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

The Admiral William Mead photograph album contains approximately 250 photographs related to the family and career of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Whitman Mead.

The Admiral William Mead photograph album contains approximately 250 photographs related to the family and career of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Whitman Mead.

The album (35.5 x 29 cm) has pebbled covers with partial leather bindings and "Photographs" stamped on the front cover and contains around 250 photographs of various sizes and formats, including collodion, gelatin silver, platinum, silver platinum and albumen prints, cyanotypes, and snapshots. The spine and edges show considerable wear. The photographs chronicle three periods in Admiral Mead's naval career: his time as lighthouse inspector in the Great Lakes, and his assignments as commandant of the Newport, Rhode Island naval base and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Additionally, there is at least one photograph towards the front of the album from the Lomaland School in San Diego as well as a series of others mostly located towards the back of the album that were taken in an unidentified tropical location (possibly Florida).

Some of the album’s captions, primarily in beginning and the lighthouse section, appear to have been first added when it was originally assembled and many are partially erased. The majority of captions, however, were contributed at a later date by Admiral Mead’s niece, Annie Adelia Mead Ferguson. Annie appears to have come into possession of the album at some point and added her own annotations identifying people and places she recognized in the photographs. She also added a handwritten note to the inside of the album’s front cover in 1970 indicating that the album had once “belonged to William Whitman Mead” before explaining that she captioned certain images herself and speculating on which of her children might want to inherit the album. It is unclear who originally took many of the photographs, though there are indications that Annie's mother Unadilla Gazlay Mead may have contributed some material. One photograph on pg. 32 shows Unadilla and her husband Omar C. Mead, Admiral Mead’s brother, posing together on a dock in either Portsmouth or Newport while the former can be seen holding a camera in her hands, while on pg. 44 there is a self-portrait taken in a mirror of a woman with a camera that appears to be Unadilla.

The album provides extensive documentation of lighthouses along the shores of Lakes Superior and Huron in the mid-1890s, as well as views from Great Lakes locations such as Duluth, Copper Harbor, and the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. Specific lighthouses represented include Seul Choix Light, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, Sand Island Lighthouse, Huron Island Lighthouse, Isle Royale Light, an abandoned lighthouse on Isle Royale, a pair of unidentified lighthouses possibly located in the Keweenaw Peninsula, Windmill Point, a lighthouse in St. Clair Flats, Gull Rock, Stannard’s Rock, Rock Harbor Light, and other unidentified structures. Images related to Admiral Mead’s time at the Newport naval base include portraits of Mead both in and out of uniform, portraits of family members such as Julia Mead, a collotype postcard of Trinity Church, and various buildings and street scenes. Images related to Admiral Mead’s time at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard include views of the Commandant’s house, “The Admiral’s Yacht,” and portraits of various individuals including John W. Yerkes, Elizabeth O. Yerkes, Amelia R. Yerkes, Annie Meade Matthews, Omar C. Mead, and Annie Adelia Meade as a young child. Of particular interest are a number of candid shots of locations and participants in the Portsmouth peace talks that ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 (including several photographs of three unidentified Japanese men described as “servants” in one caption) that are present on pgs. 30, 36, 37, and 39. While most of the ships that appear in the album are unidentified, identified vessels include the passenger steamer North Land on pg. 16 and the lighthouse tender Marigold on pg. 23. Other individuals identified by caption include Robert A. Watts (Admiral Mead’s brother-in-law) and Margaret A. Watts (Admiral Mead’s mother-in-law). Also present are three outdoor portraits of unidentified African American men and women on pg. 21 captioned “Those good ole’ days!!” and “Same good ole days!” as well as a cyanotype of an unidentified African American girl on pg. 48.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. In addition to the photographic materials, 36 manuscript items and two bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. An additional 36 manuscript items and 2 bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The collection appears to have been first started by Brearley during the mid-1860s, possibly during or immediately after his Civil War service. He seems to have solicited the autographs of a variety of famous individuals (including authors, performers, musicians, scientists, spiritual leaders, politicians, foreign rulers, and military officers) primarily by mailing them photographs of themselves and requesting their signatures. Possession of the collection appears to have been transferred to Pingree at some point, and he continued to make further contributions. Pingree’s daughter Hazel retained possession of the collection after her father’s death before eventually donating it to the Clements Library. All components of the collection are stored together in one box.

While most portraits in the collection are original studio photographs taken by a variety of photographers including Mathew Brady and Napoleon Sarony, a relatively small number of photographic reproductions of non-photographic portraits are also present (including depictions of James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, and Henry and Clara Ford).

