Collections

The Toll-Mitchell-Clark family photograph album includes photographs of residences belonging to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families in upstate New York and Los Angeles, California, as well as studio portraits of various family members. The album also contains deeds, financial records, and other manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families.

This collection is comprised of a photograph album and three groups of manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families of upstate New York and Los Angeles, California.

The photograph album (27cm x 32cm) contains 30 photographs: cabinet cards, card photographs, and photo postcards laid into the volume. The first several images are exterior views of Toll and Mitchell family homes in Baldwinsville and Memphis, New York, sometimes with family members present. Other images show the Baldwinsville cemetery, the interior of A[sabel] K. Clark's music store, and interiors of the Clark family home in Los Angeles, California. The remaining items are mounted studio portraits of Toll and Mitchell family members; photographs of Truman Mitchell, Sarah Hyde Toll, Sophia Hinman Mitchell, and Abel Hyde and Sarah Mitchell Toll with manuscript wills mounted on the back, dated as early as 1856 and as late as 1893. Two images are duplicated: a portrait of Abel Hyde and Sarah Mitchell Toll (2 copies) and a photographic postcard featuring an unidentified residence (7 copies). The album's purple cloth cover originally had the title "Photographs" stamped front and back; the text is now faded.

The remaining items are approximately 34 manuscripts related to the Toll, Mitchell, and Clark families, including deeds, bank checks, financial records, wills, and correspondence. The deeds relate to land in upstate New York, and a few items pertain to estate administration. Personal letters from Laura F. Clark of Los Angeles, California, to her father are also present, as is a marriage certificate for Mariah Mitchell [sic] and Oliver Glass.

Views of Early St. Louis contains 27 photographs of scenes from St. Louis, Missouri, between 1840 and 1895 that were assembled by German American photographer Emil Boehl during the late-1890s, including several photographic reproductions of various works by other artists such as Daguerrean photographer Thomas M. Easterly.

Views of Early St. Louis contains 27 photographs of scenes from St. Louis, Missouri, between 1840 and 1895 that were assembled by German American photographer Emil Boehl during the late-1890s, including several photographic reproductions of various works by other artists such as Daguerrean photographer Thomas M. Easterly.

The album (35 x 45 cm) has red leather covers with “Views of Early St. Louis” stamped in gold on the front. Of the 27 photographs included in this album, 15 are pasted-in while 12 were printed directly onto the album pages. Images vary in size, with some taking up nearly an entire album page.

The following list represents the album’s contents in order of appearance and includes image titles (with supplied titles appearing in brackets), additional captions, various forms of Emil Boehl’s photographer credits, image descriptions, and original sources for images known to have been photographically reproduced by Boehl:

• Street scene looking south down 4th Street from Washington Avenue in 1840. People can be seen on horseback and mingling outside of residences. Several buildings are depicted, including steepled churches and the Old Courthouse. Photographic reproduction of a watercolor by commercial artist Albert Byron Greene in 1889. Writing present in the bottom right-hand corner of the original watercolor reads: “Made for Mrs. McKee Mar. 89. A. B. Greene.”

• View of Chouteau Pond in 1850. “Back of Chouteau Mansion on Clark Ave bet. 11th & 12 sts” inscribed on back of page. Photographic reproduction of original daguerreotype by Thomas M. Easterly, ca. 1850.

• View of numerous steamboats docked at St. Louis Levee. Photographic reproduction of original daguerreotype by Thomas M. Easterly, ca. 1852/53.

• View of the Old Spanish Fort (later Roy’s Mill, Riverfront). The steamer Wyoming can be seen near the riverbank. Photographic reproduction of original daguerreotype by Thomas M. Easterly, ca. 1850.

• View of the house of Pierre Chouteau on Main Street beside the Durkee & Bullock Banking House (possibly ca. 1865)

• View of the Planter’s House Hotel on 4th Street in 1865.

• View of Christ Church, demolished in 1860. Photographic reproduction of original lithograph by J. C. Wild published in 1840.

• View of Christ Church, demolished in 1860. Photographic reproduction of original lithograph by J. C. Wild published in 1840.

