Photograph Sources for Portraits at The McCall Library
"Hammering" Hank Aaron and companion with Congressman Jack Edwards, n.d. Jack Edwards
Papers.
The McCall Library's photographic collections are listed alphabetically in this guide. The name of the collection may be that of a person, business, organization, institution, location, subject, or donor.
For more information about these collections please email us at mccalllib@southalabama.edu.
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BURTON, WILSON C. (88-03-131)
This collection is comprised of approximately 77,000 negatives (4 x 5 and 5 x 7) taken
from 1935 to 1998 [bulk 1957-1994]. While portraiture makes up most of the collection,
it also contains historically significant images such as the graduation photograph
of Vivian Malone. An index to the collection is available on this web site.
BUTLER, ROSEMARY PARKER BRAZIEL (99-04-350)
Rosemary Butler's mother, Maybell Parker Braziel (Mrs. Benjamin), was a descendent
of the Max Collins family of Mon Louis Island. Her father, August F. Parker, was in
the Creole Number 1 Fire Company. Her collection consists of 24 mounted photographs
of various sizes (primarily cabinet cards) and 4 postcards. The majority are portraits
made by various Mobile studios during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The
subjects are predominantly Creole. Of particular interest is an image of a member
of the Creole Fire Company and another, made around 1902, of a group at the Cathedral
School for Creole children, which was in operation from 1847 to around 1910. The Mobile
Genealogical Society has additional information on Butler.
CHAMPION, BETTIE B. (99-01-348)
A descendent of the Franklin Jackson McCoy family, Bettie B. Champion's collection
is made up of 6 glass plate negatives (4 x 5) showing interior views of the McCoy
home at 701 Government Street (now the site of the Mobile Public Library). There are
also 3 unidentified daguerreotypes, 2 unidentified ambrotypes, and 6 unidentified
cartes de visite. In addition, contains 14 prints of miscellaneous sizes (some mounted)
of the McCoy family and friends. Most of those are unidentified but they do show Mattie
B. and Fannie Ward Sheibley, and Franklin Jackson McCoy. The collection includes 4
prints of Thomas Cooper DeLeon and his home. The collection also has miscellaneous
papers, including a letter dated 1926 from George Fearn, president of the Mobile Public
Library's executive committee, to Fannie McCoy regarding the purchase of the McCoy
property; a 1908 invitation to graduation ceremonies for Barton Academy, a 1926 Mobile
High School commencement program, a circa 1893 invitation to a Knights of Revelry
ball, and a 1925-1926 report card.
COCHRANE, KATHARINE CRAMPTON (95-09-291)
Within this collection are 4 photograph albums and numerous loose images of the family
of John T. Cochrane Sr. and his second wife, Katharine Crampton Cochrane. The photos
date from the pre-Civil War period through the 1900s. Some are dated. They include
tintypes and porcelain pictures. Subjects are Cochrane, Crampton, and Simpson family
members, as well as Forts Morgan and Gaines, the Cochrane Bridge, and the Cochrane
home. There are also World War II military photographs of Jewish detainees who had
been tortured and murdered. An online exhibit of material from the collection can be viewed here.)
CROSBY, SAMUEL N. (85-03-71, 85-03-117)
This collection is comprised of 515 negatives (35mm), 366 of which are of the Crosby
family, taken during the tracing of the family's genealogy. The remaining 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.
EICHOLD, SAMUEL (84-06-69, 86-10-127)
Contains 131 color slides and 99 black and white copy negatives (35mm) 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 of the postcards and contact prints
are available. The McCall Library has also copied material from scrapbooks belonging
to the Comic Cowboys, a Mardi Gras organization, which was used to illustrate Dr.
Eichold's book, Without Malice (1984). There are 109 color slides and 22 black and
white negatives (4 x 5) in this group. Consists of papers that include a number of
photographs of locally significant doctors, including Josiah Nott, Henry Levert, Eugene
Bondurant, and Tucker Frazer. Dr. Eichold apparently gathered these images together
as part of his research for his contribution to the 1984 publication Dictionary of
American Medical Biography. Not all of the files on the doctors contain a photograph,
however, and many of the images were laminated, contributing to deteriorated photos.
Interested parties should first contact The McCall Library to see if an image exists
or if the image(s) can be reproduced. A list of the doctors can be found in the finding
aid to the collection.
KING, CLINTON (91-09-228)
Contains 82 cartes de visite of various people, including famous Civil War figures
Jefferson Davis, Albert Sidney Johnston, John B. Hood, P. G. T. Beauregard, John C.
Breckenridge, Kirby Smith, and Wade Hampton, as well as 32 cabinet cards. Many of
the cartes de visite and cabinet cards were made by local studios. Most of these people
are not identified but the varied nature of the images gives insight into the numerous
studios working in the city in the mid- to late-19th century. In addition, there are
two nineteenth-century photo albums belonging to the Clink family that contain many
cartes de visite, many from Mobile studios.
MASON, I. P. (89-01-183)
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. Twenty of the best images have
been printed.
OVERBEY, ERIK (81-02-51, 81-03-48, 81-07-50, 81-03-49, 85-01-01, 85-02-02, 85-07-04,
85-08-05, 85-03-03, 09-07-51)
Within the larger collections of Erik Overbey are more than 45,000 portraits dating
from circa 1880 to the 1950s. Included are glass plates, nitrate negatives, and safety negatives. An example of Overbey鈥檚 non-portrait work is available here.
PALMER STUDIO (80-03-46, 85-07-105)
Contains approximately 145,000 black and white and color safety negatives (4 x 5 and
5 x 7) dating from 1958 to 1990 (with some years missing). Subjects include portraits,
weddings, Mardi Gras, and buildings. Some of the pictures were used to illustrate
articles in Catholic Week. Of particular interest are the numerous portraits of local
African Americans, as well as a memorial march after the assassination of Martin Luther
King Jr., and an anti-Vietnam War rally. The collection is currently closed fro processing.
SHERIDAN, LOUISE (91-03-222)
Contains approximately more than 30,000 studio portraits made by Mrs. Sheridan from
the 1938 tp 1996 (Bulk 1954-1991). The early portraits are in black and white, the
later ones are in color. The negatives are arranged alphabetically and most are dated.
The negatives are printed upon request
STUDIO PORTRAITS
Miscellaneous portraits from assorted Mobile studios. Included are images made by
A. Sandoz, Brown's Studio, the Burnitt Studio, C. Barnes, the Boyle Studio, Frank
Sandoz, the P. E. Johnson Studio, Reed and Wallace, the Sandoz Studio, the Swift Studio,
the Wallace Studio, William Reed, William Stanton, and Wilson's Studio. Most are cabinet
cards dating from the 1860s or 1870s to the early 1910s. Of particular interest are
5 photographs of the Lomax Rifles.