Volume 1: Brearley collection reproduction souvenir album

This album (16.5 x 15 cm) has green leather covers with lines of poetry from Henry W. Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life stamped in gold on the front. An index included at the beginning lists the names of 96 individuals represented across the album’s 24 pages. After the index, a passage written by William H. Brearley and dated August 1st 1874 explains that he created a limited number of facsimile copies of his original autographed portrait collection at the “urgent solicitation” of many interested friends. Brearley also explains that he acquired the original photographs and autographs in his collection “by long and patient effort, & tending over a period of ten years, and involving an expense of several Hundred dollars.” Subsequent album pages each contain four individually pasted 5.5 x 4 cm albumen print photographic reproductions of original portraits found in Brearley’s collection. This item was acquired from a separate source and was not part of the original collection of materials donated to the Clements Library by Hazel Hope Pingree Mills.

Volume 2: Brearley-Pingree collection original album

This album (30 x 26 cm) has brown leather covers and the words “Portraits. Autographs” and “Brearley” stamped in gold on the spine. The original autographed portraits of the Brearley-Pingree collection were once housed in this album before Clements Library staff removed the original photographs and substituted them with photocopies in 2010 for conservation and preservation purposes. Manuscript captions were also added by Clements Library staff. The original photographs are housed separately in smaller boxes and have been arranged according to size/format and ordered alphabetically by subject surname. See below for a complete list of photographic subjects contained in each box.

Of additional interest are three manuscript items, including the clipped signature of Hyacinthe Loyson and an October 15th 1873 letter from Henry W. Longfellow containing the same lines of poetry from A Psalm of Life that appear on the cover of the Brearley collection souvenir album. Also present is a letter from Buckingham Palace sent to Brearley in 1873 by Sir Thomas Biddulph explaining that the “enclosed Photograph” of Queen Victoria is being returned but that “The Queen’s Autograph is never given away.” Three wax seals are also included in the volume including an “Imperial Chancellor’s seal” (associated with a portrait of Otto von Bismarck); “the Napoleon Seal” (associated with a portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte); and a Great Seal of the Realm attached to the 1873 letter from Buckingham Palace.

Box 1.1: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, A-E

This box contains 47 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886.
• Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873.
• Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.
• Anderson, Richard Heron, 1821-1879.
• Anderson, Robert, 1805-1871.
• Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906.
• Bancroft, George, 1800-1891.
• Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891.
• Barrett, Lawrence, 1838-1891.
• Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893.
• Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887.
• Billings, Josh, 1818-1885. [Henry Wheeler Shaw]
• Birney, David Bell, 1825-1864.
• Bishop, Anna, 1810-1884. [Anna Riviere Schultz]
• Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898.
• Bonaparte, Jérôme, King of Westphalia, 1784-1860.
• Bonner, Robert, 1824-1899.
• Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893.
• Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875.
• Bright, John, 1811-1889.
• Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878.
• Buchanan, James, 1791-1868.
• Bülow, Hans von, 1830-1894.
• Bunker, Chang, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Eng Bunker]
• Bunker, Eng, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Chang Bunker]
• Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881. [two portraits included]
• Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
• Carleton, Will, 1845-1912.
• Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell), 1814-1880.
• Clem, John Lincoln, 1851-1937.
• Clough, J. E. (John Everett), 1836-1910.
• Coan, Titus, 1801-1882.
• Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885.
• Collins, Wilkie, 1824-1889.
• Cook, Eliza, 1818-1889.
• Coombs, Jane, 1842- .
• Curtis, George William, 1824-1892.
• Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876.
• Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897.
• Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
• Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
• Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932.
• Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879.
• Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883.
• Doubleday, Abner, 1819-1893.
• Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882.
• Emory, William H. (William Hemsley), 1811-1887.

Box 1.2: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, F-N

This box contains 46 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870.
• Ferrero, Edward, 1831-1899.
• Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892.
• Field, Kate, 1838-1896. [Mary Katherine Keemle Field]
• Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874.
• Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877.
• Fowler, O. S. (Orson Squire), 1809-1887.
• Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879.
• Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
• Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
• Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872.
• Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904. [Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott]
• Hall, John, 1829-1898.
• Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872.
• Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886.
• Hay, John, 1838-1905.
• Heintzelman, Samuel Peter, 1805-1880.
• Hoar, E. R. (Ebenezer Rockwood), 1816-1895.
• Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert), 1819-1881.
• Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894.
• Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879.
• Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909.
• Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885.
• Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863.
• Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875.
• Kirby-Smith, Edmund, 1824-1893.
• Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905.
• Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870.
• Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
• Locke, David Ross, 1833-1888. [Petroleum V. Nasby]
• Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886.
• Longstreet, James, 1821-1904.
• Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867.
• Loyson, Hyacinthe, 1827-1912.
• Lucca, Pauline, 1841-1908.
• Mario, Giovanni, 1810-1883. [Mario, T.]
• McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
• Mitchell, Maggie, 1837-1918.
• Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von, 1800-1891.
• Monroe, James, 1758-1831.
• Morse, Edward Sylvester, 1838-1925.
• Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877.
• Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896.
• Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902.
• Nilsson, Christine, 1843-1921.
• Nutt, Commodore, 1848-1881. [group portrait with Minnie Warren]

