Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection consists of photographs of Boston, Massachusetts, and other New England towns, taken around the turn of the 20th century. The collection includes pictures of commercial and municipal buildings, battleships, and city landmarks.

This collection consists of photographs of Boston, Massachusetts, and other New England towns, taken around the turn of the 20th century. The collection includes pictures of commercial and municipal buildings, battleships, and city landmarks.

Large format photographs show a variety of Boston scenes, including commercial streets and buildings, harbor views, waterfront parks, the USS Hartford and USS New York, a streetcar station and tracks, a horse-drawn firefighting ladder truck, and a crowd waching the launch of an unrigged yacht in Boston Harbor. Buildings depicted include Faneuil Hall, the Jordan Marsh department store, and the U.S. Customhouse. A scene on the Boston Common shows the statue of George Washington being decorated, with a crowd of pedestrians including a Civil War veteran wearing a uniform with medals. Also included is a photograph of the Witch House in Salem, Mass., former residence of Joseph Corwin, a judge at the Salem witch trials; and a collision of two locomotives with a photographer on the scene, possibly staged. The first image (10cm x 14.5cm), an overhead view of Charlestown and the Bunker Hill Monument, is affixed to a wall calendar for the year 1884; all of its removable monthly pages are still intact. The calendar was presented with "Compliments of Annie T. Smith."

The Flathead Indian Reservation photograph album contains 65 photographs of Native American men, women, and children on the Flathead Indian Reservation and in Missoula, Montana.

The Flathead Indian Reservation photograph album contains 65 photographs of Native American men, women, and children on the Flathead Indian Reservation and in Missoula, Montana.

The album (30 x 26 cm) is a modern three-ring binder with brown faux leather covers. All the album’s images are unmounted snapshots that have been arranged inside plastic album sleeves. The snapshots are mostly either 10 x 7 cm or 10.5 x 16 cm.

The album begins with portraits of Native American individuals taken in the Higgins Block of downtown Missoula, Montana, including two portraits of a Native American man posing with his infant child in a cradleboard as well as an unidentified white man, and four portraits taken outside of “Al Green’s Shaving Parlor.” Other images likely taken in and around Missoula show up elsewhere throughout the album, including several group portraits with a white fence in the background that may possibly have been taken outside the residence of the photographer, Dr. C. W. Lombard. Many photographs also appear to have been taken at the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Images of particular interest include photographs showing Native American individuals and groups (including many families) wearing western and/or traditional clothing, infants in cradleboards, encampment and reservation scenes, and landscape views. While many portraits appear to be quite casual and relatively unscripted, several clearly staged photographs are present including a man and older woman posing with sheep heads, two women (one holding a mirror) combing their hair by a river, and two men playing cards in front of a tipi.

While none of the subjects photographed in this album are identified by captions, an older man appearing in two photographs (one posing with a child on a hobby horse and another posing with a group in downtown Missoula with a child in a hand-pulled wagon) has been identified through research as Baptiste Kakashee, also known as Judge Phte and Kil-Ki-Chee.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition photograph album contains 53 images that document the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, from April to December, 1904.

The album (14 x 19.5 cm) has brown faux-leather cloth covers and black paper pages. Photographs include images of different monuments and buildings (including international, state, and trade buildings), fairgrounds scenes, and various exhibitions including Filipino, Chinese, and Native American human zoo villages as well as the "Ancient Locomotives" and "U.S. Life Saving Exhibit." Also of note are two photographs of "Festival Hall at night."

The Ismailia-Damascus pilgrimage photograph albums consist of a three-volume set containing approximately 260 photographs taken during an Ismailia Shriner pilgrimage trip in 1902 to the western United States and an undated expedition overseas to various places in Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Lebanon, and Italy.

