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Photography, Slides & Digital Images

These collections contain more than 1.8 million images documenting the development of photography from daguerreotypes to digital imaging. Holdings that have influenced public thought or legislation include the 5,400 photographs of child labor made by Lewis Hine and the mining photographs (1870-1895) by George Bretz. Equally important are the holdings illustrating the development of the aesthetic principles of photography. Works by Ansel Adams, Berenice Abbott, Judy Dater, Roland Freeman, David Plowden, Minor White, and hundred of other artists are represented. More than 17,000 records of photographs can be searched in the Imcat database with new records and images being added weekly. Records of slides available for student and faculty borrowing can be searched in the Slide Library database and are available through the slide library in the Fine Arts Building Rm 216.

Photography Finding Aids

  • Digital Images from UMBC Special Collections

    Coverage: . Digital images (100 dpi) from selected collections are available online. Collections are listed with the total number of images available and a brief description. Images are linked to the records in the photography database IMCAT and arranged by location or appropriate subject categories.

  • IMCAT - Search for Photographs

    Coverage: . Database of photographs held in Special Collections. Approximately 118,000 records of more than 1.8 million photographs held there. (Descriptive records only, some with linked image files.)

  • Photographers & Collections Index (UMBC)

    Coverage: current. A browsing index to the photography holdings in Special Collections with links to the image records in the image database (IMCAT)

  • Researching African-American Photographers

    Coverage: . Subject guide to resources for researching African-American photographers. Includes resources held at UMBC, other USM campuses and links to major collections held in the U.S.

  • Slide Library Search

    RESTRICTED Coverage: current. Index to slides held at UMBC's Slide Library.



Photography Archives Collection

  • Jule Eisenbud Collection on Ted Serios and Thoughtographic Photography

    Coverage: 1931-1999. The Eisenbud Collection, originating mainly from the 1960s during the years of Eisenbud's experimentation on renowned psychic photographer Ted Serios, provide an introduction to the psychic phenomenon 'thoughtography'. This collection contains thousands of photographs documenting Eisenbud's research and evidence of thoughtography.

  • Papers of Mildred Grossman

    Coverage: 1929-1995. The papers of Mildred Grossman cover her active and dedicated life. Included within the collection are photographs, both professional and personal, correspondence between friends and clients, diaries, daybooks, financial, medical, and legal documents. The photographs in this collection include a selection related to the Hotel Trades Council’s exhibit “Portrait of a Union” and hundreds of personal photographs. Grossman's professional photographs have been removed and are housed with UMBC's Photography Collections.


Special Collections

Special Collections Home

Photography, Slides & Digital Images

Books, Serials & Newspapers

UMBC Archives & Records

Regional Archives, Personal Papers & Literary Manuscripts

Center for Biological Sciences Archives

Popular Culture: Amateur and Alternative Press, Comics, Pulp Fiction

Theses & Dissertations

Related Resources

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