Box 1.3: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, O-Z

This box contains 36 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Ord, Edward Otho Cresap, 1818-1883.
• Parepa-Rosa, Euphrosyne, 1836-1874.
• Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919.
• Phillipps, Adelaide, 1833-1882.
• Porter, David D. (David Dixon), 1813-1891.
• Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892.
• Salvini, Tommaso, 1829-1915.
• Saxe, John Godfrey, 1816-1887.
• Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906.
• Scott-Siddons, Mary Frances, 1844-1896.
• Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888.
• Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891.
• Sothern, Edward Askew, 1826-1881.
• Spinner, Francis Elias, 1802-1890.
• Spurgeon, C. H. (Charles Haddon), 1834-1892.
• Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904.
• Stephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883.
• Strakosch, Max, 1835-1892.
• Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874.
• Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892.
• Terry, Alfred Howe, 1827-1890.
• Thiers, Adolphe, 1797-1877.
• Thomas, George H. (George Henry), 1816-1870.
• Thomas, Theodore, 1835-1905.
• Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883. [Charles Sherwood Stratton; group portrait with Lavinia Warren]
• Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. [Samuel L. Clemens; both names signed on photograph]
• Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877.
• Waite, Morrison R. (Morrison Remick), 1816-1888.
• Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882.
• Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878.
• Willcox, Orlando B.
• Wilson, Henry, 1812-1875.
• Woodhull, Victoria C. (Victoria Claflin), 1838-1927.
• Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899.
• Yates, Edmund, 1831-1894.
• Young, Brigham, 1801-1877.

Box 2: Brearley-Pingree collection cabinet cards

This box contains 27 cabinet cards. Represented individuals include the following:

• Andrade, Ignacio, 1836-1925.
• Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886.
• Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923.
• Booth-Tucker, Emma, 1860-1903.
• Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George de Lautour, 1853-1929.
• Bull, Ole, 1810-1880.
• Cable, George Washington, 1844-1925.
• Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914.
• Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917.
• Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
• Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918.
• Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893.
• Janauschek, Francesca Romana Magdalena, 1830-1904.
• Kellogg, Clara Louisa, 1842-1916.
• Kennan, George, 1845-1924.
• Kruger, Paul, 1825-1904.
• Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882.
• Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884.
• Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar, 1861-1917.
• Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett), 1839-1902.
• Stead, W. T. (William Thomas), 1849-1912. [three portraits included]
• Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.
• Urso, Camilla, 1842-1902.
• Victoria, Queen of Britain, 1819-1901.
• Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892.

Box 3: Brearley-Pingree collection large photographs and manuscript materials

This box contains 9 large format mounted photographs and 33 manuscript items. Represented individuals among the photographs include the following:

• Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947.
• Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
• Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950.
• Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
• Gibbons, James, 1834-1921.
• Guzmán Blanco, Antonio, 1828-1899.
• Mace, Aurelia Gay, 1835-1910.
• Milles, Carl, 1875-1955.
• Wilder, Marshall P.

Manuscript materials of interest include a number of letters dating to the mid-1870s from various individuals (including John A. Dix, C. H. Spurgeon, H. W. Longfellow, and Lucretia R. Garfield) possibly sent to William H. Brearley in response to autograph solicitations and other requests; and numerous letters addressed to Hazen S. Pingree from various individuals (inlcuding William Thomas Stead, Ignacio Andrade, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley) dating to the 1890s. Other items of interest include a copy of "Special Order No. 166 'Extract' Head Quarters 2d Brigade 3d Div 2d A.I." dated June 15th 1865 stating that the 1st Mass Heavy Artillery had been ordered by Brig. Gen. Franklin Pierce to repost to General Hancock; calling cards for "Sixto Sanchez Director General de Coreeos - Postmaster" as well as "The Admiral of the Navy" George Dewey from "when he called on Gov. Pingree in Detroit"; a clipped signature of "Louis Botha Commandant General"; an undated note to poet Louise Chandler Moulton; a document dated August 1st 1892 detailing financial investment information related to the Michigan-Peninsular Car Company with pasted clippings of wealthy politicians and their net worths as well as annotations by Pingree; a letter dated Feb 19th 1892 from Don M. Dickinson to Pingree regarding the prospective visit of Grover Clevland to Detroit, Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan; a letter dated March 9th 1949 from Hazel Hope Pingree Mills to Director of the William L. Clements Library Randolph G. Adams regarding progress being made on research regarding the life of William H. Brearley; and an undated typed copy of a short essay titled "Brearley - Man of Action, Started Many Important Detroit Activities" by historian George B. Catlin.

