IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
NOBLE
PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION
PHOTOGRAPHS AND PAPERS, 1870s-1970s (bulk 1900-1920)
5 linear feet
PRELIMINARY FINDING AID
|
ACQUISITION: |
The photographs and papers (donor no.150) were donated by Mary Noble in 1993 and succeeding years. |
|
|
ACCESS: |
The photographs and papers are open for research. |
|
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright information is not available. |
|
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Natalie
S. Brody in 1997-1998; Kären M. Mason, 5/3/2000 [Word 7 Noble.doc] |
|
Biography
Mary Noble, a librarian and collector of historical
photographs, was born in Berwyn, Illinois in 1945. She attended the Riceville, Iowa public schools, graduating from
Riceville Community High School in 1963.
She received her BA in Sociology from the University of Iowa in 1967 and
her Master of Library Science degree from the University of Iowa in 1968. She was hired as a cataloger by the
University of Iowa Libraries in 1968 and continued to work there through the
next 3+ decades. She began collecting historical photographs
in the 1980s, purchasing them at antique stores, photograph shows, and flea
markets. After the Iowa Women's
Archives opened in 1992 she began donating photographs to the archives, with
special attention to images of women and by women photographers.
Scope and
Content Note
The Mary Noble Photograph Collection consists of postcards, cabinet cards, panoramic photographs,
and various other types of photographs.
Also included are papers that complement the collection, including
information about Iowa photographers, and miscellaneous printed material. The collection is arranged in eight series: Professional
women photographers in Iowa; Professional
photographers in Iowa--Other; Photographic postcards; Photographs:
various formats; Photographs: oversize; Glass negatives; Printed
material; and Artifacts and miscellaneous items.
The first two series, Professional women photographers in Iowa
and Professional photographers in Iowa--Other consist for the most part
of studio portraits in the form of cabinet cards. Also included is some biographical information about individual
women photographers, an article by Mary Noble entitled “Iowa’s Women
Professional Photographers,” published in Books
at Iowa (November 1996); and
information on professional photographers in Iowa compiled by Joann Burgess.
The next four series have been arranged by format
and size in order to facilitate storage, and are organized by subject within
each series. These series are: Photographic postcards; Photographs:
various formats; Photographs: oversize; and Glass negatives. The Photographic postcards are primarily
amateur photographs printed as postcards. Many have messages written on the
reverse. and photographs in a variety
of formats depicting life in Iowa. The
postcards, as well as the Photographs: various formats and Photographs:
oversize depict buildings, street scenes, groups, recreational activities,
and other aspects of life in Iowa. The Glass
negatives consist of twenty-one
glass negatives apparently taken by Otto F. Ney of Waukon in about 1908,
depicting family and friends, as well as Waukon buildings.
Printed material includes souvenir cards given out
by teachers to their students in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries; booklets and brochures published by businesses and women's
organizations; trade cards of Iowa businesses; and campaign cards of Verna
O'Connor, who ran for county office in Garber, Iowa, in 1928 and 1932. Also in this series are several items
published by the African-American printer W.E. Patten of Des Moines, including
cardboard fans printed as advertisements.
A 1940 Negro Business and Information Directory published by the Negro
Business and Information Directory [published by Negro Chamber of Commerce, Des
Moines], 1940, and a 73rd Anniversary Booklet and Program, 1872-1945
published by the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Des Moines
provide considerable information on African Americans in Des Moines in the
1940s.
Artifacts and miscellaneous items consists of an autograph
book, a Woman's Home Missionary Society ribbon, and a packet of sewing machine
needles given out as an advertisement by Mrs. M. L. Johnson of Britt, Iowa.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Professional women
photographers in Iowa
Papers
Noble, Mary L. “Iowa’s Women Professional Photographers,” Books
at Iowa, November 1996
Identification numbers (Jo Ann Burgess)
Photographs and related
information [arranged by photographer]
Ayers, Mrs. W.C.
