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

The Pictorial Record of the United States Army Air Forces 90th Bombardment Group consists of two volumes containing 1 manuscript item and approximately 412 photographs documenting the activities of the USAAF 90th Bombardment Group during the New Guinea campaign of War World II.

Materials are housed in plastic sleeves contained in two green-colored 3-ring binders (30 x 33 cm). All photographs are gelatin silver developing-out prints and for the most part measure between 10 x 12 cm and 26 x 20 cm in size. Numerous images bear stamps that state “Passed by U.S. Army Examiners.” Most images do not have captions, though a small number do have typescript captions on their versos.

Volume A:

Volume A contains approximately 186 photographs as well as 1 manuscript item. The volume begins with a one-page typescript document issued ca. 1944 that is addressed to the 400th Bomb Squadron 90th Bomb Group, stating the photographs are intended to be “the Pictorial Record of Our Unit.” The letter is signed by Maj. C. Vernon Ekstrand of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Photographs include a composite portrait of the 90th Bomb Group members, individual and group portraits of 90th Bomb Group members, a group portrait of Japanese military personnel, images of Allied military facilities, Japanese warships being bombed, military aircraft shown both midair as well as on the ground, what appears to be an abandoned Japanese tank, and numerous landscape views. Also present are several images showing aircraft nose art. Of particular interest are various pictures documenting interactions with native Papuan people including individual and group portraits as well as photographs of Papuan settlements and structures (including churches).

Volume B:

Volume B contains approximately 226 photographs. This volume includes a substantial number of pictures of indigenous Papuan individuals, children, and families, including several portraits of nude women (including mothers breastfeeding), as well as images showing traditional Papuan body modifications and tattoos. Of particular note are images that appear to document a Papuan ceremony that showcases elements of traditional Papuan clothing, music, and ritual dance, as well as a photograph of a Papuan trumpet player. Other items of interest include numerous images documenting USO performers (including Bob Hope and Patty Thomas) and a series of aircraft nose art photographs that include several works signed by Cpl. Al G. Merkling. Images of airborne planes and landscape views also feature prominently in this volume.

The New Jersey and New York City Region photograph album (18.5 x 26 cm) contains 45 photographs of landmarks and city and countryside views of the New York City Region.

New Jersey and New York City Region photograph album (18.5 x 26 cm) contains 45 photographs of landmarks and city and countryside views of the New York City Region. Included are 8 views of the Palisade rock formations near Weehawken, New Jersey, one view including sculptor Karl Bitter's clifftop studio. Other nature views include the Delaware River, South River, Newark Bay, and Mountain Lakes, N.J. City views are mainly of Newark, N.J. streets and buildings, and New York City attractions including Herald Square, the Washington Arch, Trinity Church, Broadway and the Hippodrome. Additional photographs show the boardwalk at Ocean Grove, and pavilion at Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore, an elevated streetcar at Bay Ridge, N.Y., battery at Fort Griswold, Ct., a train on the Lackawanna railroad bridge in East Orange, N.J., and interiors of the Essex County court room and Newark Public Library in Newark, N.J. Photographs include typed captions; paper label inside front album cover: F.H. Tucker, Artistic and Commercial Photographer.

The album has alligator-print cloth covers. Stored in a three-part wrapper with green cloth spine.

The New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Vermont photograph album (18.5 x 26 cm) contains 70 photographics of parks, monuments, bridges, river scenes, lighthouses, waterfalls, and steamboats, in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Vermont.

The New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Vermont photograph album (18.5 x 26 cm) contains 70 photographics of parks, monuments, bridges, river scenes, lighthouses, waterfalls, and steamboats, in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Vermont. Images of ships include photographs of the steamboats Naugatuck, Hendrick Hudson, and Robert Fulton, as well as the prison ship Success. The few city scenes present include two views of the State Capitol in Albany (one with election banners for the 1908 presidential election, the second with election banner for 1912 gubernatorial election), and views from the river of Tarrytown, N.Y., St. Johnsbury, Vt., and the New York City skyline. Also included are multiple views of Ethan Allen Park and Battery Park in Burlington, Vermont. Photographs include typed captions; paper label inside from cover: F.H. Tucker, Artistic and Commercial Photographer.

The album has a black pebbled leather cover which has been partially disbound. Stored in a three-part wrapper with green cloth spine.

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.

The Lewis J. Cox photograph album contains 47 photographs of Lewis J. Cox's family and home in Terre Haute, Indiana, taken between approximately 1900 and 1910.

The Lewis J. Cox photograph album contains 47 photographs of Lewis J. Cox's family and home in Terre Haute, Indiana, taken between approximately 1900 and 1910. The exterior of album (14 x 11.5 cm) is in fragile condition.

This album contains photographs taken during a hiking trip in the Grand Canyon at about the turn of the century. The pictures show hikers, canyon scenes, burros, and scenes from the hikers' railroad trip on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe to the canyon.

