William A. Lewis photograph collection, ca. 1850s-1980s

University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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Summary

Creator:: Lewis, William A.
Abstract:: 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.
Extent:: approximately 1,530 items in 12 boxes
Language:: English
Authors:: Collection processed by Les High, February 2018 and finding aid created by Jakob Dopp, February 2024

Background

Scope and Content:

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.

The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.

The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:

Series I: General Subjects

Airships (11)
Bridges (69)
Civil War I--stereographs (91)
Civil War II--cartes de visite, Kodachrome slides, negative film strip copies of stereographs held at the Library of Congress, postcards (48)
Disasters (49)
Expositions (24)
Industry & Labor (89)
Miscellaneous (23)
Portraits (109)
Railroads (62)
Ships (80)
War (30)

Series II: Views, U.S.

Alaska (47)
Arizona (3)
California (20)
Colorado (2)
Dakota (4)
District of Columbia (50)
Florida (2)
Hawaii (1)
Illinois (17)
Iowa (2)
Maine (8)
Maryland (27)
Massachusetts (20)
Michigan (31)
Missouri (3)
New Hampshire (10)
New York (116)
Ohio (2)
Oregon (2)
Pennsylvania (16)
Tennessee (1)
Texas (1)
Vermont (3)
Utah (3)
Virginia (6)
Washington (1)
West Virginia (1)
Wisconsin (2)
Wyoming (2)
Unidentified locations (35)

Series III: Views, Foreign

Austria (5)
Belgium (6)
Brazil (1)
Canada (3)
Cuba (5)
Czechoslovakia (1)
Egypt (5)
England (21)
France (43)
Germany (14)
Greece (1)
India (2)
Ireland (4)
Italy (22)
Japan (3)
Mexico (1)
Miscellaneous (31)
Monaco (4)
Netherlands (1)
Norway (3)
Palestine (5)
Panama (41)
Puerto Rico (3)
Scotland (10)
Spain (2)
Sweden (2)
Switzerland (9)
Turkey (1)

Series IV: Objects

Keystone Alaska and Panama views, set box (1)
Stereoscope (1)

Items of particular interest include:

Post-WWI Keystone views of German and American zeppelins and one real photo postcard showing pre-WWI aircraft (Series I, Box 1, Airships)
Numerous views of the Brooklyn Bridge under construction and after completion, and the Niagara Falls suspension bridge (Series I, Box 1, Bridges)
Views of Civil War battle sites, encampments, and leaders on contemporary mounts as well as numerous reproductions of stereographs showing important battlefield sites and troops (Series I, Boxes 1-2, Civil War)
Stereographs, real photo postcards, and other images documenting the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1871 Chicago Fire, 1889 Johnstown Flood, 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and other calamities (Series I, Box 3, Disasters)
Images showing scenes from various American and European events, with an emphasis on the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (Series I, Box 3, Expositions)
Images showing mills, factories and people engaged in various occupations, including a boxed set of 50 images related Sears, Roebuck operations produced around 1906 (Series I, Box 3, Industry & Labor)
Hand-colored early groupings of French theatrical tableaux (Series I, Box 3, Miscellaneous)
Approximately 109 portrait photographs in different formats of various individuals, including William Jennings Bryan; a boxed set of 50 cartes de visite depicting Danish actors and actresses; cartes de visite of Emperor Napoleon III and the Mikado of Japan; and numerous unidentified subjects represented in real photo postcards (1), tintypes (17), framed/cased ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes (13) (Series I, Box 4, Portraits)
Approximately 62 images of railroads, mostly in the U.S., including photographs from an 1866 expedition to the 100th meridian on the Union Pacific Railroad while under construction (Series I, Box 5, Railroads)
Approximately 80 images of ships including warships, freighters, riverboats, passenger ships, shipwrecks (including of the USS Maine), and shipyards mostly in the U.S. with the notable exception of a photo of the 1858 launch of the SS Great Eastern, with Isambard Kingdom Brunel possibly in the crowd. Also of interest are 8 photos and postcards showing ships in World War I-era "dazzle" camouflage (Series I, Box 5, Ships)
A Keystone View Co. series of images related to World War I (Series I, Box 5, Wars)
A number of images produced by Keystone View Co. and other stereograph purveyors that focus on major cities such as Boston, New York, Paris, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (throughout Series II & Series III)
Views from geological expeditions to the American frontier in the 1860s and 1870s (Series II, Unidentified Locations)

Biographical / Historical:

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.

Acquisition Information: