| USA Archives has nearly one million photographic
negatives, from 8x10 glass plates to the traditional 35mm, ranging from the 1870s to the
1980s. The only decade for which we have few negatives is the 1960s. The Archives'
photographic collections are listed alphabetically in this guide. The name of the
collection may be that of a photographer, business, organization, location, subject, or
donor. To facilitate your research, links to various collections are available through the
following selected subject and geographic index. Researchers are reminded that this is in
no way an exhaustive list and that they should scroll the entire guide when looking for
photographs not covered in this index. In addition to this guide, interested parties are encouraged to search USA Archives' digital collection at: Agriculture: Armitstead,
Hightower, McNeely, Overbey Geographic Index (Alabama): Andalusia: Walters |
Guide to
Photographic Collections ALABAMA DRY DOCK AND SHIPBUILDING COMPANY Contains approximately 30,000 negatives (4" x 5") taken by various company photographers from the 1930s to the 1950s. Subjects include employees at work, ship construction and repair. ADDSCO activities such as bond drives, rallies, and ship launchings during World War II are also documented. The negatives are well identified and indexed. A small portion has been printed with emphasis on WWII era activities. Many of the images appeared in the company's publication Fore and Aft which is also available at the archives. (See also MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.) (Some photos from the collection may be viewed in our Gallery.)
AZALEA CITY NEWS Construction of the Bankhead Tunnel in the late 1930s is documented in 137 black and white slides. Contains 8" x
10" black and white images of Magnolia Cemetery made by contemporary Mobile
photographer Walter Beckham. Contains 57 glass plate negatives (4" x 5") and 60 cyanotypes of Mobile and Eastern Shore scenes taken c. 1900 by an unknown photographer. Also includes 23 postcards of Eastern Shore scenes made by Stewart c. 1920, and 4 photos of the Mobile waterfront made by A. Sandoz circa 1890. Contains 309 black and white
negatives and photographs (8" x 10") of the construction of Mobile General
Hospital (the present-day University of South Alabama Medical Center). The photographs
cover the period July 1961 to April 1964. They are dated and briefly captioned. Mr. Bryan
was "clerk of the works" during the construction of the hospital, working for
the architect, Cooper Van Antwerp. This photo album contains scenes of Magnolia Springs, Alabama, the Mobile waterfront, and the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The 133 photographs were made by Mrs. Cochrane's grandfather, William A. Gates, between 1890 and 1904. Mr. Coffin, a master mechanic for the Mobile Light and Railroad Company from 1894 to 1926, photographed many of the company's activities. Pictured are views of various types of streetcars, their construction and repair at the Monroe Park shops, and the laying of track. Also included are numerous views of buildings and amusements at Monroe Park. Most of the 264 negatives have been printed. Selected images may be viewed on this web site. Includes 73 black and white photographs (5" x 7") of homes and other structures made by the Mader Studio of Mobile for the Historic American Buildings Survey; 25 black and white photos showing the development of Dauphin Island during the 1950s; and 211 color slides relating to the USS Alabama and Battleship Park. (See also Croom, Stephens in MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS and Historic American Buildings Survey in PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTIONS.) The 149 negatives in this collection were used to illustrate a book by Samuel N. Crosby, The Baldwin County Bench and Bar, Courtroom Tales and History. The book is also available. Contains 60 scenes of Mobile, c. 1895-1912, copied from the Depuy postcard collection. Color slides and b/w photos are available for research use. Contains 131 color slides and 99
b/w 35mm copy negatives of Dr. Eichold's postcard collection. The postcards date from the
early 1900s to the 1930s and show primarily Mobile and Fairhope scenes. An inventory and
contact prints are available. Contains 88 b/w copy negatives of photographs of early Grand Bay, AL (c. 1900-30) from albums belonging to Mr. Fort. The best images have been printed and are identified. The collection may not be used for any commercial purpose, but is otherwise available to researchers. Contains 70 color slides of landmarks, people, and activities at Dauphin Island, Bayou La Batre, Grand Bay, Fairhope, and other locations in Baldwin and Mobile counties, taken by Dr. Gaston in the 1970s, both before and after Hurricane Frederic. Some of the structures photographed were destroyed by that storm. These slides are not for commercial use. A slide inventory is available and selected images may be viewed on this web site. Contains 17 color slides of the ribbon cutting for a 1950s Azalea Trail and 3 b&w photographs of former archbishop Thomas J. Toolen. (See also Giddens, Kenneth in MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.) Contains over 1,000 slides made by architectural historian Elizabeth Gould illustrating Mobile's architectural heritage. The slides are well identified and organized principally by architectural styles. The collection also includes 35mm b/w negatives made by Mrs. Gould to illustrate her book, From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711-1918 (1988). (See also MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS )
Life along the Gulf Coast circa 1900 is depicted in 43 glass plate negatives (4" x 5"). Subjects include beach and camping scenes and home interiors. A few prints are available. There is no index or documentation for this collection.
