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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.

The Anglo-Mexican mining photograph albums are a three-volume set containing approximately 446 images of southern English beaches, architecture of Mexico City, mining operations in Zacatecas, Mexico, and portraits of the Pott family of England.

The Anglo-Mexican mining photograph albums are a three-volume set containing approximately 446 images of southern English beaches, architecture of Mexico City, mining operations in Zacatecas, Mexico, and portraits of the Pott family of England.

Volume one (24 x 16 cm) contains approximately 223 photographs replete with detailed inscriptions as well as two clippings. On the inside front cover are portraits of Cyrus Pott taken in 1906 and 1908 while an image of his son Dennis, who frequently appears throughout all three volumes, can be seen on the first page. Subsequent images of interest include pictures of a 1915 trip to Bournemouth, England; an Easter Monday picnic near Mexico City in 1912; Pott family friends Marquarita and Gorden McCloskey; an interior photograph of the Pott residence at 165 Calle de Londres in Mexico City; and a British Boating Club regatta. Also of note are photographs of the steamer Furst Bismarck; a trip to Bognor Regis, England; a couple on their honeymoon in Bournemouth, English; beachgoers; the Firth of Forth in Scotland; and pictures and clippings related to Cyrus Pott’s service in the National Motor Volunteer Corps.

Volume two (18 x 24 cm) contains approximately 103 photographs and has fewer inscriptions than volume one. Images of interest include views of a trip to Brighton, England, in the fall of 1913; a group of people standing behind a wall captioned “Fleeing from Mexican shells, Feb. 1912”; a group of cooks captioned “Chinese and Mexican cousins. / Louis-Maria-Angela”; a trip on the Furst Bismarck on April 16, 1913; a 1913 trip to Havana, Cuba; a trip aboard the Corcovado on the Viga Canal; Mrs. Pott and friends at La Fe Mine in Guadalupe, Zacatecas; the vantage point from Adolf Goerz’s Mexico City office; and various sites in A Coruña, Spain.

Volume three (18 x 24 cm) contains approximately 120 photographs and has the fewest amount of inscriptions of all three albums. Images of interest include pictures of a bull fighting ring; Villistas at La Fe Mine; more views of the house at 165 Calle de Londres; Christmas at the University Club in Mexico City; Alfred Pott in a cradle on his christening day in 1913 in Stow, England; and Cyrus Pott at La Fe Mine. On the inside back cover there are two photographs of outdoor activities.

The Brown and Fox family photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing approximately 253 snapshots of people and places in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan as well as views of Colorado.

The Brown and Fox family photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing approximately 253 snapshots of people and places in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan as well as views of Colorado.

Volume one (19 x 14 cm) has brown paper covers with "Photographs/Souvenirs/of/Denver Colo" stamped on the front cover and contains approximately 67 photographs. Contents mostly consist of architectural photographs of houses in rural or semi-rural settings as well as portraits, many of which are accompanied by handwritten notes. Images of interest include the farm of Henry Brown near Toledo, Ohio; a woman standing near a roadside fruit and flower stand; the homes of Will, Ben and Harry Fox; the Abraham Lincoln home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois; the Catholic Church in Stuart, Iowa; and the courthouse and high school of Fremont, Nebraska. Also of note are photographs of the High Bridge in Boone, Iowa, the Methodist Church in Pueblo, Colorado, and a large house in Monroe, Michigan, possibly the home of Cyrus Augustus Olmsted (1863-1948).

Volume two (20 x 15 cm) has black fabric covers and contains approximately 186 photographs. Contents mainly consist of portraits and outdoor views from a trip to Colorado. Between the inside front cover and seventh page there are numerous portraits of men, women, and children, and many more individual and group portraits are present throughout the remainder of the album. Subsequent images of interest include outdoor views of the American West; a rest tent called the "Corona Café"; a cyanotype of a woman sitting on a rocking horse; the front of a train and the downtown area of a small railroad town; a church en route to Denver, Colorado; a woman holding a Brownie Box camera on her lap; Castle Rock, Colorado as seen from aboard a train; multiple pictures of an infant; views of Garden of the Gods; a snowy street scene with a streetcar in what appears to be Denver; and a group of people shaking hands with an individual wearing a Native American headdress.

The Clinton Prison, Lake Chazy, and Lake Saranac photograph album contains 14 images including views of the Clinton County Prison, New York and the surrounding area, and individual and group portraits.

The Clinton Prison, Lake Chazy, and Lake Saranac photograph album contains 14 images including views of the Clinton County Prison, New York and the surrounding area, and individual and group portraits.

The album (22 x 17 cm) is lacking covers. The exposed cover page bears a montage photograph showing printed flowers with an inscription reading "A Merry Christmas / 1897" as well as a portrait of an unidentified young man. Images of note include views of Clinton Prison, the "Warden's Garden" dedicated to Warden Walter N. Thayer, the Clinton Prison chapel, Chazy Lake and waterfalls on the Saranac River, a studio portrait of a man with a safety bicycle, and a group shot of 22 uniformed men captioned "W. N. Thayer Hose Company." Also present is a loose photograph of a dirt road in Saranac, New York.

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 Edward R. Mullin, USS Albany in Asia photograph albums consist of three volumes containing images and ephemera that document an American sailor’s experiences aboard a US Navy ship in the Asiatic Fleet from 1919 to 1920.

The Edward R. Mullin, USS Albany in Asia photograph albums consist of three volumes containing images and ephemera that document an American sailor’s experiences aboard a US Navy ship in the Asiatic Fleet from 1919 to 1920.

