photograph albums

Abstract

The Oberlin File is a collection of single items by or about Oberlinians and the College. It is an artificial collection comprised of many small accessions or items transferred without deed of gift.

Scope and Contents The Photograph Albums Collection comprises albums or album contents dating from 1861 to 2000. Fifteen of these date from the 19th century, with cartes-de-visite, collotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, postcards, cyanotypes, and other early prints. Cyanotypes dominate the contents of albums dating from 1900 to 1910, typically taken by Oberlin students themselves. From the 1920s to the 1960s several College-produced albums feature quality gelatin silver prints made...

Scope and Contents Class albums are photograph albums with portraits of the graduating members of a particular class year at Oberlin College, which sometimes include photographs of faculty members or the president of the College. The date range for these is 1858-1898, but some years are not represented. These albums replace the daguerreotype and ambroytpe group portraits of the preceding two decades as photographers adopted the methods of making multiple prints from wet or dry plate negatives. The...