Contains 739 color slides of over 300 historic sites in Alabama taken by Larry Hamilton (a few commercial slides are included). The slides are well identified and an inventory is available. There are restrictions on the commercial use of material in this collection.
Contains approximately 5,000 b/w
negatives made by Draffus Lamar Hightower dating from the early 1920s to the late 1960s.
Subjects include people, events, landscapes, and buildings in Barbour County, Alabama. The
photographer's work is examined in Michael Thomason's book, To Remember a Vanishing
World (1997). There are 111 b/w negatives in
this collection dating from the Historic American Buildings Survey made in and around
Mobile during the 1930s. The negatives depict building exteriors and architectural detail.
Most of the negatives duplicate those in the HABS collection at the Library of
Congress. The collection has been printed and cataloged. (See also Stephens G. Croom in PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTIONS.) Views of Seacliffe, Alabama, on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, and of Coden, Alabama, were made between 1910 and 1924 by Mrs. Humphrey's mother, Mrs. W. K. Linscott. The 28 b/w negatives have been printed. Two nineteenth-century photo albums belonging to the Clink family contain numerous cartes de visite, many from Mobile studios. (See also MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.)
Contains 189 color postcards, 88 of which are of the Mobile area. Scenes include the USS Alabama, the Azalea Trail, and the Bragg-Mitchell home. There are also views of Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, and Bellingrath Gardens, as well as shots of the old police building on Government Street and the docks. The remaining postcards are of other Alabama cities and counties, including the Peanut Festival in Dothan, and views of Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. The postcards range from the 1930s (a couple) to the 1960s and 1970s (more frequently). The cards were collected by the donor's great-grandmother and organized by his grandmother and parents. They were donated to the Archives in 2007. A few of the images are available on this web site. .25 cu. ft. Contains 11 historic black and
white and hand-colored postcards, primarily Mobile scenes from the early decades of the
twentieth century. The images depict such buildings as the Convent of Mercy, the Bank of
Mobile, and University Military School. A few of the images are available on this web site. Contains one color and three
b&w 8x10 photographs, as well as twenty-four 3 1/2 x 4" color images (both
exterior and interior), of the 1958 Mobile County Courthouse, and one b&w 8x10
photograph of the 1888 courthouse. There are also fifteen b&w 8x10 miscellaneous
photographs of commission functions, seven historic postcards of the Mobile area, eight
b&w 8x10 images of county commissioner Coy Smith and/or his family, and one 3 1/2 x
5" color photograph of the donor, Virginia Lott. There are no negatives, but a guide
to the collection is available. (See also MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.)
The 67 glass plate negatives in
this collection were taken c. 1900. Subjects include picnic scenes at Shelby Springs,
Alabama, a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity group photo, and portraits of unidentified
groups and individuals. The best images have been printed.
Mobile Housing Board photographed buildings before their demolition for the widening of Water and Beauregard streets and the construction of the Texas and Orange Grove housing projects in the 1960s. The photographs are filed alphabetically by street address. There are no negatives and the prints are small (c. 3" x 5"). 2 linear ft.
Contains over 60,000 b/w
negatives (120mm and 35mm film) taken for the newspaper between 1971 and 1976. The
negatives are organized by date. Subjects and photographers are identified, but no
index is available. Only a few prints have been made. MOBILE PULLEY & MACHINE WORKS Seven 4"x6" glass plate negatives show people, structures, and equipment at the foundry located on Ann Street, ca. 1910. The negatives have been printed.
Contains approximately 17,000 b/w safety negatives (4" x 5" and 5" x 7") representing the early years of the Palmer Studio in Mobile (1958-73). Subjects include portraits, weddings, Mardi Gras, and buildings. Some of the pictures were used to illustrate articles in Catholic Week. An alphabetical card index is available. Contains 24 glass plate negatives (5" x 7") of rural blacks near Troy, AL, c. 1915. Some individuals have been identified. All the negatives have been printed. Selected images from the collection may be viewed on this web site.
