Search

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.

This collection is made up of 86 items, including 29 letters written by Archibald "Archie" Shields of Detroit, Michigan, to his parents and sisters while serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. Shields served in France on the Western Front and, while on leave, visited friends and family in Scotland. The remaining materials include documents, ephemera, photographs, printed items, and one VHS tape.

This collection is made up of 86 items, including 29 letters written by Archibald "Archie" Shields of Detroit, Michigan, to his parents and sisters while serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. Shields served in France on the Western Front and, while on leave, visited friends and family in Scotland. The remaining materials include documents, ephemera, photographs, printed items, and one VHS tape.

The Correspondence Series is comprised of 29 letters written by Archie to his parents and sisters during his time in the Canadian Infantry during World War I. The correspondence begins when Shields's battalion mobilized in May 1916. He quartered in London, Ontario, Canada, for several weeks before traveling through Toronto, Montreal, and New Brunswick, to board the troop ship Olympic at Halifax, Nova Scotia. After arriving in England in early June, the battalion was stationed at Otterpool Camp in Kent, where Shields applied for a transfer to become a driver and the 99th Battalion dissolved into the 35th. Towards the end of September, Shields went to France as part of the 21st Battalion. Admitted to the hospital in March 1917 for "swollen glands and sore throat," he became a patient in the 16th General Hospital in France, 1st Southern General Hospital in Birmingham, and Hillingdon House Hospital in Uxbridge. Following his recovery, Shields spent time visiting relatives and family friends in Scotland but was punished upon his return for taking longer leave than approved. He took subsequent leaves to Paris and Scotland. The last of the letters is dated November 5, 1918.

Shields's letters include descriptions of camp life and military training (marksmanship, stretcher bearing, trench digging), requests for parcels, requests and comments on news from home (include fundraising efforts), notes on letters and packages received, comments on friends' and relatives' military experiences, and remarks on his own experiences (including censorship, shelling, and life in the trenches). Envelopes are included with most letters, many with an "Opened By Censor" label attached. Shields wrote some of his letters on YMCA "With His Majesty's Canadian Forces on Active Service" stationery.

The Documents and Ephemera Series contains a worn black wallet with two colorful military uniform bars, a small black flip notebook, three Canadian Expeditionary Force pay books, and items commemorating the installation of a memorial window at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, in 2007. Contained in the black wallet are a photograph of Archie Shields in uniform, a 1922 10,000 reichsmark note, and a military pass. The black notebook contains names and addresses of acquaintances, military tactics notes, and brief journal entries respecting Shields's time at the front in France until his admission to the hospital in England; in its pocket is a torn scrap of paper with the header "Plantation Alliance, Suriname, Dutch Guyana." Laid into one of Shields's pay books are assorted papers, including a telegram from his Aunt Effie, railway tickets, calling cards (Clarisse Dalouze and Marie Dalouze of Trazegnies, Belgium, and Armand Loutz of Spy, Namur, Belgium), and a postcard from a watch repair shop. Other materials include a printed letter from the King of and Queen of England, wishing the recipient a safe return and praise for unsurpassed devotion and courage; and a printed note granting the recipient a medal. One small felt patch sewn with "8" and Canadian Army corporal's stripes is present. A ship's card indicates the location of the owner's quarters, approval for one hammock, and the place and time of Mess.

• Group photograph, "21st Batt. Overseas Border Club 1934
• Portrait photograph of Archie Shields in uniform
• Real photo postcard of Archie Shields in uniform
• Photo with inscription "Archie leaving for World War I 1914 from Windsor Ontario"
• Real photo postcard of military personnel, walking
• Portrait snapshot photograph of Archie Shields in uniform, carrying instrument, with his sister May Shields Aird (saying goodbye to her brother as he leaves off to the War), 1916.
• Group portrait snapshot photograph of a drum and bugle corp, including Archie Shields
• A detached album page bearing five photographs:
  • A portrait with the caption "Archie goes to war 1916"
  • A photo of military personnel in formation carrying flags
  • A snapshot captioned "Mich Central Depot- Detroit," showing the façade of the station with several people and an automobile in the foreground
  • A snapshot of a crowd of people in front of Canadian Pacific freight car with people sitting on top
  • A group portrait of buglers in military uniform
• A detached album page bearing nine photographs:
  • A soldier in uniform [Archie Shields?]
  • Michigan Central Station with people and a car in the foreground
  • A military band performing
  • A military procession with a young girl and a man in the foreground, captioned "A Little Child Shall Lead Them, June 3, 1920"
  • Members of the military with flags and bayonets walking under an arch, captioned "Passing into the Armouries, June 3, 1920"
  • Snapshot of a young woman, captioned "May Shields Aird, 1914"
  • Snapshot of three young women, captioned "Ruth, Margaret, Bethia,"
  • Portrait of young man in military uniform, captioned "Jack MacNiven, 1914, Tank Corps"
  • Oval photograph of three young women in a canoe, two at either end facing the camera, captioned "May Shields Aird, Margaret Shields Smart."