• View of the Old Cathedral (also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France) located on Walnut Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets. “2nd & Walnut” inscribed on back of page.

• View of the Pierre Chouteau Mansion on Clark Avenue between 11th and 12 Streets. “Bet 11th & 12th on Clark Ave” inscribed on back of page.

• View of the first public high school in St. Louis located at the corner of 15th and Olive Streets. Large crowd of people gathered in foreground. “15th & Olive” inscribed on back of page.

• View of the old jailhouse located at the corner of 6th and Chestnut Streets. Illustrated clouds added through negative retouching. “Later Lynch’s Slave yard” inscribed on back of page.

• View of the house of James H. Lucas located at the southwest corner of 9th and Olive Streets. Image appears to be a photographic reproduction of another photograph. Partially cutoff writing present in the bottom left-hand corner of the original photograph reads: “…[B? or S?] [?] Lucas 1898.”

• Street scene looking north up 4th Street from Olive Street showing numerous pedestrians, buildings, and a trolley car.

• View of a residence on Olive Street between 6th and 7th Streets. Image appears to be a photographic reproduction of another photograph.

• Street scene looking south down Broadway from Olive Street showing numerous buildings and wagons.

• View of Centre Market building located at 7th and Poplar Streets.

• Lacking title. Possibly view of Fair Grounds Race Track, ca. 1876.

• View of St. Louis Medical College building (also known as Pope’s College) at 7th and Clark Avenue in 1876. Image appears to be a photographic reproduction of another photograph.

• View of the St. Louis Mercantile Library building. Image appears to be a photographic reproduction of another photograph.

• Bird’s-eye view of downtown St. Louis. Numerous buildings visible, including the old St. Louis Post Office (Custom House). One building near the foreground is marked with an “x” while an inscription on the roof of the building reads: “Broadway”; an additional inscription in the upper left-hand corner reads “x EHL. Born 1839.”

• View of the Grand Republic steamer.

• Street scene looking south down 12th Street from Washington Avenue showing horse-drawn carriages, numerous buildings, and a large crowd in the background gathered around the Statue of Liberty Replica at 12th and Pine Streets.

• View of Pope’s Theater with a group of people standing outside. “9th & Olive” inscribed on back of page.

• “Wash. Ave bet.” inscribed and crossed out on back of page; “68?” inscribed on back of page

• View of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall seen from the corner of Olive and 14th Streets

• View of The Elephant Rocks in the Saint Francois Mountains (now Elephant Rocks State Park). Graffiti can be seen etched into the rocks, while an unidentified man (possibly Emil Boehl) stands at center.

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography contains approximately 1068 items including photographs, ephemeral items, documents, manuscripts, printed items, and realia pertaining to the visual history of death and bereavement between the 1840s and the 1970s. Photographs make up the bulk of the collection.

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography contains approximately 1068 photographs, ephemeral items, documents, manuscripts, printed items, and realia pertaining to the visual history of death and bereavement between the 1840s and the 1970s. Photographs make up the bulk of the collection. Mr. Anderson assembled this collection from dealers, antique shops, and individuals. His motivation stemmed from a desire to document and to provide historical perspective on various end-of-life practices which, in the 20th century, fell into taboo and disfavor.

The majority portion of the photographic items in the collection are neither dated, nor attributed, although approximate dates can often be determined by when particular photographic formats were in use (see timeline at www.graphicatlas.org.). Consequently, the materials have been organized first to accommodate their sizes, formats, and preservation needs, and second to reflect major subject themes present, though scattered, throughout the entire collection. These non-mutually exclusive subjects are as follows:

• Post-mortem portraits
• Post-mortem scenes
• Funeral tableaux
• Funerals and funeral processions
• Floral arrangements and displays
• Memorial cards and sentimental imagery
• Cemeteries and monuments
• Funeral industry
• Mourning attire
• Unnatural death

The first three subjects - post-mortem portraits, scenes, and funeral tableaux - all depict the recently deceased, and so fall into the narrowest definition of a post-mortem photograph. Their distinction into three separate subjects is a partly arbitrary decision, made to break up what would otherwise be a large and unwieldy grouping of photos, but also to roughly shape the order of the collection (post-mortem portraits without décor tended to date earlier chronologically than broader, beautifying scenes).

