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More than 40,000 images are currently available
online in a searchable database. Go
to the Tacoma Public Library's Photography Archive.
Shadow, Color and Light
A guide to the Tacoma Public Library's
Photography Collection
 The
Tacoma Public Library's extensive photograph collection conveys a rich
sense of Northwest history by documenting the social, industrial,
commercial, and agricultural growth and development of Washington and
the Pacific Northwest.
About the collection.
The Library's active efforts to acquire historical photographic
materials have resulted in a detailed collection of more than one
million photographic images. The collection contains a variety of
formats, including: daguerreotypes, glass lantern slides, early and
modern prints, panoramic photographs, ambrotypes and tintypes, glass
and film negatives, and more.
Preview the collection.
Note: the photographs included here may not be used or otherwise
reproduced without the written permission of the Tacoma Public
Library.
Images
within the collection include the work of many prominent and highly
skilled photographers, including: Albert Henry Barnes
| Marvin D.
Boland |
Paul Richards |
| Chapin Bowen |
Turner Richards |
| Amzie D. Browning |
The Richards Studio |
| Arthur French |
Thomas H. Rutter |
| Virna Haffer |
Beatrice Stanley |
| F. Jay Haynes |
William Trueblood |
| Claringbould H.
Maarten |
Honor Wilhelm |
| Lee Merrill |
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Accessing the collection
Diverse in scope and expansive in number, the Library's pictorial
resources offer an excellent reference source for researchers,
historians, students, authors, publishers, planning agencies, and the
general public. The photograph collection is available for general use
with the assistance and guidance of the Special Collections Department
staff. The best and most efficient way to research a project through the
Library's photograph collection is to visit the Special Collections
Department of Tacoma's Main Library. Materials are currently available
for public viewing through photocopies in notebooks. The Library is in
the process of making this information accessible through a computer
catalog of images with related data. If you are unable to visit the
Library, please write detailing your specific interest or inquiry and
describing the needs of your particular project. Library staff will do
their best to accommodate you.
Photographs from A to Z
Encompassing a broad variety of subjects, the photograph collection is
divided into a number of smaller collections covering specific topics.
The broadest topic for each subdivision of categories is arranged
alphabetically by subject matter and geographical location. Smaller
collections are filed by photographer. Major subject headings and areas
of specific concentration within the collection are many, including such
diverse topics as the following:
| Aerial photographs |
Indians of North America |
| Agriculture and farming |
Logging and lumbering |
| Alaska |
Military and forts |
| Automobiles and auto racing
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Mining |
| Aviation and airports |
Mountains and mountaineers |
| Bridges |
Music, parades and events |
| Buildings |
Portraits and weddings |
| Businesses |
Railroads and streetcars |
| Churches and religious groups |
Recreation |
| Clubs and organizations |
Restaurants |
| Colleges and universities |
Schools and school groups |
| Drama and theater |
Service stations |
| Ethnic groups and minorities |
Ships and ship building |
| Fishing and hunting |
Sports and athletics |
| Government |
Streets and neighborhoods |
The Great Drepression,
1929 - 1941 |
Tideflats |
| Homefront, World War II |
Visitors, prominent people and
dignitaries |
| Houses and apartments |
Washington cities and towns
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| Industries |
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Using the collection
Reproductions of images are available and can be made at reasonable
costs through professional photograph finishing services in the area.
If a negative is not available, the Library will send a print to a
photo finishing service to produce a copy negative and copy print, at
the patron's expense. The negatives produced as a part of this process
become part of the Library's collection. In this way, the public is
constantly assisting in the evolution and preservation of this
valuable public resource. Please allow 7 to 14 days for processing.
If a photograph is to be used for exhibit, commercial, or
publishing purposes, a credit citation must be given to the Tacoma
Public Library.
Telephone
the Library Special Collections staff at
(253) 591-5622 if you have questions or requests concerning the
Library's photography collection.
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