Charles A. Smith glass plate negatives
Overview
Glass plate negatives taken by Charles A. Smith through a Kodak Eastman shop, previously known as Straight Arrow. The collection includes negatives of portraits, farm life, and the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois and a very small number of images from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri. Collection also contains glass plates of Smith's travels across the central United States and in the Salt Lake, Utah area.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1888-1904
Creator
- Smith, Charles Axel, 1872-1960 (Photographer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Glass plate and flexible negative originals are only issued if the curator or head of Public Services gives permission.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Charles Axel Smith (1872-1960)
Charles Axel Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois to Christine Marie Anderson and Charles Smith. In March 1880, the Smith family moved to a farm south of Scandia, Republic County, Kansas.
Charles Axel Smith held a few professions in Scandia, Kansas during his life, including as a photographer and owner of a Kodak Eastman photography shop. He married Eda Svenson on February 1, 1899, and they had seven children, including Anna (who died at the age of 10), Edith, Grace, Leo, Esther, Phil, and Ruby.
Charles A. Smith and Eda Svenson Smith remained in the Scandia, Kansas area for the rest of their lives. Charles Axel Smith died in 1960, and his wife Eda died in 1969.
Extent
5.5 Linear Feet (approximately 5.5 linear feet (22 boxes of glass plate negatives))
Language of Materials
English
Physical Location
RH PH 569
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, Charles Allen Smith estate via Bob Steimel, executor, 2020.
Processing Information
The collection arrived with the bulk of the glass plates unorganized and another portion attached to handwritten indexes. Staff created two series to make it easier for patrons to determine which plates were organized by staff and which plates maintained their original order. Images and locations overlap between the two series.
In the first series, staff arranged the plates into 4 sub-series: Portraits, Farm scenes, Travel, and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. These were sorted based on background information about the Smith family and key visual landmarks. Staff kept the original order of the plates in the second series. Any titles created by staff or for which they were uncertain about the index's spelling were placed in [brackets].
Boxes 1-13 contain 4x5" glass plate negatives, and boxes 14-22 contain 3.5" x 3.5" glass plate negatives.
- Title
- Guide to the Charles A. Smith Collection
- Subtitle
- Charles A. Smith glass plate negatives
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by cmp, 2023. Finding aid encoded by cmp, 2023.
- Date
- 2023-04
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- https://hdl.handle.net/10407/9266208785
- Preferred citation
-
Charles A. Smith glass plate negatives, RH MS 569, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository