Collections

The Adelle Webber Gray photograph album contains 75 photographs and 14 photo-reproductions of scenes from Watkins Glen in New York, Yosemite, and Colorado as well as 13 newspaper clippings and two advertisements regarding travel in the western United States.

The album (21.5 x 26.5 cm) has read leather covers. Inside of the front cover are two of Gray's bookplates and a loose clipping from 1906 regarding the purchase of Watkins Glen. The album begins with a series of views of Watkins Glen (including some showing the stairs built around the waterfalls). Pages are mostly blank from pgs. 17 to 113 except for pg. 107 which includes 10 loose clippings about camping and traveling in the western United States mostly from Christian Life magazine. Other images of interest after pg. 113 include views of a man standing inside a tree in California's Redwood Forest; waterfalls at Yosemite; Denver, Colorado, scenes such as the train depot and Stout Street; Silver Plume, Colorado; the Loop between Manitou Springs and Georgetown; an 1884 photographic reproduction print by W. H. Bagley; a railroad going through Clear Creek canyon; Pikes Peak; Helen Hunt Jackson's grave in Colorado Springs; the Garden of the Gods; Manitou Springs; Williams Canyon; Ute Pass; and pictures of men and cows taken by W. H. Allen and William Henry Jackson. Also of note are advertisements for a print of Mount Holy Cross by Thomas Moran and for the caves at Manitou Springs, two photographic reproductions of views of Marshall Pass, and photographs of the peak of Sierra Blanca, taxidermy coyotes and a mountain lion, and a train snowplow in Ivanhoe, Colorado.

The Albert D. Noble, Jr., glass negatives collection consist of 92 glass plate negatives made by photographer Albert D. Noble, Jr. as well as 33 photographic prints, 2 newspaper clippings, and a computer disk with 180 digital images (including additional photographs by Noble, Jr. and copies of older family portraits).

The glass plate negatives are contained in two boxes and include images of Noble, Jr.'s childhood home in Grand Rapids and other private residences and public buildings in the area as well as views taken in Detroit of Noble, Jr.'s family's Christmas decorations, community ice skating, bicycling in the countryside, rural buildings, and regional parks including Belle Isle Park. The majority of images depict people, activities, and scenes from summer vacations to places like Orchard Lake and Upper Straights Lake; a group visit to the French Lick Springs Hotel in Indiana in 1902; views from the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901 (misidentified in Bayard C. Schoettle's publication Glass Negatives: Albert Dewitt Noble, Jr. as an event based in Grand Rapids); and numerous studio portraits of family members, acquaintances, and the noted elocution teacher Edna Chaffee Noble (no relation to Noble, Jr.). The glass plates are in a variety of sizes (16.5 x 21.5, 12.5 x 20.5, 11.5 x 16.5, and 10 x 12.5 cm) and each is stored in individual paper slipcases. Some but not all of the splipcases provide information regarding an image's subject matter. Most of the plates are in good condition, with only a few displaying cracks and none being broken. 33 photographic prints (31 unmounted and 2 mounted) are also present and include an image of several cows near a body of water, two mounted albumen prints of "Orchard Lake Cottage," two silver platinum prints showing an unidentified house and a sailboat, 16 unmounted gelatin silver prints showing various domestic, industrial, social and architectural scenes (most of which are represented in the glass negatives), and a series of 11 unmounted snapshots and 1 negative transparency showing scenes from Roseland Park Cemetery and the gravesite of Edna Chaffee Noble. Two newspaper clippings from the July 16 1899 Detroit Free Press Art Supplement related to Noble, Jr.'s second place finish in a photo competition are also included.

The CD-R accompanying the collection contains about 180 scanned images including all 92 of the glass plates present in the collection, approximately 75 additional photographs produced by Noble, Jr., and several photographs of trophies awarded to Noble, Jr., by the Grand Rapids camera club. The CD-R also includes images of early Noble family portraits that were scanned and retouched by Schoettle during his preparation for Glass Negatives: Albert Dewitt Noble, Jr.

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 Andrews' Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger contains newspaper clippings dating from 1887 that recount the story of Andrews' Raid written by William Pittenger. Other clippings, almost all of which focus on the United States Army, are also included in the scrapbook. The majority of these clippings are glued onto the page, but some are loose. This scrapbook, whose compiler is unknown, was originally used as a telegraph ledger book for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and more than half of the volume still has these records visible.

The Andrews' Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger contains newspaper clippings dating from 1887 that recount the story of Andrews' Raid written by William Pittenger, a Union soldier who survived the raid and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Other clippings, almost all of which focus on the United States Army, are also included in the scrapbook. Most of these are Civil War related but they include some Indian Wars material as well, including an account of Sitting Bull and Running Bear's raid on Fort Buford on August 20, 1868. The majority of these clippings are glued onto the page, but some are loose. This scrapbook, whose compiler is unknown, was originally used as a telegraph ledger book for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and more than half of the volume still has these records visible.

The Anglo-Mexican mining photograph albums are a three-volume set containing approximately 446 images of southern English beaches, architecture of Mexico City, mining operations in Zacatecas, Mexico, and portraits of the Pott family of England.

The Anglo-Mexican mining photograph albums are a three-volume set containing approximately 446 images of southern English beaches, architecture of Mexico City, mining operations in Zacatecas, Mexico, and portraits of the Pott family of England.

Volume one (24 x 16 cm) contains approximately 223 photographs replete with detailed inscriptions as well as two clippings. On the inside front cover are portraits of Cyrus Pott taken in 1906 and 1908 while an image of his son Dennis, who frequently appears throughout all three volumes, can be seen on the first page. Subsequent images of interest include pictures of a 1915 trip to Bournemouth, England; an Easter Monday picnic near Mexico City in 1912; Pott family friends Marquarita and Gorden McCloskey; an interior photograph of the Pott residence at 165 Calle de Londres in Mexico City; and a British Boating Club regatta. Also of note are photographs of the steamer Furst Bismarck; a trip to Bognor Regis, England; a couple on their honeymoon in Bournemouth, English; beachgoers; the Firth of Forth in Scotland; and pictures and clippings related to Cyrus Pott’s service in the National Motor Volunteer Corps.

Volume two (18 x 24 cm) contains approximately 103 photographs and has fewer inscriptions than volume one. Images of interest include views of a trip to Brighton, England, in the fall of 1913; a group of people standing behind a wall captioned “Fleeing from Mexican shells, Feb. 1912”; a group of cooks captioned “Chinese and Mexican cousins. / Louis-Maria-Angela”; a trip on the Furst Bismarck on April 16, 1913; a 1913 trip to Havana, Cuba; a trip aboard the Corcovado on the Viga Canal; Mrs. Pott and friends at La Fe Mine in Guadalupe, Zacatecas; the vantage point from Adolf Goerz’s Mexico City office; and various sites in A Coruña, Spain.

Volume three (18 x 24 cm) contains approximately 120 photographs and has the fewest amount of inscriptions of all three albums. Images of interest include pictures of a bull fighting ring; Villistas at La Fe Mine; more views of the house at 165 Calle de Londres; Christmas at the University Club in Mexico City; Alfred Pott in a cradle on his christening day in 1913 in Stow, England; and Cyrus Pott at La Fe Mine. On the inside back cover there are two photographs of outdoor activities.

The Appalachian Mountain Club photograph album contains approximately 270 photographs showing members of the Appalachian Mountain Club, including men, women, and occasionally children, in a variety of outdoor settings and activities.

The Appalachian Mountain Club photograph album contains approximately 270 photographs showing members of the Appalachian Mountain Club, including men, women, and occasionally children, in a variety of outdoor settings and activities. The album (26 x 31 cm) has black cloth covers. Activities depicted include boating, fishing, ice skating, hiking, golfing, and swimming. One series of photographs show a large group of men snowshoeing in the mountains and eating around a large table in a log building. Also included are views of loggers with peavey hooks, horse-drawn sledges, several lodge interiors, and scenic mountain views. Five additional photographs show a wedding party, possibly from the 1916 wedding of Leverett S. Saltonstall and Alice Wesselhoeft in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

Additional laid-in items include the following: luggage tags from the Appalachian Mountain Club marked with the name "F.M. Howe," with destinations of Gorham, N.H. Westport, N.Y., and Au Sable Chasm; newpaper clippings from the 1930s featuring the Harvard football team; newspaper article from 1917 regarding the retirement of Federal Reserve governor Alfred L. Aiken; cartoon showing the participants in the National Shawmut Bank Tournament including Florrimon Howe and Leverett Saltonstall; certificate of appreciation from the Federal Reserve Bank, inscribed to Florrimon M. Howe for assistance with the Liberty Loan of 1917.