The Charles J. Merz photograph album contains approximately 147 images, the majority of which show places and people around the area of Detroit, Michigan, during the late 19th and early 20th-centuries.

The album (27 x 36 cm) has maroon faux leather covers with "Photographs" stamped on the front and shows signs of considerable wear, including a damaged spine and detached front cover. While the album contains some traditional formal portraits, the majority of the photographs of people are more candid snapshots in nature. Images are presented on 9 x 12.5 cm prints with four to a page. Most photographs were taken in the Detroit-area (presumably all or mostly by Merz), with images including pictures of Belle Isle Park, elevated perspectives of city streets, boats (such as ferries, sailboats, and cargo boats) on the Detroit River, scenes from the aftermath of the Buick and Sherwood factory fire, Elmwood Cemetery, bridges, railroads, carriages, and family and friends in informal settings, including one portrait of an individual dressed in blackface. Also of interest are 32 photographs related to a militia group, with images showcasing training sessions such as rifle practice and marching drills, tongue-in-cheek portraits of militia members posing humorously in front of their tents at camp, and four views of a military parade in Washington, D.C. near the U.S. Capitol. The militia group being documented was likely the volunteer militia known as the Detroit Grays; one photograph is captioned “Detroit Gray’s Camp Sylvan Lake” while “Detroit Grays” also appears on flags present in some of the images. It may be the case that Merz was a member of the Detroit Grays. There are also a few images taken in Chicago and Colorado, including views of Michigan Avenue and the Garden of the Gods.

Several details help provide a date range for this album. One caption below a photograph of young men with bicycles simply reads “1888,” while the Buick and Sherwood factory fire (the aftermath of which is depicted in several images) took place in 1892. A flag visible in one of the militia camp photographs also reads, “Detroit Grays Organized May 7, 1895,” and a picture of the side paddle ferry Greyhound indicates that it was part of the White Star Line, which acquired the Greyhound in 1902. Finally, the caption of a view of the Belle Isle Power House states that the site represented is “where the casino is today.” Since a casino was built at that location in 1907, this would suggest that the album may have been compiled a number of years after the photos were taken.

Merz himself is identified in a photograph showing him holding a box camera and standing next to two other young men on a city street. He is identified in the caption as “Charles J. Merz Photographer,” and stands alongside two other young men identified as "Charles Rapp" and "Gus Hartman." A self-portrait of an unidentified young man and his camera taken in a mirror could also possibly be Merz, and he appears to show up in other photographs as well. He may also be pictured some of the militia photos, but due to the general lack of captions it is difficult to be certain. Two unused pages at the end of the album are covered with childish doodling, including one drawing adjacent to the inscribed name “Olive Merz”, Charles’s daughter, which would suggest that the album was once in the possession of the Merz family.

The C. Wallace Bell photograph album (40 x 31 cm) contains 34 photographs including images of paintings of ships and other maritime subjects, views of the Central Pacific Railroad in the United States, and views of coastal regions of Cornwall (England) and Snowdonia (Wales) from ca. 1880.

The C. Wallace Bell photograph album contains 34 photographs including images of paintings of ships and other maritime subjects, views of the Central Pacific Railroad in the United States, and views of coastal regions of Cornwall (England) and Snowdonia (Wales) from ca. 1880. Each photograph is surrounded by a hand-drawn pen and ink border loosely related to the content of the image. Below each image and within the bounds of the illustrated borders there are titles/captions detailing the location and subject. The photographs are housed in a burgundy leather album (40 x 31 cm) with “C. Wallace Bell” stamped in gold on the front cover.

The first four photographs are of the Central Pacific Railroad. These photographs show the railway traversing through canyons, along rivers, and upon cliffsides throughout California, Nevada, and Utah, and were likely produced by Alfred A. Hart. The next six photographs were likely all taken by Danish photographer Anton Melbye and are all images of paintings that illustrate various historical maritime subjects including Eddystone Lighthouse, ships near Constantinople and on the Bosphorus, a Danish corvette, and the “Sinking of the Scotch Frigate 'Bothwell' by the Danish Frigate off the Western Island, A.D. 1567.” The remaining 24 photographs appear to have been produced by English photographer Francis Frith, as the blind stamp "Frith's Series" appears on several images. These images primarily show coastal regions and natural landscapes in Cornwall and Wales. Specific locations represented include Land’s End, Kynance Cove, a fairy glen in Betws-y-Coed, Cadair Idris, Barmouth, Afon Mawddach, Llyn Cwm Bychan, Moel Siabod, Bembridge Point, Llanberis Pass, Clovelly Beach, Tal-y-llyn, Bedruthan Steps, Criccieth Castle, Scratchell’s Bay, and Gurnard’s Head among others. Many of these sites are well-known lookouts, rock formations, and hiking trails.

The David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography consists of over 100,000 images in a variety of formats including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet photographs, real photo postcards, stereographs, and mounted and unmounted paper prints. The collection is primarily made up of vernacular photographs of everyday life in Michigan taken by both professional and amateur photographers from the 1840s into the mid-twentieth century. In addition to supporting local history research, the collection has resources for the study of specific events and subjects. Included are images related to lumbering, mining, suburbanization; the industrialization of cities; travel and transportation; the impact of the automobile; the rise of middle-class leisure society; fashion and dress; ethnicity and race; the role of fraternal organizations in society; and the participation of photographers in business, domestic, and social life. The collection is only partially open for research.

The subject contents of different photographic format series within the Tinder collection vary, depending in part upon how each format was historically used, and the date range of that format's popularity. For example, cartes de visite and cased images are most often formal studio portraits, while stereographs are likely to be outdoor views. Cabinet photographs are frequently portraits, but often composed with less formality than the cartes de visite and cased images. The postcards and the mounted prints contain very diverse subjects. The photographers' file contains many important and rare images of photographers, their galleries, promotional images, and the activities of photographers in the field. See individual series descriptions in the Contents List below for more specific details.

Included throughout are images by both professional and amateur photographers, although those by professionals are extant in far greater numbers.

The Dennis K. Sullivan photograph album contains 28 images compiled by Detroit, Michigan-based detective Dennis K. Sullivan, including 27 portraits primarily of men and women accused of various crimes, the majority of whom are identified through inscriptions.

The Dennis K. Sullivan photograph album contains 28 images compiled by Detroit, Michigan-based detective Dennis K. Sullivan, including 27 portraits primarily of men and women accused of various crimes, the majority of whom are identified through inscriptions.

The album (15 x 11.5 cm) is a cartes de visite album with embossed brown leather covers, an ornate metal clasp, and gilt-edged pages.