Volume 1 (23 x 25 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs pertaining to an overseas Shriner expedition to various locations around the Mediterranean Sea region including sites in North Africa, western Asia, and southern Europe. It is unclear when this expedition took place, though it likely occurred ca. 1902. Many of the sites visited by the group are related to biblical stories, events, and personages. Images of particular interest include the Lion's Gate at Mycenae (pg. 1); the Arch of Hadrian in Athens (pg. 3); the supposed tree under which Mary and Joseph rested in the Land of Goshen (pg.8); ruins from a "last stand" made by European Crusaders (pg. 11); the Plain of Sharon (pg. 12); the Great Pyramid (pg. 14); a "Nilo-meter" on the River Nile (pg. 14); an elevated view of Istanbul (pg. 16); a group of Greek Klephts marching in traditional uniforms (pg. 17); Tiberias (pg. 18); a tour boat conducted by guides of Nassaire, Farajallah & Co. (pg. 19); Jerusalem's Damascus Gate (pg. 21); the bell tower on the Mount of Olives (pg. 24); the Monastery of Choziba (pg. 24); the Mosque of Amr in Cairo (pg. 28); ancient Egyptian ruins at Luxor (pg. 30); the public square in Corinth where Paul was said to have preached (pg. 31); Bisharin villagers near Aswan (pg. 34); a waterfront view of Algiers (pg. 35); Pompeii (pg. 36); Job's Wall in Silwan, Palestine (pg. 40); the Bosporus Strait (pg. 41); Haifa (pgs. 43 & 45); Damascus (pg. 46); Ba'labakk (pgs. 47 & 48); and Hotel Fast in Jerusalem (pg. 49). Many but not all of the images have inscribed captions on their versos. A loose cartoonish engraving/etching of a bald man with a moustache wearing Arabic clothing while riding a camel titled "Dr. Walter D. Greene" is also present inside the front cover. The album is string bound in black leather covers with the word "Photographs" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 2 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 98 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include a cyanotype of B.W. Rowell (pg. 1); a group portrait of the travelling party at the railroad station in McFarlan, Kansas (pg. 5); scenes from Pikes Peak, Colorado (pgs. 7-23); views of the Garden of the Gods (pgs. 24, 25, 28-36 & 38); the Royal Gorge (pgs. 37, 39, 40, 42 & 44); Glenwood Springs, Colorado (pgs. 47-49, 57 & 58); the Mormon Tabernacle and Salt Lake Temple (pgs. 52-54); Monterey Bay, California (pgs. 64-66 & 67); Santa Barbara, California (pgs. 68-71); Mount Shasta and Shasta Springs (pgs. 73-77); natural landscapes in Oregon (pgs. 81-86); and a ferry boat on the Columbia River (pgs. 91-96). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

Volume 3 (18.5 x 27.5 cm) contains approximately 63 photographs related to the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage of 1902. Images of particular interest include scenes from Spokane, Washington (pgs. 1-3); geysers at Yellowstone's Norris Basin (pgs. 12-22) and Upper Basin (pgs. 27-36); Yellowstone Lake (pgs. 39-43); Yellowstone's Upper and Lower Waterfalls and Grand Canyon (pgs. 46-51); Shriner Caleb Saunders posing with a haul of fish (pg. 52); and Walter D. Greene posing with his wife Mary L. Greene (pg. 55), an unidentified fellow "manager" of the pilgrimage (pg. 56), and alongside George F. Loder and a man identified as "Gass" (pg. 57). The album is bound in red leather covers with the words "Photographs of the Ismailia-Damascus Pilgrimage 1902; Compliments of B.W. Rowell, Imperial Recorder; To Walter D. Greene" embossed in gold on front.

Graflex Sees the War contains a series of 19 mounted gelatin silver prints taken by Allied military photographers in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II.

Graflex Sees the War contains a series of 19 mounted gelatin silver prints taken by Allied military photographers in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II. This collection consists of 19 gelatin silver prints from the fourth edition of the series in their original shipping container (43 x 53.5 cm). The mailing label on the reinforced cardboard container is addressed to the manager of the Rio Theater in Hammond, Indiana. The majority of the photographs depict scenes from the Pacific theater, yet there are images from France as well. All photographs appear to have been taken in 1944. Credit for most photographs is limited to the service branch that provided them, but three items credit individual photographers by name: Cpl. Angus Robertson, Sgt. Ferman H. Dixon, and Sgt. R. B. Opper. Every credit line also includes the phrase "Graflex-made."

Titles, photo credits, and descriptions of images in order of appearance are as follows: "Two Down, Beachhead to Go, Saipan" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- soldiers under fire advancing along a beach; "Shells Away--Guam" (U.S. Navy) -- battleship firing toward shore; "Plane to Pack Train--Burma" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers walking with mule train, transport planes on runway in background; "U.S.-equipped Free French Troops" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers firing from rocky ridge; "Mam'selle 'Welcomes' Nazi Prisoner" (U.S. Navy) -- woman kicking man in city street as crowd looks on; "Hide and Seek with Death, Saipan" (U.S. Marine Corps by Cpl. Angus Robertson) -- soldiers crouching behind tank; "Biak Bound" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- deck of transport ship with convoy in background; "Victory Symbols--Past and Present" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- French village square showing World War I monument and advancing American tank; "105mm Howitzers In Action, Guam" (U.S. Marine Corps) -- soldiers and artillery in tropical landscape; "Channel Transfer of Invasion Wounded" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- wounded soldiers (likely injured during the invasion of Saipan) on stretchers on boat deck; "Flame, Camera, Action--Guam" (U.S. Marine Corps) -- soldiers patrolling in battle-scarred jungle; "Alligators Attacking Peleliu" (U.S. Navy) -- fleet of amphibious landing craft; "House to House Fighting--St. Malo" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- American soldiers under fire in French village street; "Earmarked for Guam" (U.S. Navy) - ship deck lined with large artillery shells; "Beachhead Altar, Saipan (U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Ferman H. Dixon) -- priest in front of makeshift altar on hood of wrecked tank; "Pause for Prayer" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers with rifles sitting in cathedral; civilians praying at altar; "War is H---" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- four sailors showing haircuts that spell out "H-E-L-L"; "Thar She Blows, Saipan" (U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. R. B. Opper) -- artillery shell exploding close behind two soldiers on battlefield.