Volume A: This album (14.5 x 21 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Panama, Hawaii, Japan, Russia, China, California, and the Philippines that mostly depict the USS Albany, American soldiers and sailors, local citizens, and tourist scenes. Numerous ephemeral items compiled by Edward R. Mullin (the album’s creator) from various foreign places are also present, including tickets, stamps, bank notes, and an Asahi beer label. Of note is a “familiar phrases” card for translating English to Japanese. On the inside back cover of the album a handwritten log lists arrivals and departures of the USS Albany, while a typescript description of a military takeover of Vladivostok, Russia, is also included.

Volume B: This album (18 x 26 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Russia and China. Images show American soldiers and sailors exploring sites and interacting with local citizens as well as natural scenery and architecture. Of note are photographs of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in China. Some photos have handwritten captions that identify locations and/or persons pictured

Volume C: This album (20.5 x 29 cm) contains photographs of scenes in Russia, the Philippines, Panama, Japan, China, Hawaii, and California. Of note are photographs of the Panama Canal and some images showing the compiler of the album, Edward R. Mullin. Many photos have handwritten captions. Also present are various types of ephemera including a beer label, tickets, and a fabric poppy flower, as well as a photocopy of Mullin’s service record, a large portrait of the USS Albany in Shanghai, China, and a loose photo of the USS Albany in Vladivostok.

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 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 (30 x 26 cm) is a modern three-ring binder with brown faux leather covers. All the album’s images are unmounted snapshots that have been arranged inside plastic album sleeves. The snapshots are mostly either 10 x 7 cm or 10.5 x 16 cm.

The album begins with portraits of Native American individuals taken in the Higgins Block of downtown Missoula, Montana, including two portraits of a Native American man posing with his infant child in a cradleboard as well as an unidentified white man, and four portraits taken outside of “Al Green’s Shaving Parlor.” Other images likely taken in and around Missoula show up elsewhere throughout the album, including several group portraits with a white fence in the background that may possibly have been taken outside the residence of the photographer, Dr. C. W. Lombard. Many photographs also appear to have been taken at the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Images of particular interest include photographs showing Native American individuals and groups (including many families) wearing western and/or traditional clothing, infants in cradleboards, encampment and reservation scenes, and landscape views. While many portraits appear to be quite casual and relatively unscripted, several clearly staged photographs are present including a man and older woman posing with sheep heads, two women (one holding a mirror) combing their hair by a river, and two men playing cards in front of a tipi.

While none of the subjects photographed in this album are identified by captions, an older man appearing in two photographs (one posing with a child on a hobby horse and another posing with a group in downtown Missoula with a child in a hand-pulled wagon) has been identified through research as Baptiste Kakashee, also known as Judge Phte and Kil-Ki-Chee.

The Frost family travel photograph album contains approximately 345 photographs of trips to Florida, the Bahamas, Colorado, Maine, and other locations.

The Frost family travel photograph album contains approximately 345 photographs of trips to Florida, the Bahamas, Colorado, Maine, and other locations.

The album (18 x 29.5 cm) has brown leather covers with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front. Contents begin with images of Greenwich, Connecticut, and views taken aboard a Clyde steamer heading to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1898. Subsequent images of interest include a couple posing in front of Hotel Ponce de Leon; breaking ground for the Miami Hotel; views of Palm Beach; Fourth of July in the Catskills; and views of New York and Long Island. Also present are images of a trip to Colorado Springs in 1900 including views of the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak; views of Minneapolis and Duluth in Minnesota (including "Indian Mounds"); a steamer from Duluth to Buffalo; the Great Lakes; the International Hotel in Buffalo; Niagara Falls; several large commercially produced views of Cuba; Frost family headstones in Newcastle and Eliot, Massachusetts; the Pepperrell and Sparhawk houses in Kittery Point, Maine, and Boston; the Pepperrell Tombs; Washington, D.C.; and a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas in 1897.

The Grisson family photograph album contains 31 portraits of men, women, and children taken in Michigan.

The Grisson family photograph album contains 31 portraits of men, women, and children taken in Michigan.

The album (28 x 22 cm) has an ornate design with faux wood paper pages. The first page states "Return to M. L. Grisson Grand Ledge, Mich.," indicating that the album may possibly have belonged to Maybel L. Grisson (1876-1954). Images of note include portraits of a family holding a card photograph and a family posing in front of a house.

The Hugh Fred Cameron photograph album contains approximately 121 photographs related to a young man in New England including images from vacations with friends in Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire as well as snapshots from Cameron’s final year at Brown University in 1909.

The Hugh Fred Cameron photograph album contains approximately 121 photographs related to a young man in New England including images from vacations with friends in Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire as well as snapshots from Cameron’s final year at Brown University in 1909.

The album (25.5 x 18 cm) is bound in green cloth with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front cover. Most photographs are accompanied by hand-written captions identifying people, places, activities, and dates. Images of particular interest include group portrait photographs showing Cameron with his friends and family posing on the beach, hiking, wearing baseball uniforms, interacting with pet cats and dogs, celebrating Labor Day, and engaging in a number of aquatic activities (including yachting in Bristol, Rhode Island) as well as a portrait of Cameron from his youth sitting alongside the members of the “Hope Orchestra.” Additional photographs show commencement activities and buildings at Brown University including the John Carter Brown Library and Lyman Gymnasium as well as class traditions at Wellesley College including the Alumni Game, Tree Day, and the “Ancient Greek Dance of the Huntresses above Lake Waban.”