• Tintype portrait of a bearded white man captioned "Dennis K. Sullivan Detroit Mich Detective"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a mustache captioned "Yours Truly, P. W. Herriet (Zeb Crummet)"
• Tintype portrait of a white man captioned "George Lowle suspected of setting fire to the Punchard School House at Andover"
• Carte de visite portrait of an unidentified bearded white man; inscription on verso reads "Wanted in Chicago"
• Carte de visite portrait of a bearded white man taken by Fisher Bros. of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Geo. F. Hartwell of Sandwich Mass left there on the afternoon of Dec. 18 1867 and that was the last was seen of him. He was agoing to Boston and had $1000 in his pocket to pay some bills"
• Photographic reproduction of a photographic portrait of a white man captioned "Bryant T. Henry Defaulter from the Shawmut Bank of 63,000 in money he went to Cuba and was found there by two of the Directors and they settled with him and took 24,000 of the money and let him off"
• Photographic reproduction of a carte de visite portrait of a bearded white man captioned "Dr. Miller 1742"; inscription on verso reads "Rec’d from Chief of Police of San Francisco Cali."; Printed photographer credits of "E. P. Dunshee 2 Tremont Row, Boston" crossed out on verso
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a moustache taken by G. H. Loomis of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Thomas the absconding Forger from Hanover st his business was the Hope Envelope Company"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man taken by Wm. H. Wardwell of Boston captioned "Henry Goodrich"; inscription on verso reads "Missing since April 29th Henry Goodrich Age 29 yrs, 5 ft. 9 Weight 150 lb. light complexion supposed to be temporary insane. Resides 72 West Canton Street Boston"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white woman taken by Wyman & Co. of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Mrs. Coolidge Hotel Beat Sneak Thief Swindler and female Confidence Woman"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white child taken by Wyman & Co. of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Mrs. Coolidge Boy"
• Carte de visite portrait of an unidentified white woman (likely "Mrs. Coolidge") taken by R. B. Lewis of Hudson, Massachusetts
• Carte de visite group portrait of two white women taken by Wyman & Co. of Boston; inscription on verso reads "With tie Bonnet on is Mrs. Coolidge"
• Tintype portrait of a white woman captioned "Lizzie Smith, Larceny of 2 Dreses front Jassie Brigham"
• Tintype portrait of a white woman; inscription on verso reads "Fannie Thompson alias Gallager - 24 Gonch st Care of M. A. Davis. Fannie used to live corner of Crosby & Prince Sts. N. York March 18. 1869 20 yrs old this date"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a moustache taken by Dunshee’s New Photograph Parlor of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Josiah D. Hunt, alias J. H. Dexter absconded from Providence R.I. with $50,00.00 liabilities case Parker & Caldwell Boston Mass."
• Second copy of carte de visite portrait of Josiah D. Hunt
• Third copy of carte de visite portrait of Josiah D. Hunt
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a moustache; inscription on verso reads "James Whitney - Singer, Sedused the Wife of Williard the Artist"
• Gem tintype portrait of a white man with a moustache captioned "Daniels Foxboro"; inscription on verso reads "Daniels of Foxboro Mass About 25 years old 5 ft 11 high Well built, light Complexion Auburn hair, redish moustach piped him for his brother"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man taken by Black & Case of Boston captioned "Daniel Brown"; inscription on verso reads "Daniel Brown Wanted by Thomas D. Kendrick for Forgery $20,00"; revenue stamp dated Jan 16 1865 on verso
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a moustache taken by C. L. Howe of Brattleboro, Vermont captioned "Tom Maguire"; inscription on verso reads "Thos. Maguire Tom Mcguire Reporter"; album page includes piece of scrap paper with inscription reading "Ring Thief"
• Gem tintype portrait of a bearded white man attached to business card of Boston grocers Carr, Chase & Raymond; inscription on verso reads "Policeman Barry & Son stole $1000 from Hayley New? & Boyden, got 18 months"
• Gem tintype portrait of a white man with a moustache captioned "Cheeney’s picture"
• Carte de visite group portrait of two white men taken by J. U. P. Burnham of Portland, Maine; inscription on verso reads "Charles Brown & James R. Rickett"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white woman taken by Geo. F. Parlow of New Bedford, Massachusetts captioned "Mary M. Heller"; inscription on verso reads "Picture of Mary M. Heller Newbedford Mass. Address J. H. Briggs Box 62 Newtonville Mass. or Mrs. Russell No 1 Rickerson court Newbedford Mass."
• Carte de visite portrait of a white man with a moustache taken by B. P. Browne of Boston; inscription on verso reads "Edward Sweetler, alias Professor Maurice, " " Rupert"
• Carte de visite portrait of a white woman taken by Gilchrest of Lowell, Massachusetts; inscriptions on verso read "Hattie W. Blanchard about 30, light compl, blue eyes, medium hight" and "She had a Fancy Man by the Name of Williams She lives at 105 Plesant St"

The Electric railway engineer photograph album consists of approximately 235 photographs and 1 booklet documenting the professional and personal life of an unidentified railway engineer specializing in electric rail line infrastructure.

The Electric railway engineer photograph album consists of approximately 235 photographs and 1 booklet documenting the professional and personal life of an unidentified railway engineer specializing in electric rail line infrastructure.

The album (25.5 x 30.5 cm) has dark green cloth covers with “Photographs” stamped on the front cover. All of the album pages are loose and fairly brittle, but the images are in generally good condition.

The first page contains sixteen signatures from participants in the 30th reunion of the Union College class of 1885. Subsequent photographs include several views of Union College campus, aspects of student life (including dorm room interiors and a group of portraits showing crossdressing men captioned “Minstrels"), and formal portraits of members of the Kappa Alpha Society in the mid-1880s, presumably including some of the attendees at the reunion whose signatures are represented.

The unidentified presumed compiler of the album can be seen in several photographs. He appears to have been an engineer specializing in infrastructure projects for electric-powered rail systems and was active in the early stages of when railroads in the United States were moving towards electrification. Many of the smaller circular photographs found throughout in the album were likely produced by a Kodak No. 2 camera, while larger format prints and cyanotypes are also present.