RICH, DORIS Contains 61 b/w copy negatives
of photographs from albums belonging to Miss Rickarby. Subjects include the Rickarby
family, the Mobile waterfront and bay scenes, Montrose, Blakeley, and Spring Hill,
Alabama, 1898-1915. Contains 93 b/w photographs (8" x 10") of buildings designed or renovated by Mobile architect, George B. Rogers (1869-1945). The photographs were made by the Overbey Studio in Mobile, and Tebbes & Knell of New York, and represent a portion of Rogers's portfolio. An inventory is available. Contains one scrapbook
consisting of the personal memorabilia of a member of one of Mobile's prominent families.
The scrapbook contains photographs (many of which are not dated and unidentified), as well
as invitations and other such miscellaneous items. A number of the images depict rustic
life among Baldwin County's pine trees, and were taken long before the area became a
fashionable place to live. Although he did not live a life of wealth, the scrapbook does
reflect the social life of someone of Ross's standing between the 1920s and the 1940s.
There are no negatives for the photos. .5 cu. ft. Contains 284 historic
black and white and hand-colored postcards, primarily Mobile scenes from the early decades
of the twentieth century. Some other cities--Charleston, Birmingham, Biloxi, New
Orleans--are represented. There are also a few early holiday greeting postcards and some
World War I cards. Scenes of 1906 hurricane damage in
Mobile are available on this web site.
Contains 200 glass plate
negatives (5"x7") taken by Harry H. Smith between 1910 and 1912. Subjects
include scenes of college life at the University of Michigan, activities with family and
friends, and general Mobile scenes. The negatives are well documented; Mr. Smith often
recorded exposure settings, film type, dates, and subjects. All the negatives have been
printed and selected images may be viewed on this web
site.
Organized in 1990, this club held its first meeting on September 7 of the same year, and its first rally the following January. The group continues to be active. This collection contains nearly eighteen hundred 4"x5" and 3 1/2"x5" and 4 panoramic color prints, as well as 48 b/w prints of the meetings and rallies of this organized group of British car owners. Many of the people in the images are unidentified and there are very few negatives. Also within the collection is a nearly complete run (1994-2006) of the organization's newsletter. Back to Top Contains 61 original Overbey Studio portraits of members of the Springhill Avenue Temple. Most portraits are identified. Contains Cutter's Souvenir of Mobile, Alabama, a book of photographs published in 1906, and also a group of 17 b/w photographs showing construction of the Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile, c. 1937-41, made Mr. Stillings. Contains 149 b/w 35mm negatives made during the 1980s and 1990s by Mr. Thompson for a book by Elizabeth B. Gould, From Builders to Architects: The Hobart-Hutchisson Six (1997). Most of the buildings photographed are in Mobile. (See also Elizabeth Gould in MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.) Includes a selection of 131 b/w
prints from a much larger group of photographs made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
immediately following hurricane Frederic, September 12, 1979. These photographs show
property damage in Mobile, on Dauphin Island, and at Gulf Shores. Also includes a 16mm
color film, "Hurricane Frederic," and original trims and outtakes for the film.
Contains136 b/w negatives made
in Andalusia, Alabama, ca. 1931. Subjects include street scenes and individuals.
They are believed to have been taken by an itinerant photographer for a special edition of
the Andalusia Star. The negatives have been printed but no identification is
available. WATERMAN STEAMSHIP CORPORATION Three albums containing photographs of Waterman Steamship Corporation offices in various cities (1936-37) and Waterman ship launchings at Gulf Shipbuilding in Chickasaw, Alabama (1942-45). Newsclippings with the photos provide information about the ships and their sponsors. A list of ships pictured is available. (See also MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS.)
Consists of approximately 6,000 35mm color and 290 black and white glass lantern slides made by Henry L. Hagenbring between 1948 and 1965. After retiring as a haberdasher, Hagenbring made many trips all over the world, capturing the places, flora, and fauna he saw along the way. Included in the collection are images of Germany, Italy, Jerusalem, Morocco, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Norway, Brazil, Hong Kong, Peru, South America, and Austria, as well as other foreign places. Closer to home, the collection also contains a few slides of a train in Foley, some images from Magnolia Springs (mostly of a familial nature but a couple do show the river), and a few slides of Fort Morgan. None of the slides have been printed. If requested, they are only available digitally. An inventory is available on this web site. 4 cu. ft. Contains 21 glass plate negatives (4" x 5") made by an unknown photographer c.1913 during the construction of the Panama Canal. A few prints are available. Contains color negatives and prints (3" x 5") made by Mr. Worstell in the late 1970s and 1980s of shipbuilding in Bayou La Batre. The negatives are documented as to date, place, and name of ship. 1 linear ft.
Contains 440 negatives and 74
original prints made by Erik Overbey of his family. |