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Collection

Al Parker Collection, 1850s-1926

1 box containing 3 envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and clippings, and 1 scrapbook volume

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.

Collection

David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, ca. 1845-1980

Approximately 113,000 photographs and 96 volumes

Online
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.

Collection

Dennis K. Sullivan Photograph Album, ca. 1865-1870

28 photographs in 1 album

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.

The following list represents the contents of the album in order of appearance:
  • 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"

Collection

Eagleswood Academy photograph album, 1863-ca. 1890

1 volume

The Eagleswood Academy album is a 50 page cartes de visite album given to Theodore Weld by his former students at Eagleswood Academy in Perth Amboy, New Jersey on November 23, 1863. The 24 x 31 cm album has a brown leather cover, entitled "Theodore D. Weld" in gilt inlay. The album contains 194 photographs the majority of which are cartes de visite with some tintypes and gem tintypes interspersed. All of the photographs in the album are studio portraits. Most are presumably former students of Eagleswood Academy. Many of the individuals in the album are unidentified. Four loose items are also present in the album: an 1895 lithograph portrait of John Adams; a calling card for Mrs. Silas F. Overton; a calling card for a Miss Moseley; and a list of names, presumably of people within the album, that seems to have been created at a later date, presumably by Weld's daughter Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.

The Eagleswood Academy photograph album consists of a single bound volume of carte de visite photographs tucked into the pages along with some gem tintypes, one of which is encased. The album contains slots for four different photographs on each page. There are 169 cartes de visite in the album, all of them studio portraits of either individuals or small groups. There are also a few instances where gem tintypes are placed within the same slot as a carte de visite.

The album appears to have been gifted to Theodore Weld in 1863 from his former students. While many of the photographs were likely present in the album at that time, it appears that other photographs were added through the 1870s and possibly later. The photographs are mostly of Weld's former students, though some are individuals who appear to have no explicit connection with the school.

Enclosed in the album is a folded sheet of paper containing a list of names. Individuals on this list partially correspond to the physical order within the album. The list appears to have been created during the late 1860's and amended up until approximately 1877. Asterisks seem to indicate that the person had passed away, though in some cases the individuals without asterisks on the list had been dead for years prior. It appears that no new entries were added after 1877. The authorship of the list is uncertain, but appears to have been Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.

In 1886 Theodore Weld began reaching out to former students for additional photographs to put together in an album. Some of the photographs in this album may come from this period. A January 1, 1899 letter from Sarah Hamilton to her daughter mentions that she received her father's old school album with many pictures of her old classmates and their spouses and children. From this statement it appears that not all the people in the album necessarily went to or taught at Eagleswood.

Three other loose items are also present in the album: an 1895 lithograph portrait of John Adams, a calling card for Mrs. Silas F. Overton, and a calling card for a Miss Moseley.

Some of the photographs within the album have names written on the back, while others offer no clues as to who the person is. Through other sources some of the unnamed individuals in the album have been tentatively identified.

One interesting item of note is the photograph in slot #196 of the album, which has portraits taken many years apart of the same (unidentified) individual on both the front and back of the paper mount.

Other items of note include:
  • A portrait of Charles Burleigh Purvis, African-American doctor and cofounder of Howard Medical School. (slot #53)
  • A portrait of Bayard Wilkeson in Civil War uniform. Wilkeson died aged 19 at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. (slot #85)
  • A portrait of Ellen Wright Garrison, daughter of Martha Coffin Wright and niece of Lucretia Coffin Mott, the famed women's-rights activists who organized the 1848 Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, NY. (slot #32)

The Eagleswood album contains penciled inscriptions beneath the various photographs, often times recording the name of the photographer as well as any other information written on the back of the paper mount of the photograph. Researchers should be aware that this information was added by a former member of staff and numerous errors are present. For conservation reasons these inscriptions have not been erased.

Researchers should refer to the following indices for more accurate information on identified individuals, photographers, and inscriptions within the Eagleswood album:
  • Photographer Index, containing the names of all the photographers in the album as well as any inscriptions handwritten on the photographs.
  • Individuals Index, containing the names of all the identified, and tentatively identified individuals who have portraits present in the album.

Collection

Finding Aid for Tyler-Montgomery-Scott Family Album, ca. 1870-1938

approximately 275 items in 1 album

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.