Daily newspaper published in Owosso, Michigan. Formerly known as Owosso Weekly Press, Evening Argus, and Press-American. Materials consist of full newspaper issues spanning 1862-2016, assorted newspaper clippings, photographs, and research material for articles.

The records document newspaper issues and articles regarding Shiawassee County and national news published by the Argus-Press located in Owosso, Michigan between 1862-2016. Material includes microfilms of full newspaper issues, newspaper clippings, photographs, and research material related to select articles. Series and subseries may have overlapping subjects, and folders are arranged according to original order. The collection is divided into two series: Publications and Arranged Clippings.

A Select Vacation Tour to Marble, Colorado contains 55 photographs, 11 clippings, 6 pieces of ephemera, and 1 letter documenting an inspection trip for potential investors to marble and slate quarries in Colorado organized by the Knickerbocker Syndicate.

A Select Vacation Tour to Marble, Colorado contains 55 photographs, 11 clippings, 6 pieces of ephemera, and 1 letter documenting an inspection trip for potential investors to marble and slate quarries in Colorado organized by the Knickerbocker Syndicate.

The album (18 x 25.5 cm) is lacking a front cover, but the contents are undamaged. The first item is an illustrated brochure attached to the album's front cover that describes the upcoming journey and provides a detailed itinerary and sample menu. While aimed primarily at current investors in the Colorado-Yule Marble Company and the Colorado Slate Company, “families and friends or acquaintances” were also welcome. The cost was not specified.

The rest of the album documents the trip and promotes the quality of company products. Photographs show Yule marble in use at the Cheesman Memorial in Denver and the Youngstown, Ohio, courthouse. Pamphlets and newspaper articles also declare the marble to be of better quality than Carrara marble and the slate is in quantities that will eclipse Wales in the industry, who was the world leader at the time.

The passengers made a thorough inspection of the Yule Marble site over two days and are shown riding from the mill to the quarry site in the new electric trolley powered by electricity generated from the Crystal River, on the quarry floor watching workers extract blocks that will be shaped into columns at the mill, and visited the site of the slate quarry which was in the early stages of development. Other highlights of the trip included stopovers at Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge and Colorado Springs, excursions to tourist sites like Pikes Peak and Cripple Creek, and city tours in Kansas City, Denver, and elsewhere. Local newspapers covered many of these visits, and clippings are included in the album.

Also present is a letter of appreciation to the mine supervisors signed by 31 of the travelers and an illustrated report on the state of the mine by a mechanical engineer on the trip named Arthur M. Chidester (who also took most of the album’s photographs).

The Blairstown (N.J.) photograph album (18.5 x 25.5 cm) contains 1 clipping and 91 snapshots of young adults. The clipping is from the marriage of Janith Tate Edgerton. The majority of the images within the album capture candid moments in and around the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey.

The Blairstown (N.J.) photograph album (18.5 x 25.5 cm) contains 1 clipping and approximately 91 snapshots of young adults. The clipping is from the marriage of Janith Tate Edgerton. The majority of the images within the album capture candid moments in and around the Delaware Water Gap in New Jersey, including a mix of people, buildings, farm animals, and scenic shots. Descriptive captions are written on some of the photographs.

The second page of the album features members of the Blairstown High School Class of 1915 while the third page features views of what is likely Rutgers University. Page 11 includes an aerial view of a parade for the 150th anniversary of Rutgers. Pages in the back of the album include a photograph of women cross-dressing while "looking for a dear," images of a new car, medieval reenactors, and a group of people dressed as "Bandits." Nine loose photographs of Washington, D.C., soldiers boarding a train during World War I, and snapshots of people are contained in an envelope within the ablum.

