C.M. Bell Studio Collection

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C.M. Bell Studio Collection

About This Item
Obtaining Copies
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Title: C.M. Bell Studio Collection
Other Title: C.M. Bell Collection of glass negatives
Related Names:
   Boyce, Isaac D.
   C.M. Bell (Firm : Washington, D.C.) , photographer
   American Genetic Association , donor
   Atha and Cunningham.
Date Created/Published: 1873-ca. 1916.
Medium: ca. 30,050 negatives : glass (collodion, gelatin silver) ; 45 x 55 cm. (18 x 22 in.) or smaller.
Summary: Primarily individual and group portraits, especially persons involved in governmental affairs such as diplomats, Cabinet members, members of Congress, First Ladies, Supreme Court justices, U.S. Capitol Police; also persons local to or visiting Washington, D.C., including black ministers and citizens, Japanese, Chinese, and members of various ethnic groups (many from diplomatic families), visiting North American Indians, baseball players, men's and women's athletic teams, entertainers (especially musicians), inventors with their inventions, Pullman Car porters, office workers, children, and amputees demonstrating products of the J.E. Hanger artificial limb company. C.M. Bell and his family are also represented. Portraits reflect contemporary fashions and use of photographic studio props. Washington, D.C., building exteriors and interiors, including government, educational, commercial, and residential buildings, restaurants and churches. Monuments and memorials, primarily in Washington, D.C.; Arlington National Cemetery; Maryland Agricultural College. Events such as openings of Congress, treaty signings, weddings. Washington, D.C., organizations, including St. Ann's Infant Asylum and clubs. Also includes record photos of medical cases, some post-mortem photos, and copy work reproducing documents and works of art.
Reproduction Number: ---
Call Number: LOT 12552 (M) [P&P]
Notes:
- General finding aid describing the processing and organization of the Collection and the history of the C.M. Bell Studio available in Prints and Photographs Reading Room, filed by lot number.
- Studio logbooks and alphabetical registers, which may aid in finding and identifying images in the Collection, are available on microfilm: MICROFILM LOT 12250.
- Title devised. Handwritten captions on some negatives; typed captions and negative numbers accompany most negatives.
- Most images were made by the C.M. Bell Studio. Some negatives made after 1893 may have been produced under the direction of subsequent proprietors of the studio, Atha and Cunningham; some images with negative numbers over 58,572 may have been produced by a later owner, I.D. Boyce (probably Washington, D.C., photographer, Isaac D. Boyce).
- Available on 37 microfilm reels, which also serve for reference purposes. The first two reels represent selections from the entire collection. Microfilm can be ordered from Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, Washington, D.C., 20540.
- Photoprints made in the 1960's from some of the negatives are available in LOTS 12261, 12262, 12276, 12277, 12278, 12561, and 12704.
- Negatives are arranged by size in series LC-B5, B51, B52, B53, and B54 (a few were filmed out of sequence on the final microfilm reels). Some negatives are badly deteriorated or broken.
- Gift, American Genetic Association, 1975. DLC/PP-1975:R4.
Subjects:
Format:
Collections:
- Groups of Images (LOTs)
- Guide Records
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Rights Advisory: See Rights and Restrictions Information Page
Reproduction Number: ---
Call Number: LOT 12552 (M) [P&P]
Medium: ca. 30,050 negatives : glass (collodion, gelatin silver) ; 45 x 55 cm. (18 x 22 in.) or smaller.

Generally, Guide Records describe large groups of items from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

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Call Number: LOT 12552 (M) [P&P]
Medium: ca. 30,050 negatives : glass (collodion, gelatin silver) ; 45 x 55 cm. (18 x 22 in.) or smaller.

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

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- Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
  
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- No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
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