Collection

Geneseo, Illinois family photograph album, ca.1870-ca.1890

1 volume

The Geneseo, Illinois family photograph album (28 x 21 cm) contains 32 formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in Geneseo, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa from the 1870s to 1890s.

The Geneseo, Illinois family photograph album is a 34 page card album (28 x 21 cm) containing 32 formal studio portraits of men, women, and children taken in Geneseo, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa from the 1870s to 1890s. There are 27 cabinet cards, 3 cartes de visite and 2 tin types. An envelope in the front contains two loose photographs. There are three graduation portraits of young women, indicated by the presence of their diplomas. Of note is a photograph of a man wearing a Knights Templar uniform.

Collection

John A. Bodamer journal, 1864-1870 (majority within 1864-1865)

4 items

John A. Bodamer's journal documents his service in the 24th New York Cavalry during the Civil War. He fought in the Spotsylvania Campaign and the Battles of North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, and was a prisoner at the Confederate camps, Belle Isle and Danville.

John Bodamer's diary begins on the day he mustered in for his second enlistment. His entries are uneventful and very brief until the beginning of May, but from that point for a solid month, beginning with the "Battle of Pine Plain" (near the Wilderness) on May 6th, Bodamer records an almost continuous sequence of hard marches, little sleep, poor food, skirmishes, and battles, as the 24th Cavalry fought successively through the Spotsylvania Campaign and the Battles of North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg.

The heart of the diary is the passages recording his experiences as a prisoner at the notorious Belle Isle and Danville camps. Although the entries are brief, they are powerful testimony to the harsh conditions and inhumane treatment of prisoners. After December, Bodamer's diary entries become more scattered and shorter, perhaps as a result of his deteriorated condition.

The collection includes a tintype and two letters, one from his commander informing Bodamer's family of his capture and the other, his honorable discharge from the Army as 1st Lieutenant in the 10th Cavalry, November, 1870.

Collection

King's Own Borderers photograph album, 1864-ca. 1890

1 volume

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are cartes de visite, with some larger albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album appears to have evolved over time in several different stages.

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British Army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are largely cartes de visite, with albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The album appears to have had at least three different stages of construction. The first as a traditional 1860s carte de visite photograph album kept by its namesake G. Ormond Stoney (hereafter referred to as Ormond) comprised of photographs of family members interspersed with related newspaper clippings.

The album appears to have been revised with significant additions in the 1870s-1880s, including more photographs of family members as well as commercial photographic prints. The majority of those represented were army officers, with Anglican priests and politicians; many being contemporaries and associates of Ormond's father, George Butler Stoney (1819-1899). Clipped autographs of many are included beneath the photos and appear to be from correspondence to George Butler Stoney.

Various clues to point to Ormond Stoney's sister Jane (Janie) Stoney Smith as a contributor to the album. Not only is she frequently represented in the album, but the album has several pictures of her husband Arthur Smith and his family--many more so than any other family that married into the Stoney family. Arthur and Janie married on September 19, 1867--the same date on the autograph posted under Arthur's picture. Arthur died in 1870 leaving Janie a pregnant widow with a young son, Herbert (see p.24 for his portrait), and an even younger daughter, Ethel Maud. Newspaper clippings around the portrait of Arthur on p.13 mention his death as well as the birth of Herbert and Ethel, though not of Florence, the youngest daughter. Although Jane's two daughters are not represented in the album, on page 44 it appears that at one point a photograph of both of her daughters was extant.

While Jane's younger sister Wilhelmina married Colin McKenzie Smith, another son of William Smith, she did not do so until 1889. The focus on Janie's husband Arthur and their children, suggests Jane rather than Wilhelmina as a significant contributor to the album.

George Ormond's wife Meylia has not been identified in the album and may not be present, however, her father, Sinclair Laing is represented. Laing appears to have been a correspondent with George Butler Stoney.

At some later date, likely in the late 19th century, decorative gold painted borders were added, along with chromolithograph stickers, known as "scraps." These include a series illustrating Robinson Crusoe. Unlike the earlier additions which point to Janie Smith, these later additions might have been the work of a child playing with what would have been a 30 year old album. The gold paint overlapping earlier items (see p. 28 for example) suggests a later date, as do the "scraps" made popular after 1880. The seemingly random nature of the placement of the "scraps" is quite the opposite of the carefully placed and planned addition probably done by Janie Smith.

Of the children represented in the album, three of them would be killed in World War One: Thomas Ramsay Stoney (1882-1918), George Butler Stoney (1877-1915), and Herbert Stoney Smith (1868-1915).

Other items of note include:
  • Two group portraits of young men in military uniform, presumably with George Ormond present in both photographs (p.2, and back inside cover).
  • A portrait of a dog that if viewed from another angle appears to be an individual with a disfigured face (p.7).
  • A commercial carte de visite of a Zulu warrior identified as King Cetewayo (likely incorrect, the chief of the Matabele) (p.41).
  • A portrait of Napoleon, Prince Imperial, in his military uniform ca. 1879 before he died in the service of the British Army during the Anglo-Zulu War (p.40).
  • A print of Rosturk Castle in County Mayo, Ireland (p.47).
  • A retouched portrait of a dog posed with a military hat, cane and pipe. (p.23).
  • An 1873 program for an "evening reading" of two different farces, "Little Toddlekins," and "The Dead Shot," done to raise money for Mrs. Palmer, the retiring battalion nurse (p.53). On the outside of the program is a print of Portland House, a manor owned by members of the Stoney family.

Collection

Mugshots Collection, ca. 1892-1920

approximately 100 photographs

The Mugshots collection consists of approximately 100 photographic portraits produced between 1892 and 1920, the vast majority of which are mugshots.

The Mugshots collection consists of approximately 100 photographic portraits produced between 1892 and 1920, the vast majority of which are mugshots. The collection includes real photographic postcards, mounted and unmounted paper prints, and one severely tarnished tintype. Also present are two fingerprint identification cards with handwritten lists containing names of numerous individuals represented in the collection. A small number of photographs appear to be standard studio portraits. Photographs range in size from 6 x 10.5 cm to 11 x 17 cm.

Many of the mugshots have printed and/or handwritten information on their versos, including names, known aliases, nationalities, birth dates/locations, occupations, arrest dates, names of arresting police officers, criminal charges, sentences, prison locations, remarks on physical appearances, and Bertillon measurements. Most of these images were produced in various places in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, with Philadelphia being the most represented location. The mugshots are mainly of white male subjects, though there are also four mugshots of women present. Five African American individuals (four men, one women) are also pictured. A substantial number of mugshots are of individuals from immigrant backgrounds, including Italians, Irish, Austrians, Germans, Poles, Greeks, Jews, etc. Approximately 90 individuals are personally identified in total. Recorded criminal charges include shoplifting, pickpocketing, larceny, burglary, forgery, embezzlement, false pretense, flimflamming, auto theft, horse theft, conspiracy, attempted murder, and murder. Specific police departments and correctional facilities represented include the Pennsylvania Department of State Police, Harrisburg Department of Police, Philadelphia Bureau of Police, Hartford Police Department, Newark Department of Police, Auburn Prison, Sing Sing Prison, City of New York Police Department, City of Boston Police Department, Camden Bureau of Police, Baltimore Police Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the New Jersey Reformatory in Rahway (now East Jersey State Prison), U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, City of Paterson Police Department, Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, Montgomery County Prison (Norristown), Columbus Department of Police, City of Wilkes-Barre Bureau of Police, Trenton Department of Public Safety, New York House of Refuge, and the Reading Department of Police.