The Caspar Wistar Miller photograph albums contain approximately 172 photographs stored in two albums that document travels in the western United States, Alaska, and Europe by Philadelphia-area physician Caspar Wistar Miller during the late 19th-century.

Volume 1 (33.5 x 40 cm) has maroon and black leather covers with “Photographs” stamped in gold on the spine and contains 87 photographs related to Miller’s travels in the western United States and Alaska from May to August of 1888. Many images appear to include glass plate negative numbers. Traveling mostly by rail, Miller’s itinerary and layovers can be tracked from the photographs, almost all of which note the date and location. Miller appears to have held an interest in photos of valleys looking first in one direction (“up”) and then the other (“down”), and he also regularly sought out possibilities for bird’s-eye views of towns. The album opens with a photo of a cantilever bridge in Niagara, New York, before documenting Miller’s time in Pullman, Illinois, where he observed the railroad baron George Pullman’s newly built factory town. It is likely that Miller traveled in Pullman railroad cars during this journey. Subsequent images show scenes from Colorado, New Mexico, and California, where Miller spent a month photographing various towns and cities along the Pacific coast before heading into the Northwest. Included are images of the area surrounding the Las Vegas, New Mexico hot springs; street scenes, historic sites, and Native Americans in Santa Fe; and views of buildings, historic sites and natural scenery in Californian locations including Pasadena, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Yosemite, Monterrey (including views of the Hotel Del Monte), Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. Images related to the Northwest include a bird’s-eye view of Portland, Oregon, and a series of photographs of acrobats performing in Tacoma, Washington. Also present are a series of images taken in early July 1888 after Miller joined a few dozen other travelers on a three-week Alaskan cruise exploring inlets, harbors, and villages. Alaskan images include a group portrait of Tlingit women and infants; photos showing a grave totem and totem poles at Fort Wrangell; Tlingit men and women selling wares on a wharf in Juneau; views of Juneau and Sitka; a block house in Sitka; the face of Muir Glacier; a Tlingit camp at Pyramid Harbor; a group portrait of officers in command of the sidewheel steamship “Ancon”; and group portraits of fellow travelers posing with various Tinglit items including a chilkat blanket. A newspaper clipping regarding Alaskan totem poles is also included opposite one of the totem pole images. Photographs taken during Miller’s return home include scenes from Port Townsend, Washington; Yellowstone National Park; and Minnehaha Falls in Minnesota.

Volume 2 (28.5 x 39 cm) also has maroon and black leather covers and contains 85 photographs related to Miller’s European travels between May and August of 1892. The vast majority of these images are high-quality commercially-made photographic prints documenting typical tourist attraction subjects such as historic buildings, street scenes, cathedrals and churches, sculptures, and landscape views. Many of these images were likely produced from glass plate negatives that were originally created in the 1870s and 1880s. A small number of half-tone reproduction images clipped from printed sources are also present. Many of the commercially-produced images include captions within the photographs that provide site information and negative or series numbers, while some also contain blind stamps bearing photographer or studio names. The album begins with images of scenes in Le Havre and Paris, France; the two Le Havre-related photographs appear to have possibly been taken by Miller, while the Parisian views were all purchased from the gallery “A Jeanne D’Arc Paris 3, Place Rivoli, 3.” Most, if not all, of the remaining photographs in the album were also purchased by Miller. Subsequent images include views of sites, sculptures, and Alpine scenery in the Swiss locales of Geneva, Vevey, Montreux, La Tour-de-Peilz, Bern, Zurich, Fribourg, Thun, Oberhofen, Interlaken, and Lucerne. Other Swiss-related images include views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley; the Jungfrau; the Lion of Luzern monument; a wall tower and hotel in Zug; a man operating a dog-powered milk cart; and the Rheinfall. Austrian views include scenes from locations such as Innsbruck, Kufstein, and Rattenberg, while German destinations such as Lindau, Munich, Nuremburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt am Main, Koblenz, and Cologne are also represented. The back-end of the album contains images from Brussels, Belgium, including another photograph of a dog-powered milk cart.