Post-mortem portraits:

The post-mortem portrait photographs, comprising 251 items in the collection, depict the bodies of dead family members and friends. These images show the deceased, sometimes posed with living family members, and for the most part do not include elements of a larger scene, such as floral arrangements, banners, or other décor.

These portraits include the earliest photographic images in the collection, including 28 cased daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. 78 cabinet card photographs date from the late 1860s to around the turn of the century. Among many notable cabinet cards are two images of Frances Radke, taken and retouched by R. C. Houser, showing her image before and after Houser's post-capture work (3.1 and 3.2). Also of note is a framed crayon enlargement of infant Adelaide Banks by photographer/artist Edward Stuart Tray (26) and a post-mortem carte de visite of an unidentified African American infant taken by photographer S. P. Davis of Danielsonville, Connecticut (4.282u).

Post-mortem scenes:

The post-mortem scene photographs, numbering 155 items in total, are similar to the portraits described above, except that they show the deceased as part of a larger environment, whether in a private home, a funeral home, or out-of-doors. Most of these views are mounted photographic prints from the 1880s to the early decades of the 20th century, frequently centering on the corpse, lying in a casket or coffin, amidst an abundance of floral arrangements, banners or flags, family members or friends, and/or personal belongings. Their caskets are often lined with white cloth.

Many of these images have unique qualities; several examples illustrate the variety of postmortem scenes in the collection. Six photographs by W. Jakubowski and Co. and Jos. Ziawinski, of Detroit, Michigan, include five wedding photographs (of the bride and groom, bridesmaids, and family members) and one post-mortem scene of the wife. She appears to have died within a short time following the marriage; the funeral home scene image contains one of the wedding photographs and a banner marked "Dearest Wife" (18.5-18.10). One mounted photograph depicts a dog, laid on linen, in a homemade casket (14:17). The collection also contains examples of different persons on display in the same funeral home/parlor (e.g. 18.1-18.4). A set of two cabinet card photos of a child in a buggy is accompanied by one of the buggy's metal lanterns (23.1-23.3). Also of note is a photogravure of the 1888 painting "Requiescat" by British artist Briton Rivière showing a dog seated next to its deceased owner (25.2).

Funeral tableaux:

The collection's 35 funeral tableaux photographs show the deceased in an open casket or coffin, typically in front of a church or homestead, with a posed assembly of funeral attendees or mourners. They often show a large group of family and friends, and so are frequently large format prints. Group portraits of this sort were occasionally framed and displayed in the home. Most of the examples in this collection are large prints (many of them mounted), with smaller examples, including a real photo postcard, two snapshots, and one cabinet card. Particular items of note include a framed tableau on the steps of the Church of The Descent of The Holy Ghost in Detroit by Thomas Hoffman (27), a photomontage image of a nun's funeral (28), two tableaux scenes by F. A. Drukteinis taken outside of the same church in Detroit during different seasons and involving the same family (20.12 and 20.15), and three related tableaux scenes (two mounted and one unmounted) involving a presumably Hungarian family that were taken outside of what appears to be a Catholic church in Cleveland, Ohio, during three different funerals (20.16a-20.16c).

Funerals and funeral processions:

The 70 items depicting or pertaining to funeral gatherings show various aspects of the movement of the deceased from the home or funeral home to the cemetery and funeral and burial ceremonies. This group is comprised of real photo postcards (22 items), snapshots (13 items), and a variety of other formats. Examples include an albumen print depicting the Plymouth Church decorated for Henry Ward Beecher's funeral in 1887, and snapshot and postcard photographs of a burial at sea.

