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1860-1889
GUSN-187775
The majority of the prints in the Oversize photograph series of the General Photographic Collection are nineteenth-century views of Boston buildings and streets, including works by Southworth and Hawes, James Wallace Black, John Adams Whipple, and A. H. Folsom, dating from the the 1860s to the mid-1880s. Black is represented by several scenes of the Boston Fire of 1872. Besides Boston, Roxbury and Brookline, Massachusetts are well represented.
There are also photographs of government buildings such as the State House and group portraits such as the employees of the W. K. Lewis Brothers Pickle Factory. There are photographs of events such as the New England Methodist Centenary Convention of 1871. Many of the photographs are of streets, such as Beacon Street, that document businesses, residences, and people in the area. This series also includes panoramas and marine views. It is partially cataloged.
A related collection of oversize photographs from the Codman Collection, including Boston buildings and European travel views, is located in a separate drawer of the map file housing the general oversize collection.
Sources: Guide to the Library and Archives, 15-16; Oversize Photographs Finding Aid.
exterior views
portraits
panoramas
houses
dwellings
public buildings
commercial buildings
religious buildings
streetscapes
black-and-white prints (photographs)
ca. 600 photographic prints : black-and-white
PC001
General photographic collection
PC001.01
Boston (Suffolk county, Massachusetts)
Roxbury (Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts) [neighborhood]
Brookline (Norfolk county, Massachusetts)
Southworth & Hawes (Photographic studio)
Southworth, Albert Sands, 1811-1894 (Photographer)
Hawes, Josiah Johnson, 1808-1891 (Photographer)
Black, James Wallace, 1825-1896 (Photographer)
Whipple, John Adams, 1823-1891 (Photographer)
Folsom, A. H. (Augustine H.), 1800-1910 (Photographer)
black-and-white prints (photographs)
Great Fire, Boston, Mass., 1872
Marine photography
Beacon Street (Boston, Mass.)
Architectural photography
Series
The oversize photographs are arranged by size for the purpose of preservation. These photographs are housed in containers where little movement is possible in order to avoid damage. The collection is also interleaved so that the photographs do not become damaged by the other photographs that are housed in the same box. Some of the photographs are fragile and are placed into their own folders.
Each individual photograph is identified by an OVP (ovesize photograph) number, which is referenced on the versos of the photographs.
The general arrangement of the collection is by geographic locations and subjects.
Historic New England is committed to implementing reparative language description for existing collections and creating respectful and inclusive language description for new collections. If you encounter language in Historic England's Collections Access Portal that is harmful or offensive, or you find materials that would benefit from a content warning, please contact [email protected].
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