Contents are arranged chronologically starting with the compiler's student days before focusing on various professional assignments and elements of his personal life. During the ten years following his graduation from Union College the compiler apparently participated in several railroad development projects, mainly in what would become Washington State but also in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Idaho. Photographs from this period of his life include views of survey camps along the Columbia River and other regional waterways, interior and exterior views of the compiler’s home in Tacoma, portraits of his growing family, and snapshots of Klickitat people (including a group portrait of three women picking hops). By 1896 the compiler and his family appear to have moved back east, settling in New Rochelle, New York. Photographs from this period include documentation of projects on intercity lines on Staten Island and other nearby boroughs, a project in upstate New York, and numerous images of friends and family. The Albany and Hudson Railway and Power Company’s new electric train line to various towns between Hudson and Albany required establishing power sources along the route. As a small group of photographs in this album show, this necessitated constructing a dam at Stuyvesant Falls on the Kinderhook Creek which would provide electric power to the rail line and various local businesses. The final pages of the album document the construction of Hudson Park Dock in New Rochelle as well as leisure activities such as the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup auto races and a naval review in Oyster Bay.

A total of 18 loose photographs are included towards the back of the album. Images include a group portrait of Union College students from the 1880s, a studio portrait of a young woman and infant taken in the mid-1890s in Tacoma, and a double exposure of a woman standing next to an automobile in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1918. Also present is a printed pamphlet replete with numerous halftone reproduction images titled “Letter from Mayor Clarke to the Voters of New Rochelle with Pictures of Improvements Under His Administration” which highlights several civic infrastructure projects (including the Hudson Park Dock) undertaken during the tenure of mayor Henry Clarke.

The Tyler-Montgomery-Scott family album chronicles multiple generations of the Tyler, Montgomery, and Scott families of the Philadelphia area from the 1860s through the 1930s. It includes approximately 275 items including studio portrait photographs, informal snapshots, newspaper clippings, postcards, letters, and other ephemera.

The Tyler-Montgomery-Scott family album chronicles multiple generations of the Tyler, Montgomery, and Scott families of the Philadelphia area from the 1860s through the 1930s. It includes approximately 275 items including studio portrait photographs, informal snapshots, newspaper clippings, postcards, letters, and other ephemera.

The album (33 x 25.5 cm) is string-bound with grey cloth covers. Most photographs in the album have detailed handwritten captions identifying people, often with their middle or maiden names as well as the location and date. The presentation of the album is not strictly chronological, especially in the latter half. The early generations of Tylers are represented in photographic formats such as cartes-de-visite, tintypes and cabinet cards, while later generations are represented in snapshots and postcards. When the album reaches the mid-twentieth century, it begins to resemble the modern family album with various forms of ephemera (newspaper clippings, drawings, letters, Christmas cards, etc.) supplementing the photographs of family and friends.

The album begins with a portrait of Frederick Tyler, his daughter Sarah Sophia Cowen, granddaughter Kate “Gwen” Cowen Pratt, and great-granddaughter Kate Pratt. George F. and Louisa R. Tyler as well as their children (including Sidney F. and Helen Beach Tyler) are also featured in the initial section of the album, along with many extended family members, friends, nurses, and pets. Among the family friends pictured are painter Frederick Church, writer Bret Harte, Leonor Ruiz de Apodaca y Garcia-Tienza, Gen. William Buel Franklin, patent lawyer and historian Woodbury Lowery, and the Duke and Duchess of Arcos (Jose Ambrosio Brunetti and Virginia Woodbury Lowery Brunetti). Several interior views of rooms in George F. and Louisa R. Tyler’s home on 201 South 15th St. taken in 1896 are also present, including a photograph of the “Children’s play room” that features their granddaughter Hope Binney Tyler Montgomery holding a doll. Hope, her parents Mary W. and Sidney F. Tyler, her husband Robert “Bob” L. Montgomery, and their children Mary, Ives, and Alexander are well-represented in the album.

