Peter E. Palmquist collection of photography and photographic formats
Scope and Contents
The collection is particularly strong in documenting photographic formats. It contains many examples of tintypes and photograph buttons, as well as samples of autochromes, crayon enlargements, greeting cards, jewelry, memorial cards, opalotypes, photographic transparencies, playing cards, stamp photographs, stanhopes, stereograph cards, and wanted posters. The collection also includes examples of photographically illustrated realia, including boxes, cutting tools, paperweights, tobacciana, trays, and writing equipment.
The collection includes about 750 photographic prints by photographers not included in other collections compiled by Palmquist, including itinerant photographers and male photographers working east of the Mississippi River in the United States, as well as male photographers working outside of the United States. It also includes groups of photographic prints that depict celebrities and children, as well as photographs on a variety of subjects by unidentified photographers
Printed material in the collection includes primary documents and secondary research material about photography and photographic formats, as well as examples of advertising for photographers, photographic suppliers, and photographic organizations.
Dates
- circa 1838-1999
Creator
- Palmquist, Peter E. (Collector)
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Extent
57.6 Linear Feet ((186 boxes) + 1 broadside folder)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Peter E. Palmquist (1936-2003)
From 1971 until his death, Palmquist collected textual materials and hundreds of thousands of photographic items documenting the practice and occupation of photography from its beginning through the turn of the twenty-first century. He had particular interest in early California photographers, photographers of the American West, and women photographers.
A self-trained researcher and historian of photography, Palmquist organized more than one hundred exhibitions and wrote more than three hundred articles and a hundred monographs. He was a founding editor of The Daguerreian Annual, and a president of the National Stereoscopic Association.
Palmquist died January 13, 2003, in Oakland.
Processing Information
This collection received a basic level of processing in 2012-2013, including rehousing and organization. Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
- Autochromes (photographs)
- Black-and-white transparencies
- Buttons (information artifacts)
- Celebrities -- Pictorial works
- Children -- Pictorial works
- Crayon enlargements
- Greeting cards
- Jewelry
- Memorial cards
- Opalotypes
- Palmquist, Peter E.
- Paperweights
- Photographers
- Photographic industry
- Photographic prints
- Photography
- Photography -- History
- Photography, Stereoscopic
- Playing cards
- Realia
- Stanhopes (photographs)
- Stereographs
- Tintypes (prints)
- Trays
- Wanted posters
Creator
- Palmquist, Peter E. (Collector)
- Title
- Guide to the Peter E. Palmquist Collection of Photography and Photographic Formats
- Author
- by Matthew Daniel Mason
- Date
- 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.