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Marcus Research Library
PHOTO ARCHIVES
The Photographic Archives at the Stamford Historical Society hold over 10,000 images, dating back to Civil War times. The photographs provide a rich pictorial history of the growth and development of Stamford; its people, industries, government, and communities. The collection embraces visual images in a wide variety of formats. In addition to early and modern prints, there are daguerreotypes, tintypes, ambrotypes, stereographs, postcards, carte de visite and cabinet cards, films and glass plate negatives, and 35 mm slides. For a sampling, view our Photo Gallery.
The diversity of collection has made it an excellent resource for researchers, historians, educators, publishers, students, authors, film makers, graphic designers, interior decorators, businesses, and others.
The Virginia T. Davis Stamford Historical Society Distinguished Service Award 2000 was presented to Chet Buttery. Chet was instrumental in organizing the photo collection when the Society moved into the current headquarters.
Photo Archivist's Selection of the Month—an ongoing feature!
Volunteering
The volunteer staff on the Photo Department is currently in the process of cataloging the collection for data entry into a museum software program. Help is more than welcome! more information
Contributions to the Collection
The collection has grown out of generous donations from local families and photographers, and continues to grow as new contributions are made. New contributions are accepted gratefully, but selectively.
Aside from vintage photos from your family's attic, we are looking for photos dated post WWII, especially, but by no means exclusively, for the following:
- general photos between 1945 and 1966.
Research requests show an almost total lack of photos of any kind from this time frame.
A recurrent request, aside from street scenes, are photos of Stamford High School.- photos 1966 up to today
- photos of WWII, Korea and Vietnam Veterans
- postcards 1950 and later
- digital scans
If you want to donate photos, postcards, or scans, please call for an appointment at (203) 329-1183,
or e-mail to mjpastore@charter.netIf you have photos of interest but do not want to donate them outright at this time, please bring them in and we will have prints made from them.
The Stamford Historical Society would appreciate copies of any photos from the February 2003 Blizzard, either in print or as JPEG files. Your copyright will be honored of course! Please contact us at mjpastore@charter.net.
Finding Your Photos:
Only photographs of Stamford are archived. They are filed by subject category. Because many of the photos are fragile, they cannot be directly accessed by the public. The Photo Archive volunteers will retrieve them for you for viewing.
Also Available for Research:
The Stamford Historical Society houses several books containing photographs of Stamford. If you are looking for a picture of your house, you might try the survey done by Renee Kahn and Virginia Davis on significant architecture in Stamford, and our Historic House Survey on homes before 1820.
Photo Books Featuring Photos From Our Collection:
There are three photo books by Carl Lobozza, Pictures from the Past, Journey through Time, and the Changing Face of Stamford. A newer publication is Images of Stamford. Browsing these books might reveal the image you are looking for. These books may be found in the Research Library.
To Obtain Images from the Collection:
Copy prints, digital scans, and laser prints of images in our collection are available to the public upon written request, or a search request may be initiated over the phone or via e-mail. Photocopies are also available. Photographs may not removed from the building except by a member of the Photo Archive. Go here for the price list. Note: The price list is currently under revision, so prieces may vary.
- A usage fee of $10 per photo is required in addition to the fees of the reproduction.
Usage fees may be waived for nonprofit organizations.- Photos used for commercial purposes, whether by display or in print,
must acknowledge The Stamford Historical Society as the source of the image.- When requesting digital scans, please indicate required format and dpi.
- Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are © Stamford Historical Society.
Vintage postcards reproduce excellently as laser prints!
The Ronald Marcus Library is open Tuesday through Saturday from Noon until 4 PM.
For the Photo Archive, please call for an appointment, or e-mail mjpastore@charter.net.
Dressed for the Photographer:
Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900
by Joan L. Severa
ISBN: 0873385128Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929
by Halvor Moorshead
Jeff Chapman
Family Chronicle
ISBN: 0968507638Collector's Guide to Early Photographs
by O. Henry Mace
ISBN: 0873417208In Association with
click on image
Shop at Amazon.comand the Society earns money!