Floral arrangements and displays:

Additional documentation of funeral decoration may be found in the collection's 176 still life portraits of floral arrangements and other decorations. A portion of the floral display photographs include pre- or post-mortem photos of the deceased either incorporated into the display or added to the image after printing. One particularly fine example is a large format photograph of a floral arrangement for the funeral of Joshua Turner Mulls; the display included a cabinet card photo of Mr. Mulls and a modified enlargement of the cabinet card. Accompanying the floral arrangement photograph is the cabinet card depicted in the display, with artist's instructions for coloring the enlargement (22.1-22.2).

Memorial cards and sentimental imagery:

The collection includes 105 memorial cards and ephemeral items bearing sentimental imagery. Memorial cards were created as tributes, often displaying birth dates, death dates, and other information about the deceased. Many of these cards include border designs and some bear photographs of the departed. Black-fronted memorial cards gained popularity from 1880 to 1905. Of many interesting examples, the collection includes two examples of memorial cards which haven't yet been personalized (4.306-4.307) and two reflecting World War I-related deaths (4.316 and 4.317). Materials with sentimental imagery include items such as a photograph of an illustration entitled "Momma is in Heaven," a memorial book dedicated to Olive C. Partridge in 1897, and other items.

Note: an advertisement for the Memorial Card Company of Philadelphia is located in the 'Funeral Industry' section of the collection (14.35).

Cemeteries and monuments:

61 photographs, printed items, and realia explicitly pertain to cemeteries, burial markers, or monuments. Some of the cemeteries and monuments are identified, such as the Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio (4.1-4.3). The collection includes examples of cemetery-related realia, including an ovular, porcelain headstone photograph (pre-mortem) of the deceased.

Note: cemeteries may be seen as background for many photographs throughout the collection.

The funeral industry:

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography holds a diverse selection of photographs, ephemera, and printed materials related to the business aspects of death, dying, and bereavement. This group contains around 153 items overall, including receipts (1896-1956); various types of advertising materials (including an undertaker's advertising card, a cabinet photograph of the Arbenz & Co. storefront advertising undertaking as a service, fans from a church and the A. C. Cheney funeral home, a thermometer, and other items); and 118 coffin sales photographs (illustrating a massive selection of different casket models offered by the Boyertown Burial Casket Company of Pennsylvania).

Two photograph albums, that of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home and that of the Algoe-Gundry Company funeral home, provide visual documentation of a rural and an urban funeral home (respectively) in Michigan in the first half of the 20th century:

The photo album and scrapbook of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home in Durand, Michigan, dating from ca. 1903-1930, contains interior and exterior photographs of the furniture and undertaker portions of the shop. The album includes photographs of casket showroom display mechanisms; an example of a "burglar proof" metallic vault; a posed photo of the embalmer standing over a man on the embalming table; images of carriage and motorized hearses; business-related newspaper clippings; and various family and vacation photographs. Several prints, dated August 1903, appear to depict the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck on the Grand Trunk railroad at Durand. Among these photographs are carriage hearses, a horse-drawn cart carrying ten or more oblong boxes (for transportation and perhaps burial of victims of the wreck), a man standing in an alleyway near three stacked boxes, and a large group of persons standing in a largely unearthed section of a cemetery. The Mapes album is accompanied by a C. E. Mapes Furniture advertising fly-swatter.

The Algoe-Gundry Company album dates from ca. 1924 to 1960 and contains (almost exclusively) 8"x10" photographs of this Flint, Michigan, funeral business. The album includes images of the exterior and interior of Algoe-Gundry buildings, hearses, ambulances, and billboard advertisements.

One album was produced ca. 1939 by the Central Metallic Casket Co. of Chicago, Illinois. Titled "Caskets of Character," the album contains images of patented (or soon to be patented) casket designs as well as a printed cross-sectional view detailing the company's "Leak-Proof" Separate Inner Sealer.

Also of interest is funeral director's license granted by the Michigan State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors to Vincent J. George of Fowler, Michigan, in 1938. (25.1)

Mourning attire:

In America, mourning attire tended to follow trends set in Europe. The bereaved wore mourning clothing according to current fashion trends and societal expectations. Mourning clothing styles, often dark-colored and somber, depended on how close the mourner was to the deceased and local societal expectations. Seventeen portrait photographs show men and women wearing mourning attire without the deceased present. This group includes cabinet cards, a 1/9 plate ambrotype of an adult woman, two tintypes, and one carte-de-visite.