(Esthervillle)
Bellamy, Miss (Indianola)
Benfer, Emma and Eva
(Cambridge)
Berger, Mrs. (Elgin)
Briel, Julia (Des Moines)
Biographical information
Photographs
Panoramic photographs [oversize: in boxes 11-13]
Cutler, Viola (Creston)
Diggs, Mrs. M.E. (Earlham)
Fawcett, Inez (Shellsburg)
Findlay, Emma (Dysart)
Fleming, Jennie (Council
Bluffs)
Frush, Mrs. R.T. (New
Hampton)
Hall, Mida (Woodbine)
Harvey, Mrs. H.P.
(Maquoketa)
Jefferson, Lilian (Woodbine)
Johnson, C.M. (Emmetsburg)
Lane, Mrs. H.M. (Columbus
Junction)
Lyon, Ms. D.D. (Woodbine)
Merriam. Sarah H.
(Sigourney)
Merrill, Mrs. E.J.
(Oskaloosa)
Mudge, Kate Raymond (Randalia)
Newville, Nora (Maxwell)
Parsons and Bates, Misses
(Iowa Falls)
Pomeroy, Miss L.E.
(Independence)
Raimbold, Mrs.
(Marshalltown)
Robinson, Mrs. (Fort
Madison)
Rossiter, Elizabeth and
Matilda (St. Ansgar)
Schaefer, Mary J. and Lida
S. (Clarion)
Schooley, Mrs. L.A.
(Indianola)
Schooonover, Mrs. M.J.
(Vinton)
Shepard, Idalene (Waukon)
Stone, Mrs. Anna (Marion)
Storaker, Dora (Roland)
Strom, Marie (Sheldahl)
Warner, Birdia (Brighton)
Weigel, Mary (Dyersville)
Young sister (Winfield )
Boxes 2-3
Professional
photographers in Iowa: Other
Cabinet cards and
cartes de visites [to be arranged by photographer]
Box 4
Other formats [to be arranged by subject]
Boxes 5-6
Photographic
postcards [to
be arranged by subject]
Box 7
Photographs:
various formats [to be arranged by subject]
Box 8
Photographs:
oversize [to
be arranged by subject]
Box 9
Glass
negatives
People
Adeline on couch.
Bessie and Gerty playing croquet. Taken by Ernist T.
Elgin[?] Bert
Ernist and Adeline and horse.
Ernist and lamb.
Ernist in chair.
Taken by me.
Gerty and Bessie sitting on
ground by our house. Taken by Ernist T.
Home. With
Lader [sic] on porch.
Ma and Lizz washing, Monday morning.
[Man and woman sitting on grass]
Nagles Dog.
Otto F. Ney [and] horse
Our bunch.
By Ernist on fourth of July 1908.
Waukon, Iowa, buildings
Allamakee Street. Looking south from O. Hagen House. Taken from Center Street.
City Hall.
Taken from Park NW.
Court house.
Across street.
Jail. Across
street.
Methodist Episcopal Church. Taken from SW.
Norwegian Church.
Taken from SW.
Public School.
E. Side.
Sister School.
Corner of Streets.
Box 10
Printed material
Anamosa District Fair: Children's admission card, 1899
Campaign cards:
Verna M. O'Connor, Garber, Iowa, 1928, 1932
Fraternal Order of Eagles,
Aerie No. 150, Burlington Iowa, Ladies Auxiliary: Membership Yearbook, 1972/72
Hawkeye Natives Ladies
Auxiliary, Burlington, Iowa: History,
1925
Iowa Children's Home
Society: meeting notice
Killian Company, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
Employes' Manual, 1921
Advertisement for Sweet-Orr Women's Overalls, undated
Negro Business and
Information Directory [published by Negro Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines],
1940
Patten, R.E.
Calendar, 1910
Fans [with business advertisements]
Miscellaneous
St. Paul African Methodist
Episcopal Church, Des Moines: 73rd
Anniversary Booklet and Program, 1872-1945
Teacher souvenirs,
1873/74-1913
Trade cards
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union of Iowa
Benedict Home, 1932
Brochure [with pledge], 1996?
The Crusade Anniversary,
1874-1934 [comp.
Anna Marden DeYo]
Inventory of records held by WCTU of Iowa, 1996?
