations, and structures in Richmond, Virginia, in 1865 after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Levy & Cohen's views of the rebel capital and its environs contains 26 photographs of historically significant monuments, locations, and structures in Richmond, Virginia, in 1865 after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Most images include typewritten titles and copyright statements as well as captions on their versos which outline the subject's historical significance and relation to the Civil War. Some photographs show duplicate views and/or have repetition of content in their verso descriptions. There is one photograph that measures 17 x 14 cm, ten that measure 13.5 x 19 cm, while the remaining fifteen photos are of standard carte de visite size.

Specific monuments that are represented in this collection include the Tomb of James Monroe in Hollywood Cemetery and Thomas Crawford’s Virginia Washington Monument shown prior to its completion. Specific structures represented include the Virginia Executive Mansion, ruins of Richmond Arsenal (Virginia Manufactory of Arms), ruins of Gallego Flour Mills, Treasury building (Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse), Virginia State Capitol building, Virginia State Penitentiary, and Chimborazo Hospital. Other images show scenes of a burnt district, Capitol Square, a shipyard, Drury’s Bluff, Rocket’s Landing, James River, and what remains of Petersburg Railroad Bridge. One particularly noteworthy image is titled “Portico of Executive Mansion,” which shows Governor Francis Harrison Pierpont “in company with Messrs. W. W. Weng, Treasurer of Virginia, W. D. Massey, P. M. of Alexandria, Va., and Colonel Hart of the Governor’s staff." Another image shows Union soldiers outside of their tents with a handwritten notation on the verso stating “Headquarters of First Penna Reserve Artillery, Lt. Col. Brady, Richmond Va. June 1865.”

Collection

Ontario carte-de-visite album, 1865-1869

1 volume

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.

Collection

Robert Newell & Son photograph album, 1865-1869

1 volume

This album contains photographs taken by the Philadelphia photographic business of Robert Newell & Son in the late 1860s. Images include views of Philadelphia buildings and street scenes; views of Cape May, New Jersey; a few scenes in New York City, studies of tableware; portraits; collages; groups of fire-fighters and equipment; and reproductions of paintings and engravings.

This album (35cm x 27cm, 50 pages) contains 163 images, including architectural views, landscape photographs, portraits, reproductions of paintings and engravings, objects, and commercial advertising displays. The volume, which contains an image of Robert Newell's photographic wagon, an advertising montage made up from images in the album, and an advertising montage for "R. Newell & Son, Artistic Business & Landscape Photographers," may have been used as a sample book for the Newell firm. Many of the photographs are dated in the 1860s, prior to the 1872 date that Robert's son Henry joined the business. The album was in an unbound and fragmented condition when acquired, later reassembled in Mylar sleeves with modern binding by the Clements. The page sequence is based on evidence of the original binding and the contents. Some images appear to have been removed from the album, including a portrait of Boston Corbett, the killer of John Wilkes Booth. Captions in pencil appear to have been added later, possibly by Robert or Henry Newell.

Many photographs are views of individual buildings and streets in Philadelphia including Independence Hall; the Philadelphia Mint; Girard Bank; the Arch Street Theater; plus other commercial buildings, churches, homes, and newly constructed residential areas. Items of interest include photographs of the procession of a visiting Japanese diplomatic delegation; the aftermath of a boiler explosion on Samson Street; canals and locks along the Schuylkill River; a high bridge under construction over a canal; an early oil well; images of commercial products and goods such as silver, cutlery, guns, and a display by importers Field, Langstroth & Co.

Photographic portraits include pictures of unidentified individuals, some likely actors and actresses; a reproduction of a painting of "Bishop Potter;" and a small full-length portrait of the bare-knuckle boxer John C. Heenan. The album also contains photographic montages of United States presidents and Civil War generals; a reproduction of a patriotic painting of George Washington welcoming Abraham Lincoln to heaven; a photograph of "Liberty Indignant" -- a patriotic tableau made up of a woman dressed as Liberty, with a portrait of Lincoln, a flag, and eagle.

The album contains reproductions of unidentified paintings, genre scenes, and engraved portraits. A view of the Fulton Bridge over Broadway may be the only New York City view in the album.

Of particular note are a picture of Robert Newell's photographic cart at Cape May, New Jersey, with a stereo camera visible; several images of vacationers, bathers, cottages, hotels, the railroad office, and an ice cream parlor at Cape May; a rare view of the interior of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon in Philadelphia; a view of a crowd at the "rebel wigwam," the temporary convention hall built opposite Girard College for the first national political convention after the Civil War; and several pages of small images of Philadelphia fire-fighting companies and their equipment.

Of importance in the history of photography is a print from 1865 of what is believed to be the first experiment with indoor flash photography by J. C. Browne, showing a family group in a living room (Taft, pg.202).

Collection

New York, Michigan, and Vermont carte-de-visite album, 1865-1881

1 volume

This carte-de-visite album primarily contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in various locations in northeast North America from the 1860s to 1880s. One photograph shows an artistic rendering of the text of the Lord's Prayer, and a colored cutout is pasted into the volume.

This carte-de-visite album (15cm x 13cm) primarily contains formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in various locations in northeast North America from around the mid-1860s to early 1880s. The pictures are comprised of 42 carte-de-visite and 2 tintype portraits, as well as an additional carte-de-visite photograph collage. Two of the items are dated November 3, 1865, and September 3, 1881; few of the people pictured are identified. One woman is shown holding an infant in her lap. One tintype shows a young man dressed in costume wearing a plumed hat. The additional carte-de-visite depicts a printed version of the Lord's Prayer that utilizes several ornate fonts; a picture of Jesus Christ appears amidst the text, which is surrounded by drawn scenes of angels. A cutout pasted into the volume is a colored drawing of a woman standing next to a grazing sheep, framed by three large flowers. The album's brown leather cover has geometric designs stamped in gold and metal clasps; a floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. "Photographs" is stamped in gold on the spine.

Collection

Photographic views of Sherman's campaign : from negatives taken in the field. Embracing scenes of the occupation of Nashville, the Great battles around Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, the Campaign of Atlanta, March to the sea and the great raid through the Carolinas, [1866]

1 volume

This volume is a published collection of photographic prints of battlegrounds, ruins, works, and other scenes from the America Civil War in Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. The photographs were taken between the spring of 1864 and the spring of 1866. Along with the published photographs of Mathew Brady, and Alexander Gardner's Photographic sketchbook, Barnard's Views of Sherman's campaign is one of the main photographic monuments of the Civil War, containing some of the most famous images of the war's destruction.

Photographic Views of the Sherman Campaign (41cm x 51cm) is a collection of 57 photographic prints published in New York by Wynkoop & Hallenbeck in 1866. An abbreviated title is stamped in gold on the album's brown leather cover and the full title is printed on the first page. Clements Library's copy is imperfect: four plates lacking; one missing plate, acquired separately, is shelved at: Photo Div F.20.1. Inscriptions indicate that this copy was presented by Edward Hoffmire to John M. Hoffmire, his brother, in 1868, and John M. Hoffmire later gave it to his daughter Emma on April 15, 1916.

Each print is labeled with the location of the photograph, often including the names of natural and manmade landmarks. Some areas are represented in multiple images, though each item provides a unique view of landscapes and urbanized areas in Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Many show evidence of military activity, including soldiers, tents and camps, earthworks and trenches, blasted trees, destroyed railroads and buildings. One item is a group portrait of William Tecumseh Sherman and seven other Union generals. See the list of photographs in Additional Descriptive Data for more information about specific locales pictured.