Note: persons wearing mourning attire may also be found scattered throughout the other sections of the Mark A. Anderson collection. While most are concentrated in the funeral photographs, mourners are also present in postmortem portraits, postmortem scenes, and cemetery photos.

Unnatural death:

43 photographs (mostly snapshots) depict "unnatural deaths," deaths not caused by age or naturally occurring disease, such as suicides, accidents, murders, and war. The larger portions of the snapshots are mid-20th century police photographs of crime or accident scenes.

Nine Indiana State Police photographs show a train-automobile accident; a group of eight unmarked photos depict the body of woman, apparently violently murdered, at the location of her death and in a morgue; 14 are of a man struck down, beneath a train; two are of a rifle suicide; and the others are of varying accidents. One World War I-era real photo postcard appears to show a man who was shot dead in a foxhole. A stereoscopic card by photographer B. W. Kilburn shows the burial of Filipino soldiers after the Battle of Malolos, Philippine Islands [ca. 1899].

Note: The photograph album/scrapbook of the Clarence E. Mapes furniture and undertakers shop contains several photographs of what appear to be the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck, Durand, Michigan 1903 (see above description in the 'Funeral Industry' section of this scope and content note).

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

Envelope A (photographs): includes unmounted oval portraits of Parker’s children Eda and Ray from the early 1900s; studio portraits of Eda and his wife Alice from the 1910s, two of them from the Philadelphia studio of Gilbert and Bacon; an mounted school class photo (ca. 1890s?)

Envelope B (sheet music): includes three examples of World War I songs from the Eagle Publishing Company of Philadelphia with "music by Geo. L. Robertson and lyrics by Al. Parker."

Envelope C (letters, clippings, etc.): includes a letter appointing Dr. Ray Parker head of plastic surgery at a hospital in Johnstown, PA; a magazine article on “Flood Free Johnstown”; letters and clippings about Dr. Ray Parker; article on World War II factory workers; newspaper article on Theodore Roosevelt urging U.S. entry into World War I; and a note from Christmas 1926 from Parker’s grandson Donald addressed to “Ganco."

Scrapbook: The volume (37 x 28) is cloth-bound and has 66 pages total. Materials are not arranged in any chronological or thematic order and so unrelated items often appear together on the same page.

The album begins with photographs of Parker’s family members while the next few pages focus on scenes from his professional life, including a magazine cover from April 1900 and documentation of his break with Willis & Clements in 1910. Portraits of Parker at every stage of his life appear throughout the scrapbook, though not in any chronological order. The earliest is a tintype from the 1850s that shows him as a young boy with his brothers. Many portraits and casual snapshots of Parker's daughter Eda and son Ray from their early childhood into adulthood are included, while a collection of clippings reflects Parker’s pride in Ray's success as a doctor. His delight in playing the doting grandfather is clear from the drawings Parker made for Eda’s son Donald and in the notes that Donald wrote to Parker using the nickname “Ganco.”

A handful of portraits that were taken by Parker show that he was a capable studio photographer in addition to being a successful promoter of platinum photography products while working for Willis & Clements. Requests for his opinions from Eastman Kodak Company, Photo Era magazine, and the Photographers’ Association of New England testify to his recognized expertise. Numerous portraits of Parker in the company of other well-regarded photographers of the day confirm his acceptance in that professional circle.

Many ephemeral items also help illuminate the arc of Parker's career including programs from his minstrel show days; an advertisement for his Australian window blind company; the initial offer of employment from Willis and Clements; business cards from various stages of his career; and an ad for a new camera shutter he invented. Interspersed amongst these items are letters and photographs from various colleagues and employers along with miscellaneous poems, cartoons, programs, drawings, song lyrics, newspaper clippings, and so on.

The Edwin F. Belden friendship album contains autographs (sometimes accompanied by poems or other inscriptions), newspaper clippings, and biographical notes by and related to New York politicians, Civil War soldiers, and other individuals. Photographs are also included.