"Modern Day Jericho Walk," by Jeanne Lillig, 1995
[re: illegal drugs' effect on Des Moines neighborhood]
Artifacts and miscellaneous items
Autograph book, 1884-1903
Sewing machine needle packet
and advertisement, Mrs. M. L. Johnson, Britt, Iowa
Ribbon: Woman's Home Missionary Society, Methodist
Episcopal Church, New London, Iowa, May 5-6-7, 1916
Greeting cards
Box 11 Oversize: Panoramic photographs by Julia Briel
Bloomfield, Iowa
Iowa State Teachers College, Extension summer School, 1926
Denison, Iowa
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, 59th annual state
convention, 1932
Des Moines, Iowa
American Institute of
Business, Des Moines
1928
1930
Great Council of Iowa, ORM
and D of P, 1928
Iowa Cooperative Live Stock
Shippers, 1929
Iowa House of
Representatives, 44th General Assembly, 1931
Iowa Manufacturers of
Carbonated Beverages, 1928
Iowa Pharmaceutical
Association, 1931
Box 11 Oversize: Panoramic photographs by Julia
Briel (cont.)
Belvidere, Illinois: National Sewing Machine Co., 1925
Carpenter (3)
Japan Room
Office
Polishing and plating
department
Tool
Des Moines, Iowa (cont.)
Jensen Motor Company, 1929
Letter carriers, 1930
Rexalites of Iowa, 1927 (4)
Rex's Band, Des Moines, 1924
SF of A, 22nd
annual meeting, 1930
St. John's School, 1921
Dubuque, Iowa
Bayless College, 1925
Holy Trinity School, 1922
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Tobin Business College, 1924
Omaha, Nebraska
Retail Grocers Association, Dubuque, 1925
Nashville, 1926
Houston, Texas
Incarnate Word Academy, High School Department, 1925
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse Hospital Training School for Nurses, 1928
Miscellaneous
Briel with pilot Archie Peterson and Mayor A. H. Beecher 1922
Luthe Hardware Co., picnic, 1920
Unidentified photographs (10)
Box 12
Belvidere, Illinois
National Sewing Machine Company, 1925
Des Moines, Iowa
Allis-Chalmers Monarch Tractor School, Dukehart Machinery
Company, 1931
American Institute of Business, Des Moines [1928]
Des Moines University: faculty and students, 1928 (6)
Federal, State, County and City Employees, first annual picnic,
State Fairgrounds
P.O. employees and Auxiliaries convention, Des Moines, 1930
University of Commerce, Des
Moines, 1930 (4)
Dubuque, Iowa
Mount St. Joseph College, 1925
St. Mary's Commercial High School, 1924
Sisters of Mercy
Indianola, Iowa
Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Iowa, 54th
Annual Convention, 1927
Newton, Iowa
Newton Foundry employees, 1925
Storm Lake, Iowa
Camp McHenry, 1920
Box 12 (cont.) Oversize:
Panoramic photographs by Julia Briel (cont.)
Morrison, Illinois
Illinois Refrigerator Company employees, 1925 (3)
Miscellaneous
Walker playground
Unidentified (2)
Box 13
Belvidere, Illinois
National Sewing Machine Company, 1925
Chariton, Iowa
Iowa State Teachers' College Extension Summer School, 1922
Des Moines
East High School, 1921
F.E. and C.W. of America, Iowa Division, Ninth Annual Meeting,
1925
Striking street car men, 1925
Dubuque, Iowa
St. Raphael's School, 1924 (2)
Marion, Iowa
Marion High School, 1924
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa High School, 1924
Webster City, Iowa
Webster City Junior High School,
1924
La Crosse, Wisconsin
State Normal School faculty and
students, 1923
Platteville, Wisconsin
State Normal Summer Session, 1924
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Field Mass of the
Mississippi Anniversary 250th year, Campion College, 1923?
Miscellaneous
Iowa National Guard Encampment, 1930
Savanna Boys' Band
Unidentified (2)
Map cabinet Oversize:
Woman's Christian Temperance
Union of Iowa, Executive Committee of the 12th Annual Meeting, Iowa
City, Iowa, Oct. 13-16,1885