Historical Photograph Archives

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The Photograph Section of Special Collections & Archives holds over one million negatives and prints. Most of these images are of Utah State University, Cache Valley, images of Utah, and agricultural scenes in the Intermountain West. A number of well-known photographers are represented including A.J. Russell, C.R. Savage, Charles E. Johnson, William Henry Jackson, Timothy O’Sullivan, William Hopkins, Reuben Reynolds, and Craig Law. Other major collections of interest for the researcher include: Leonard Arrington, George Ellsworth, Compton Studio, Cache County Tax Assessment, Father Liebler, Pratt Family, Utah Cooperative Extension Service, and the Agricultural College of Utah Cyanotypes.

These photographs can be utilized for a variety of purposes such as: illustrations for articles, books, documentaries, exhibits, and web publishing; for family history and geneology; and for home and business decoration. Photographs are also important historic documents. For example, scientists use historic images to study changes in vegetation. Historians see social and cultural changes by examining the importance of what was, and what was not, photographed. Finally, artists and art historians analyze the prints of photographers whose images are considered artistic works of high quality.

Photograph Curator: Daniel Davis
435-797-0890
dandav@ngw.lib.usu.edu
(fax) 435-797-2880