The Edwin F. Belden friendship album (25cm x 18cm, 141 pages) contains autographs (sometimes accompanied by poems or other inscriptions), newspaper clippings, and biographical notes by and related to New York politicians, Civil War soldiers, and other individuals. Included are 112 salted paper and 3 albumen photographic portraits. The album has a hard cover with Belden's name and a decorative border stamped in gold on the front. Plates on the inside of the front and back covers feature a patriotic eagle and banner with the slogan "The Federal Union it must be preserved" and of a building used as "Republican Head Quarters" in 1860.

The first 37 pages contain signatures from members of the New York State Assembly, where Belden was a messenger in the early 1850s. Some politicians accompanied their signatures with brief personal message for Belden, often including well wishes and advice. Many signers recorded the name of the district they represented, and most dated their contributions April 16, and 17, 1851. This section of the album is followed by other autographs that Belden solicited in the mid-1850s, as well as an endorsement from his employers Lemuel Jenkins and C. Ten Broeck (November 22, 1852, p. 41).

The remaining contents, dated 1860-1866, are comprised of small photographic portraits, brief biographical notes, inscriptions, autographs, and newspaper clippings related to a variety of individuals, including many men who served in the Civil War. One page of individual full-length portraits represents members of the Albany Zouave Cadets with military equipment and musical instruments. Belden labeled most of the photographs and often included notes about the subjects' dates of death. Several entries include copied correspondence, inscriptions and autographs, and obituaries or other news articles. Contributors included former New York Governors Washington Hunt and John A. King; General William Tecumseh Sherman; and Samuel Streeter, a former delegate representing Albany at The Colored Men's Convention of 1840 (also pictured, October 30, 1860, p. 63). A letter from William F. Russell, a former member of the state legislature, is laid into the volume after the autographs (April 19, 1886).

The Historical views of Malden album contains approximately 200 items including photographs, reproductions, prints, newspaper clippings, and maps related to the history of Malden, Massachusetts.

The Historical views of Malden album contains approximately 200 items including photographs, reproductions, prints, newspaper clippings, and maps related to the history of Malden, Massachusetts. The album (26 x 31 cm) is largely disbound with black cloth covers. Many items are loose.

Items of interest include images of street scenes, commercial buildings, schools, houses, gravestones, plaques, monuments relating to the history of Malden (with particular attention paid to the homes of the Winship, Sprague, and Waite families), and several group portraits of Malden students including "Malden High School Cadets" in uniform holding bayoneted rifles and the Centre Grammar School graduating class of 1883 at their school desks. Also present are images of interior and exterior views of city hall (festooned for the 250th anniversary in 1899), and Massachusetts Governor Curtis Guild dedicating Bell Rock around 1905.

Two maps showing Malden in 1852 and 1856 as well as a laid-in negative photostat showing "Sales at auction of the pews in Malden Meeting House, January 13th, 1803" replete with names and prices are also included

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.

Union College graduate Samuel A. Fitch owned this photograph album, which contains portraits of faculty members and fellow students in the Class of 1860, as well as views of campus buildings and grounds.

This class book (34cm x 27cm) belonged to Samuel A. Fitch, who earned a bachelor's degree from Union College in 1860. The volume's cover, bound in a coarse cloth, has a plate with the title "Sam. A. Fitch. 60. Union College" stamped in gold. Each of the 42 pages has an oval coated salted paper print portrait of a faculty member (11 items) or student (31 items), including Union College President Eliphalet Nott, Professor Laurens Perseus Hickok, and student (and future United States ambassador to the Netherlands) Samuel Richard Thayer. With the sole exception of Nott, each man pictured provided an autograph signature; some also wrote brief messages. Professors' photographs often include subjects taught, degree, and the university or school from which he graduated. Students' photographs often include a note about a student's hometown and his career. The remaining ten coated salted paper print photographs (most around 14.5cm x 20cm), comprised of a portrait of Nott and nine views of campus buildings and grounds, are mounted onto large pages (27cm x 35cm), housed separately from the album.