• "A Special," What We Know About the War. Uxbridge, Ontario: s.n., 1917.
• Great Britain. Army. Royal Engineers. Field Survey Battn. Wiancourt : Parts of 57c S.E., 57b S.W., 62c N.E., 62b N.W. [London]: s.n., 1918.
• Great Britain. Ordnance Survey. France. Sheet 51B. [London]: Ordnance Survey, 1917.
• Historical Calendar, 21st Canadian Infantry Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment) : Belgium, France, Germany, 1915-1919. Portsmouth: Printed by Gale & Polden, Ltd., 1919.
• Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-Establishment Information and Records Branch. Information and Service Handbook : For members and ex-members of the Canadian Naval and Military Forces, circa 1919.
• Nicholson, G. W. L. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919. Ottawa: Roger Duhamel, 1962.
• The Twenty-First Battalion Communique, no. 26, August 1965.

The Bonnie Brae Farms photograph album contains 36 images of a dairy farm in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

The Bonnie Brae Farms photograph album contains 36 images of a dairy farm in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

The album (15 x 23 cm) has black leather covers. Three labels are present inside the front and back covers including two from real estate broker William H. Hoyt, the album's presumed former owner. Many images include inscribed captions. The majority of images are exterior and interior views of buildings as well as landscape views while several portrait photographs are also present. Images of interest include views of the main entrance of the farmhouse, living and dining rooms, farmland being worked, the coach barn and southeastern grounds, a supplemental cottage, the farm barn, farm animals, the 500-ton ice house, the milk plant, the cow stables, a man bottling milk, and a group portrait of ten men (nine of whom are wearing white uniforms).

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The album (14.5 x 18.5 cm) has green cloth covers with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front. Images of interest include views of Italianate and Dutch Colonial houses, Brookline after a heavy snowfall, a Deerfoot Farm Dairy Brookline Delivery cart, a young woman with a Gibson Girl hairstyle, portraits of women and men playing tennis and resting on a lawn, people at a rocky beach, an interior view of a residence, group portraits taken during a hiking trip, and two halftone prints of the Harvard Congregational Church.

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 Camp Wihakowi photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing images and ephemera documenting a Northfield, Vermont, summer camp for girls from 1923 to 1926.

The Camp Wihakowi photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing images and ephemera documenting a Northfield, Vermont, summer camp for girls from 1923 to 1926.

Volume One (22 x 15 cm) has a black pebbled cover bound with cord and the word “Photographs” stamped in green on the front. The inside back cover includes a stamp with Dorothy Young’s address. The volume contains approximately 83 snapshots primarily dated to 1923 and 1924. Many of the images are either snapshots of natural scenery or portraits of people. The camp nicknames of a number of individuals are inscribed below their portraits. Images of interest include pictures of the 1923 camp counselors, Young’s cabin for the summer of 1923, a portrait of Dorothy Young (captioned “Dot”) with long hair, group portraits of the entire 1923 and 1924 camps, outdoor views of the Camp Wihakowi, a trip to the beach, and a hike on Scrag Mountain. Also present are 4 honors badges stored in envelopes, 7 pieces of ephemera, and 7 pen and ink drawings including two drawings of camp uniforms and sketches of the Scrag Mountain hike.