Items of particular interest include:
  • a 1921 mugshot of an Italian man named Peter Erico, who was executed by electric chair on September 25 1922 along with Antonio Puntario after the pair were found guilty of murdering Detective Samuel Lucchino
  • a 1909 mugshot of an eighteen year old Jewish man named Albert Steinberg, accused of pickpocketing
  • two different mugshots of Irishman John Shelvin (accused of pickpocketing) taken in 1897 and 1906 following arrests in Philadelphia and Baltimore
  • a 1920 mugshot of German houseworker Minnie Schissel, charged with theft
  • a 1909 mugshot of accused shoplifter Marie Clark
  • a 1915 mugshot of an African American man named King Brown, charged with illegal dynamite explosion, assault, and other crimes
  • a ca. 1903 mugshot of larceny suspect Edward Stevenson, a "fugitive from Phil. Pa."; handwritten inscriptions on verso include note to address information to Detective E. H. Parker
  • a ca. 1906 mugshot of German engineer and fireman Frank Schleiman with identifying details and a $50 reward notice for information on his whereabouts following his escape from Sing Sing Prison on December 9 1906 handwritten on the verso
  • a 1908 mugshot of “dishonest servant” Blanche Grisson
  • a 1919 mugshot of a Mexican man named Pedro Susman, charged with shoplifting
  • two copies of a portrait or mugshot of African American man James Timberlake with identifying details handwritten on verso
  • a 1908 mugshot of an Austrian butcher named Herman Haubt, convicted of 2nd degree murder
  • an undated mugshot of an African American woman named Pearl Williams, charged with being a dishonest servant
  • a 1906 mugshot of bartender Sam Davis (accused of pick pocketing) produced by detective Harry C. White of Harrisburg
  • a ca. 1918 mugshot of Oliver Denton Bender taken in Columbus, Ohio, including an attached note that lists twelve of Bender’s known aliases
  • a 1900 mugshot of Irishman John Mackey, charged with till tapping; two 1918 mugshots of Italian barbers Nicholas Shieno and Frank Rinaldo, both of whom were charged with flimflamming after being arrested in Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • a 1918 mugshot of Jewish printer David Schleimer taken at the New York House of Refuge on Randall’s Island
  • a 1917 mugshot of Michael J. Sullivan, charged with murder

Collection

Oberlin, Ohio Photograph Album, ca. 1860s-1900s

11 photographs in 1 album

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The album (13.5 x 10 cm) has embossed leather covers and a broken metal clasp. The album spine has completely deteriorated and all pages are completely detached from one another. For conservation and preservation purposes, all original photographs have been removed from their album page slots and replaced with facsimile copies. The original photographs are stored in a separate container along with the album.

Most of the individuals represented in this album have been tentatively identified through the presence of inscriptions made on album pages; all or most of the subjects appear to have been biracial/African American. Many page captions appear to be associated with friends and family members of the Vaughn family (alternatively spelled “Vaughan”) of Oberlin, Ohio. One group portrait of two boys present in the page captioned “John & Louis Vaughn” may depict brothers John Sewell Vaughn and Wendal Louis Vaughn, the latter of whom went on to become a professional photographer. While it remains unclear who the original compiler of the album was, it is possible that it was assembled by either a member or close friend of the Vaughn family.

The following list includes inscriptions present on album pages (in order of appearance) and/or descriptions of the portraits associated with each inscription:

  • “Oscar Viney Dolph Viney’s father”: Carte de visite portrait of a bearded man with a hat. Possibly Oscar F. Viney (approximately 1830-1904) of Gallipolis, Ohio, who had a son named Adolphus E. Viney (1873-1947)
  • “Aunt America Vaughn Clark”: Tintype portrait of a young woman. Possibly America Vaughn Clark (approximately 1845-?) of Gallipolis, Ohio. Includes revenue tax stamps on verso dated January 16 1866 as well as pasted-on clipped newspaper obituary for a woman named Maude Cooper Horton (1880-1903). The obituary mentions a surviving three-year-old daughter by the name of Louise; a Columbus, Ohio, death certificate for a Louise Horton (1900-1918) with parents listed as “Maud Cooper” and “William Horton” indicates that this family was "colored."
  • “Will Vaughn”: Carte de visite portrait of a man with a large mustache by H. M. Platt of Oberlin, Ohio. Possibly William Craddock Vaughn (approximately 1835-1912)
  • “John & Louis Vaughn”: Carte de visite group portrait of two boys by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn (1857-1931) and Wendel Louis Vaughn (approximately 1860-1918).
  • “John Vaughn": Carte de visite portrait of a young man by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn, though also appears to possibly resemble older version of Wendel Louis Vaughn when compared to preceding group portrait.
  • “Aunt Margaret”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman with curly hair.
  • “Aunt Margaret”: Tintype portrait of a woman with curly hair. Same woman photographed in preceding image.
  • “Thresa Madey”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman by C. W. Howland of Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • “? Cooper”: No photograph in page slot.
  • “Mary Hamilton”: Tintype portrait of a young African American woman.
  • [Unidentified African American infant]: Carte de visite portrait of an unidentified infant by an unidentified photographer of St. Louis, Missouri.