This album (12cm x 14cm) contains 32 photographs taken during a trip to the Grand Canyon around the 19th century, as well as one photograph of George T. Chaffee riding a horse named "General." A few items show railroad tracks belonging to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad near the Missouri River and the railroad car "Dorchester." The remaining photographs are scenes from a small group's hiking trip along the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon, including pictures of the hikers in former cave-dwellers' homes, beside the Colorado River, and at the canyon's rim. Views of the canyon and other scenery are also included. The title "Photographs" is stamped in gold on the album's leather cover.

The Civil War Battlefields photograph album contains pictures of broken wooded landscapes and military cemeteries.

The Civil War Battlefields photograph album (17cm x 29cm) contains 34 pictures of broken wooded landscapes, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and views of a river, likely the Potomac. Each numbered print is mounted in a 11.5cm x 16.5 cm window, framed by a thin gold border with decorations at the corners. Most images are views of wooded landscapes, many showing evidence of possible military activity and earthworks, taken in unidentified flat and hilly regions. Streams, small wooden buildings, and fences are sometimes visible. The album begins with a camping scene, presumably a self-portrait of the album's unidentified compiler in the field. Another view shows a group of three posed on a house's porch. Two photographs show a three-story domed public building, adjacent to what appears to be a war monument. Four pictures show Arlington National Cemetery, one including a plaque with lines from Theodore O'Hara's poem "Bivouac of the Dead." Of particular note is a group portrait of seven African American schoolchildren with their young teacher, taken inside a crude schoolhouse; the following picture shows the exterior of two wooden buildings, possibly in the same unknown location.

The New Bedford photograph albums consist of 155 cyanotype photographs contained in two albums that show scenes from New Bedford, Massachusetts and surrounding areas during the 1890s.

The New Bedford photograph albums consist of 155 cyanotype photographs contained in two albums that show scenes from New Bedford, Massachusetts and surrounding areas during the 1890s.

Volume 1 (18 x 25.5 cm) has a pebbled red leather cover and contains 101 cyanotypes, while Volume 2 (18.5 x 23.5) has a beige cloth cover with "Kodak Views" embroidered on the front and contains 54 cyanotypes. Both volumes are in fair condition. Together, these albums provide a wide-ranging, informal, town-and-country portrait of New Bedford in the last decade of the 19th-century. Most locations are unidentified, but they include city streets, commercial buildings, residential neighborhoods, churches, farms, woodland paths, Civil War fortifications, bridges, waterfront scenes, and views of the local shoreline. Also present are several bird's-eye views, two photographs of artwork, and pictures of ships of various kinds. Particular attention is given to the classic whaling vessels that still resided at New Bedford's harbor at the time these albums were produced. The booming textile industry of the time, on the other hand, is hardly represented: a solitary image shows a mill with a smokestack and workers’ housing. A few captions are included in Volume 2 as well as on the backs of some photographs, but for the most part the things and places pictured are not identified.

Although there is no official attribution to a photographer in either album, several of the exact same images appear in the souvenir booklet of the New Bedford Semi-Centennial and Industrial Exhibition (1897) and are credited to “R. R. Topham.” Robert R. Topham was a longtime New Bedford resident who at the time these albums were produced worked as a clerk in the city assessor's office.

The Henry M. Wheeler photoprint collection consists of approximately 719 images of colonial architecture and historical locations in Massachusetts from ca. 1889 to 1915.

The Henry M. Wheeler photoprint collection consists of approximately 719 images of colonial architecture and historical locations in Massachusetts from ca. 1889 to 1915. The collection is mainly composed of 10 x 15 cm silver platinum, platinotype, and gelatin silver prints as well as 15 x 20.5 cm cyanotypes. A couple of manuscript notes are also present. Much of the focus is on eastern Massachusetts, centering on Wheeler’s hometown of Worcester. Photographs show residential architecture from the 17th century, unidentified colonial homes, and contemporary architecture from Wheeler's day and age. Many of the historical structures documented here were in danger of vanishing during Wheeler's lifetime, and many have long since been destroyed. Other photographs show natural landscapes, noteworthy trees, country roads, parks, public and educational buildings, farms, monuments, bridges, milestones, and gravestones as well as images of famous paintings, engravings, and lithographs. Also included are a small number of images related to Washington, D.C., Maine, and New Hampshire. Wheeler likely took the vast majority of these photographs, though there are several instances where he credited the original sources of certain images. The collection materials were removed from the original album volumes they were stored in and have been rehoused in three 3-ring binder albums and three flat boxes. Most photographs also have original reference numbers that were used by Wheeler to organize the collection.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created the Henry M. Wheeler Photoprint Collection Inventory. This inventory lists items according to volume/box location and includes references to specific page/mat numbers, image descriptions (most of which are derived from captions originally inscribed by Wheeler on photograph versos), and photographic formats.

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.