Volume Two (22 x 25 cm) has a tan cover bound with cord and the words “My Summer Camp” stamped on the front in black. Inside the front cover there is a printed cover page with Young’s address and two certificates from the Winchester Junior Rifle Corps. Many album pages are printed with categorical headers such as “Snapshots”, “Hikes” and “Motor Trips.” The album contains approximately 153 photographs, 42 pieces of ephemera and realia, and 4 drawings. Items of interest include a written account of the location of the camp, lyrics to camp cheers and songs, an hourly schedule from the 1925 camp, a drawing and record of costumes worn at the 1926 masquerade, written accounts of “The Hike to the Sanborns/July 10, 1925” and “Uncle Emmett’s Slate Quarry”, a list of campers along with their addresses and nicknames, a small mail duffel bag filled with souvenir pictures of Boston, and more honors badges. Also present are photographs of campers playing sports and shooting rifles, a trip to Sanborn Cottage, camp counselors, Young’s August cabin, and a picture of campers from West Roxbury.

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.

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.

The album (18 x 28 cm) has black cloth covers and black paper pages. The majority of images have handwritten captions, many of which are extensively detailed in identifying locations, dates, and people represented. Besides the album's compiler Charles H. Marias, numerous other individuals (many of whom were also members of the Y.M.C.A. Portland excursion group) are identified including Rex B. Parelius, Lyndon Street, Lewis Hauglum, Clarence H. Prehn, Bill Blumenscheim, Emerson Harley, Amandus Pfaender, A. M. Grilley, William W. Belcher, Jim Arbuthnot, George Sebben, Fred Nelson, and Judge G. T. Baldwin. Also of note are identified Native American individuals including Joe Scott, George Pitt, Jack Pitt, Charles Pitt, and Clayton Kirk. While Marias is presumed to have likely taken the majority of snapshots included in this album, several other excursion group members are also credited as photographers in various captions.

Images of interest include views of salmon hatchery operations (including Native American laborers and fishermen); a group of excursion members playing the card game "Pedro"; Native American man Joe Scott (possibly a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation) posing with his twin sons as well as cow punching gear; landscape photographs of natural features including the Salmon River, Sandy River, Baldy Butte, Bear Creek, Rogue River, Mill Creek Falls, Crater Lake, Wizard Island, Mt. Hood, Mt. Pelican, and Mt. McLoughlin; hiking and camping-related expedition photographs; a humorous staged photograph of a mock stagecoach robbery; numerous views of abandoned log cabins previously occupied by early white settlers in the region; a view of the log cabin at which the assassination of Gen. Edward Canby occurred during the Modoc War of 1873; views from the Klamath Indian Reservation including a portrait of Bill Blumenscheim posing with an older Klamath woman making baskets for sale as well as a set of views related to the humorous treatment of a newlywed couple; views of the river boat Curlew and steamboat Winema; a snapshot of a streetcar captioned "The only car in Klamath Falls"; various scenes in Medford, Oregon; and a professionally produced group portrait of the Y.M.C.A. Portland excursion group posing with three automobiles and a small dog who appears to have accompanied the group on their travels.

Of particular note are 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)."

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 Cora Smith photograph album contains approximately 214 photographs documenting the travels and daily life of a woman living in Cornwallville, New York, in the late 1890s.

The Cora Smith photograph album contains approximately 214 photographs documenting the travels and daily life of a woman living in Cornwallville, New York, in the late 1890s.

The album (26 x 22 cm) is a blank page scrapbook with "Cora M. Smith" written in pencil on the fly leaf. Photographs consist primarily of snapshots and cyanotypes, and many of the people represented in this album (including members of the Smith and Olcott families) are identified with captions. Several trips are documented including visits to New York State destinations such as the Catskills, Niagara Falls, and Cambridge as well as Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Images of note include views of the Brooklyn Bridge; an older African American woman captioned "Aunt Caroline, Virginia"; young girls on "Poverty Row"; scenes around Cambridge, New York, and Cornwallville; a wedding party; the Smith family home; “Dr. Carter” preparing to remove a tooth from the mouth of an African American man; a semi-domesticated bear; the 1899 Dewey Land and Naval Parade; and Niagara Falls. Cora Smith appears in photographs on pages 24 and 33. Also present is a note regarding a store display designed by Cora to advertise Payne’s Celery Compound.