This album contains gem tintype photographs of men and women of various ages, including young adults and children. One tintype shows a dog sitting on a chair.

This album (8.5cm x 8.5cm) contains 69 tinted gem tintype photographs of men and women of various ages, plus an image of a dog sitting on a chair. Each tintype is placed four to a page, in oval windows about 2.2cm high and 1.7cm across. A few of the people pictured wore accessories such as scarves and hats, and the men, who outnumber the women, appear with facial hair in numerous styles. The album's red leather cover has a raised geometric design on the front and back and previously included a metal clasp.

This photograph album contains 19th-century carte-de-visite, photomechanical print, and tintype portraits of residents of Kent and Oakland Counties, Michigan.

This photograph album (14cm x 11cm) contains 18 cartes-de-visite, 4 halftone photomechanical prints, and 2 tintypes, which are portraits of residents of Kent and Oakland Counties, Michigan, taken during the 19th century. Most of the items are studio portraits of men, women, children, and infants. The halftone photomechanical prints are montages, including one portrait of a woman placed behind a drawn window. A number of the subjects are identified. A decorative design is embossed on the album's brown leather cover, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on its spine; the volume also has a metal clasp.

These two albums contain photographs of scenery and railroads in Pennsylvania in the 1860s. Workers and buildings are visible in some of the pictures.

These two photograph albums (22cm x 17cm), entitled "Scenery of the Allegheny Mountains" and "Pennsylvania Railroad", are bound in green covers with "Alleghany Mountains Photographic Journal" [sic] stamped in gold on the spines. Volume 1 contains 39 items and Volume 2 contains 47 items, each 12cm x 9cm and mounted directly onto a cardstock page. Volume 1 has a black plate on the front cover with the title "Alleghany Mountains" [sic] and a decorative gold border. A plate pasted into the second volume indicates that photographer was John Moran of 806 Coates Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Many of the photographs show scenic views, railroad right-of-way, railroad tracks, telegraph poles, canals, mills, and small settlements. Several photographs of the sky capture clouds. Several images appear to be of the "Horseshoe Curve" on the Pennsylvania Railroad. A group of pictures of a foundry complex show laborers working with mule-driven railroad carts loading rails onto train cars, and one picture shows a group of boys near a track and a town. Other images of note include a photo of a locomotive at a tunnel portal; an elephant on a rural road, a waterfall; a large gravesite or memorial; and a group of monks outside of an unidentified building, possibly a school.

The Schoff family carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of men, women, and children taken in cities such as Rochester, New York, and Ypsilanti, Michigan, in the mid- to late 19th century.

The Schoff family carte-de-visite album (15.5cm x 13cm) contains studio portraits of unidentified men, women, and children, comprised of 19 tintypes and 11 cartes-de-visite. Some of the cartes-de-visite originated in Rochester, New York, and Ypsilanti, Michigan, and one tintype portrait of a woman has a caption etched into the back: "I like this picture best of all." A few smaller tintypes have raised paper borders. The album's brown leather cover has a raised geometric design on the front and back, and the title "Album" is printed in gold on the spine; the volume has two metal clasps, one of which retains its original ornamentation.

The Covington family album contains formal studio portraits of members of the Covington family and other individuals taken in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland around the 1860s. The volume also includes two colored lithographs.

The Covington family carte-de-visite album (13cm x 16cm) contains 25 carte-de-visite and 7 tintype photographs of members of the Covington family and other individuals; an empty paper frame is laid into the volume. The formal studio portraits, which show men, women, and children, were taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; and other locations around the 1860s. One man is shown with a cigar or similar object in his mouth. Two colored lithographs depict a young girl waking up on "Christmas Morning" and a yellow "Persian Rose." The album's brown leather cover has tooled geometric designs and two metal clasps.

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 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 Hayner family carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype studio portraits taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s. The photographs include pictures of many members of the Hayner family and various other families, and some individuals are pictured more than once.