The San Francisco earthquake and fire photograph album contains 29 photographs taken by photographer Arnold Genthe showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

The San Francisco earthquake and fire photograph album contains 29 photographs taken by photographer Arnold Genthe showing the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The album (24 x 32 cm) has pebbled black cloth covers. Images include scenes of billowing smoke over the city being watched by crowds of onlookers; survivors wandering among the ruins; tnets set up in Union Square and Portsmouth Square; the destruction in the city center, between Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, and Market Street; and wagons removing rubble.

Inside the front cover there is a laid in program for a "Port of Oakland Day Luncheon" held on October 27, 1949, a newspaper clipping regarding Benjamin F. Steacy, and a typed note on "Steacy's Restaurants" stationery stating "This album dedicated to the earthquake and fire San Francisco, April 18 1906. The following pictures were taken by a friend of my dads. Ben F. Steacy April 21 1948."

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 Grace D. Banker collection contains letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings written by or relating to Grace D. Banker, a telephone operator who served during World War I as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Europe with the American Expeditionary Forces.

Banker sent two letters to Georgette Poulard, an American immigrant of French origin. On April 8, 1918, in French, Grace Banker informed her friend that she did not see any submarines on the voyage to France, described her appreciation for the French countryside, and gardens, and assured her that she did not carry a revolver as she was not in danger. On September 10, 1918, Banker wrote about the news of her father's death, the picturesque quality of her surroundings, and her current lodgings in a French home. Accompanying the letters are three empty envelopes addressed to Poulard, one containing a newspaper clipping about Banker's decoration and some plant material in a small envelope labelled "My Four and Five and six/leaf clovers/Georgette/Poulard."

The collection includes a silver gelatin portrait photograph of Grace Banker in uniform, mounted in a separated trifold photo mat. A contemporary newspaper clipping, "First Passaic Girl to join the Army," includes a newsprint reproduction of the portrait; it is pasted on the damaged mat.

The Catskill photograph album (17 x 22 cm) contains 11 photoprints of scenes in and near Catskill, New York, ca. 1905.

The Catskill photograph album (17 x 22 cm) contains 11 photoprints of scenes in and near Catskill, New York, ca. 1905. Includes three views (two interior and one exterior) of the local Presbyterian Church; one of the Episcopal Church; one view of J.H. Austin's home; two views of a river and mill; and three views of bridges. Also includes an early photograph of the public library, funded by Andrew Carnegie.

The album has a brown paper cover and is housed in a light blue box.

The Midwest family travel album contains approximately 150 photographs showing travel and leisure activities in Virginia, New York, Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Georgia that were likely compiled by a friend or relative of lumber executive and one-time mayor of Manistee, Michigan, Charles J. Canfield.

The Midwest family travel album contains approximately 150 photographs showing travel and leisure activities in New York, Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Georgia that were likely compiled by a friend or relative of lumber executive and one-time mayor of Manistee, Michigan, Charles J. Canfield.

The album (26 x 35 cm) has a black cloth binding. Photographs of interest taken in Vermont and New York include rural views, country roads, a woman bicycling, and a group relaxing beside the Batten Kill River in Eagleville, New York. Images from Sioux City, Iowa, include views of public buildings, a golf tournament between Sioux City and Le Mars, a football game between Sioux City and Council Bluffs, an interior view of a woman working at a desk, a high school group on stage in blackface, a shooting expedition, and group portraits of young people at the Sioux City High School and in costume at a "hobo party." Michigan-related photographs include views of Charles Canfield's cottage in Onekama, Michigan, Canfield's yacht "Uvira," views of forests in Manistee, and a lumber camp scene captioned "Camp 4 near Luther, Mich." Photographs from unidentified locations include views of a sawmill, flum, and lumber camp, several home interiors, mountains, and giant trees likely indicative of the West Coast. Two photographs also show a canoe with a Native American family on a lake in Northern Minnesota.