Of particular interest are a number of photographs in different sections of the album that depict Theodore Roosevelt and his family. Some of these images are formal studio portraits, while others are more candid snapshots of Roosevelt with other people. One snapshot shows the family at play on the grounds of Sagamore Hill in 1897. Two photos taken at the White House including Helen Beach Tyler, daughter of George F. and Louisa R. Tyler and second cousin to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, are labelled “taken by Ted Roosevelt,” possibly referring to President Roosevelt’s son Theodore Roosevelt III. Helen Beach Tyler may be the “Nellie” who was the recipient of a partial letter included in the album which describes conditions at a wartime hospital (most likely in Italy) in 1915. Only the first two pages of this letter are included, and there is no indication of the identity of the writer. Helen Beach Tyler may also have been the principal compiler of this album. Supporting this possibility is the presence of an interior view of a bedroom at 201 South 15th St. (George F. and Louisa R. Tyler’s home) captioned as “Mother’s bedroom,” a signed portrait of Englishman Lytton Sothern captioned “Given to me by Mr. Sothern June 1872. Mr. Edward Sothern & his son Lytton Sothern sat at our table on ‘Oceanic’ my first trip to Europe,” and a portrait of Sara Schott von Schottenstein, Baronin von Prittwitz-Gaffron, bearing the inscription “to her friend Helen Tyler 1880.”

Other items of interest include portraits of Col. August Cleveland Tyler; several portraits of Brig. Gen. Robert Ogden Tyler; a portrait of French pianist Antoine Marmontel captioned “Mr. Marmontel Professor au Conservatoire gave us music lessons in Paris 1873-74”; a group portrait of Helen Beach Tyler, Mary L. Tyler, Alice Seward, Kitty Seward, and Ida Vinton posing with a silhouette of Sidney F. Tyler; photographs of painted portraits of George F. Tyler and Hope Binney Tyler Montgomery; a series of photos taken at the Spanish Embassy in Mexico City, some of which include the Duke and Duchess of Arcos, Woodbury Lowery, and Archibald Lowery; portraits of the Prittwitz-Gaffron family in Germany; photos taken around the world in various locations including Egypt, India, Germany, and Italy; images taken during an exhibition of sculpture by Stella Elkins Tyler (wife of George Frederick Tyler, Jr.), as well as a program from the event; and photos showing the family of Helen Hope and Edgar Scott.

The Franconia Notch and Washington, D.C. photograph album consists of 65 photographs primarily showing landscape scenes of Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, architectural views of Washington, D.C., and a camping trip to an unidentified location likely somewhere in the Northeast.

The Franconia Notch and Washington, D.C. photograph album consists of 65 photographs primarily showing landscape scenes of Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, architectural views of Washington, D.C., and a camping trip to an unidentified location likely somewhere in the Northeast. The album (18 x 27 cm) is half bound in brown leather with brown cloth boards. Washington, D.C.-related views include the White House with an interior ballroom, the Washington Monument, the Teasury Building, the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian Castle (with the Capitol in the background), and the Senate and House chambers. Camping-related images include photographs of a wooded lakeside area showing campers hiking, boating, painting, fishing, playing guitar, reading, and contemplating the scenery. In one view of a tent encampment in a grove of trees, a table is set for a meal, and a man stands beside a camera on a tripod. Several people from the camping trip are shown in various other settings: in a back garden, in front of a frame house with fencing, and in several Victorian-style interior rooms. Additional photographs show the Maplewood Hotel in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, and a boardwalk (possibly in Atlantic City, New Jersey).

The George Fiske Yosemite photograph album (19 x 27 cm) contains 24 albumen print photographs primarily of landscape views of Yosemite Valley.

The George Fiske Yosemite photograph album (19 x 27 cm) contains 24 albumen print photographs primarily of landscape views of Yosemite Valley. Images of note include a coach drawn by a 6-horse team moving down a dusty track ("Going to Yosemite"); and a photograph of Galen Clark standing in front of the "Grizzly Giant" sequoia. Includes one laid in photograph.

All photographs are marked on negative with a number and "Fiske;" two photographs marked, "Copyright 1884 by Geo. Fiske." Bookplate advertisement affixed to verso of last page: George Fiske, Landscape photographer. Views & Groups to Order.

Going to Yosemite -- Yosemite Valley during a storm -- Up the valley from Bridal Veil Meadow -- Bridal Veil Fall -- El Capitan -- Cathedral Rocks -- Cathedral Spires -- Mirror view of Three Brothers -- Yosemite Falls -- Instantaneous view of Upper Yosemite Falls -- Glimpse of the North Dome -- Sentinel Rock after a snow storm -- Sentinel Rock from near Union Point -- The Domes from Moran's Point -- Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point -- Half Dome and Glacier Point -- Half Dome, Vernal and Nevada Falls; Mt. Clark and Mt. Starr King from Glacier Point -- Merced River from near Tissack Bridge -- Mt. Watkins and Mirror Lake -- Vernal Fall -- Profile of Nevada Fall -- Wawona, Mariposa Grove -- Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove [with Galen Clark].

The album has a purple cloth binding, housed in three-part wrap with brown cloth spine.