Archival Photography

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon

The Museum's Library & Archives Center has a large photographic collection, which estimates range from 250,000 to 400,000 images.  Most of those are from the 50+ career of professional Midland photographer Randolph Rubin.  For more info about the collection, click here.

The Monday morning volunteer, Katelyn Mulder, has been working on an archival collection from the Estate of N. Ford Chapman, which includes hundreds of photographic prints and negatives.  Some of the negatives have not been stored in the ideal conditions, wrapped around a piece of styrofoam.  So she's had to re-house those negatives in archival materials. 

In the Archives Center, we place photographic prints in inert plastic sleeves, which are then housed in archival folders, which are in turn housed in archival boxes.  This creates a three-layered protection between the print and the environment to prevent potential damage or harm.  Photographic negatives are treated similarly.

Photographic print storage in the Museum's Library & Archives Center.