The Hayner family carte-de-visite album (14cm x 21cm), which belonged to Martin H. Hayner, contains 94 carte-de-visite and tintype photographs taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s, as well as one lithograph of a young woman and young man. The brown leather cover has a floral design stamped in gold; a floral design is engraved into the sides of the pages. The studio portraits, comprised of 65 cartes-de-visite and 29 tintypes, are mostly pictures of grown men and women of various ages, including members of the Hayner family, Christian clergy, and members of various other families; some were photographed as couples. Smaller groups of items show infants and young children. Nearly all of the individuals pictured are identified, and one carte-de-visite is a photograph of Abraham Lincoln. Some of the tintypes are hand colored. A list of individuals pictured is housed with the album.

The Cornwell family carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits of members of the Cornwell, Otis, and Harroun families, who were related by marriage. Members of the various families lived in Minnesota and New York in the late 19th century.

The Cornwell family carte-de-visite album (13cm x 10cm) contains 46 formal studio portraits of members of the Cornwell, Otis, and Harroun families, including 40 cartes-de-visite, 6 tintypes, plus 2 lithographs. Most portraits are of young adults and grown men and women, though pictures of younger children and an infant are also present. One picture shows a woman holding an open book, and another shows a group of women knitting. The lithographs depict a woman tucking a child into bed while thinking of a soldier and Mary with the infant Jesus. The volume's red leather cover has a tooled geometric design and a floral design is carved into the sides of its pages.

The New Jersey carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in New York and New Jersey in the late 19th century, as well as three chromolithograph "scraps" mounted on visiting cards.

The New Jersey carte-de-visite album (17cm x 13cm) contains 36 cartes-de-visite, 10 tintypes, and 3 chromolithograph "scraps" mounted on visiting cards. The cartes-de-visite and tintypes are studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in New York and New Jersey in the late 19th century. A small number have hand coloring. Most items show adult men and women photographed individually, with one picture of an adult couple, two pictures of young children, and one picture of an infant sitting in a chair. Eight mounted gem tintypes are included. Three lithograph "scraps" depict a young girl pictured with a friendship album, an open envelope, and an artist's palette with the captions "Friendship," "Devotion," and "Forget Me Not." Each scrap is mounted on a visiting card with a raised decorated border and the names "Mrs. George Carmers" and "Morriss Algoe" printed in script. The volume's brown cover has a raised geometric design, and it has two enameled metal clasps.

The Dolph family carte-de-visite album contains formal studio portraits, many taken by the Dolph Brothers of Erie, Pennsylvania, around the 1860s-1870s. The photographs show both men and women, and two are artistically posed scenes.

The Dolph family carte-de-visite album (16cm x 13cm) contains formal studio portraits, many taken by the Dolph Brothers of Erie, Pennsylvania, around the 1860s-1870s. This album may have been compiled from loose photos acquired at an estate sale by collector and donor Frederick P. Currier. The photographs, comprised of 42 albumen print cartes-de-visite and 5 tintypes, mostly depict men and women, though a few include children. Some items are hand-colored. Many of the subjects are identified by name, and several are labeled on the back "Dolph home," possibly by the collector and donor. Dolph family members include Albert W. Dolph in a military officer's uniform, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Dolph, and James or Joseph Dolph. A photograph of two men in close conversation, one with a straw hat, pipe and large book in his lap, the other in a top hat and cane, may be of the Dolph brothers themselves; a man beside a mirror that shows his reflection may be a portrait of Jas. Dolph. Also of note is a double portrait of unidentified albino twins. The album's brown leather cover has a geometric design in relief and is closed with two metal clasps.

The Women Photographers carte-de-visite album contains studio portraits made by female photographers and husband-and-wife teams in the United States and England.

The Women Photographers carte-de-visite album (13.5cm x 10cm) contains 21 studio portraits of men, women, and children made by female photographers and husband-and-wife teams in the United States and England. This album was likely compiled by collector Frederick P. Currier from individual unrelated photos and an empty album

With the exception of one picture of a man and a woman, all of the items are individual portraits. One woman wore a large cross on a necklace, and one infant posed on a chair. The album's dark brown cover has a raised geometric design, and the volume is closed with two metal clasps. A floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. A list of photographers and their locations, when given, is provided below.