The past year has been an incredibly busy time for the Clements Library’s Graphics Division, with over 80 new finding aids having been created for a variety of collections that can now be requested for use in the reading room. Let’s take a look at a few highlights!
Wilbur Wright Airfield Photograph Album (ca. 1917-1918)
The Wilbur Wright Airfield photograph album contains 250 images taken by Corporal J. O. McDonnell that mainly document military activities at Wilbur Wright Airfield in Ohio during World War I. Wilbur Wright Airfield was first leased to the U.S. Army in 1917 in order to be used as a training base to prepare pilots, weapons specialists, and airplane mechanics for combat in World War I and was the largest such facility in the country at the time. In the following years, the area continued to be used for military purposes and is now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
Brearley-Pingree Collection (ca. 1860s-1949)
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. 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.
Autographed portraits of Frederick Douglass and Charles Darwin from the Brearley-Pingree collection.
Adult and child photographed on the Flathead Indian Reservation (ca. 1899).
Flathead Indian Reservation Photograph Album (ca. 1899)
The Flathead Indian Reservation photograph album contains 65 photographs of Native American men, women, and children on the Flathead Indian Reservation and in Missoula, Montana. The album’s images were produced by Dr. Charles Wadsworth Lombard, a dentist and amateur photographer based in Missoula.
William A. Lewis Photograph Collection (ca. 1850s-1980s)
The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards. William A. “Bill” Lewis (1918-2020) was an artist and Professor Emeritus with the University of Michigan School of Art and Design, now the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design. His photographic collecting spanned decades and reflected a wide range of interests in industry, architecture, transportation, war, city and town views, the history of photography, and other subjects. Many of these topics were also the subjects of Lewis’s artwork and the photos in his collection were often used as reference materials for his art projects. Lewis held a deep interest in the American Civil War, both as a subject for painting and for its role in the history of American photography.
D. M. Dewey Color Printed Nursery Sample Book (ca. 1870s)
The D. M. Dewey color printed nursery sample book contains over 50 pages of full color botanical illustrations that were marketed to individuals involved in the seed trade for use as advertisements. Dellon Marcus Dewey (1819-1889) was a bookseller, publisher, art patron, and illustrator based in Rochester, New York.
Salomon Family Photograph Album (ca. 1860s-1925)
The Salomon family photograph album contains 55 photographs of friends, family members, and religious and political figures compiled by the family of Haitian President Lysius Salomon.
Pageant of the Dunes Photograph Album (1917-1918)
The Pageant of the Dunes photograph album contains 92 photographs including snapshots of scenery in and around the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois, as well as images of the “Pageant of the Dunes” event held in Port Chester, Indiana, in 1917.
Printed illustrations of the Emperor Alexander apple and the Baltimore Belle flower from the D. M. Dewey Color Printed Nursery Sample Book (ca. 1870s)
Manuscript reward of merit, 1822.
Rewards of Merit Collection (ca. 1800-1900s, majority within 1830-1900)
The Rewards of merit collection consists of approximately 800 hand-illustrated and printed rewards of merit originating in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Smith Family Travel Photograph Albums (1874-1875)
The Smith family travel photograph albums consist of two volumes containing photographs, chromolithographs, die-cut scrapbook pieces, and pressed flower designs accumulated during a trip to Europe, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.
Pressed flowers and leaves with manuscript additions in English and Arabic from the Smith Family Travel Photograph Albums (1874-1875).
U.S. Army 15th Infantry Regiment Photograph Albums (ca. 1919-1927)
The U.S. Army 15th Infantry Regiment photograph albums consist of a two-volume set containing approximately 197 photographs compiled by a United States Army soldier stationed in China. The U.S. Army 15th Infantry Regiment was first sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Originally stationed in Beijing (Peking) they were later sent to Tianjin (Tietsen) in 1912 in response to the Chinese Revolution of 1911. As the conflict intensified, they were tasked with protecting communication lines between Tianjin and Beijing. The regiment was recalled to Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1938.
Willard Cundiff Scrapbook (ca. 1905-1908)
The Willard Cundiff scrapbook contains 64 photographs as well as poems, cartoons, illustrations, and inscriptions compiled by a young man visiting El Paso, Texas, and other western locales while being preoccupied with unrequited love. Sometime between 1905 and 1908, Cundiff became enamored with a young woman in El Paso named Argyra White. Both were teenagers at the time and while they may have seen each other on a few occasions the infatuation was clearly not mutual as Argyra was apparently more interested in a young man named Eldon Burns. By 1909 she had married a doctor and moved to Chicago. Various captions in the scrapbook suggest that the volume was mostly compiled in the aftermath of Cundiff’s rejection.
Sumner H. Cater’s stereoviewer salesman case.
Sumner H. Cater Collection (1913)
The Sumner H. Cater collection contains materials related to a University of Illinois student’s employment as a stereoview salesman during the summer of 1913. The collection includes the original salesman case used by Cater which contains 1 stereoviewer, 24 sample stereographs (3 by Keystone View Company and 21 by Underwood & Underwood), and 3 explanation cards that help demonstrate how stereographs work as well as several pamphlets, letters, and documents regarding stereoview salesmanship.
Charles H. Marias Photograph Album (1907-1908)
The Charles H. Marias photograph album contains approximately 162 images documenting a Portland-based Y.M.C.A. group’s travels around Oregon including visits to the Klamath Agency. Images of particular note include voting-related scenes from the Klamath Indian Reservation including several images with captions variously stating “Indian cayuses at Klamath Reservation on the day of the first election ever held by the Indians,” “Klamath Indians about to cast their first vote. Election of Council-men. This was done so as to avoid the troublesome ‘Pow-Pows’ when their affairs were to be settled,” and “At the election (No the squaws didn’t vote).”