Photo Archives

The Chester County Historical Society has been collecting historical photographs since it was founded in 1893, providing a window to the past. The collection of over 80,000 historical photographs spans the history of photography from daguerreotypes made in the 1840s to modern color images. CCHS collects photographs of Chester County landscapes, buildings, people, businesses, organizations and events.

The photograph collection is accessible by visiting the library reading room, Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm. Collection guides and in-house databases make accessible the extensive collection holdings. Call ahead for a convenient appointment with the photo archivist. If visiting is not possible, research requests can be submitted on the request form.

Research materials on interpreting historical photographs are available. Refer to the FAQs for answers to common questions. A directory of Chester County Photographers provides working dates for professional photographers. This listing is drawn from CCHS collections data and library resources.

CCHS provides a reproduction service to make copies of historical photographs for study, display, publication and commercial uses. Follow the link for CCHS policy, fee schedules and order forms. 

What's New 

The Joseph Thompson negative collection of the Upper Main Line area, organizations and businesses are now prepared for use by the public. Thanks to grant funding from the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, CCHS now has reference prints, an archival guide and catalog descriptions available on WorldCat™ and on in-house PastPerfect™ database. Visit the collection through the Joseph Thompson Gallery.

Collection Holdings

The Photograph Collection consists of over 80,000 images from the 1840s to the present day documenting the people, architecture, landscape and events in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The collection is divided into the following divisions, and can be searched through inventories, indexes and in-house catalog database. MARC records for the collection are available on WorldCat.

Where available, links to collection guides are indicated with.

Photographer's Collections

Work produced by a professional or amateur photographer who worked or lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania. CCHS holds 59 collections. Some of interest include:

• Joseph Thompson Collection: best known for his freelance photography for newspapers, local police, the Republican party and theatrical personalities, Thompson was also know for his commercial work, portraiture, and wedding photography, ca. 1950 - 1970.
  Visit the Thompson Gallery.
• Douglas E. Brinton Collection: sites of historical significance in Oxford, Valley Forge and the Brandywine Valley, ca. 1900.
• Octavius Bull Collection: businesses, farms and dwellings in the northwestern section of Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1895-1908.
• Gilbert Cope Collection: Noted Historian and genealogist, Gilbert Cope took over 2,400 views from 1887 - 1918 documenting Chester County landscape, families and Quaker community.
• Horace Engle Collection: features glass plate negatives taken with the Stirn's Detective Camera of ordinary activity on the streets of West Chester in 1888.
• Ned Goode Collection: this commercial photographer documents area businesses and organizations, 1947-1961.
• Melvin L Gurtizen Collection: a sampling of this professional photographer's work, which he donated to the society before his death, includes portrait photographs 1948 - 1957 and commercial photography of businesses and organizations 1960s - 1980s.
• William R. Keeney Collection: this talented amateur photographer gives a touching portrayal of his two daughters growing up in the 1890s.
• J. Max Mueller Collection: Views of West Chester and the Brandywine Valley from 1880-1895. Also includes photographs from the Postal Photographic Club, a photographic exchange club which flourished from 1889 to 1891. Some contributors include P.S. Chase, Miss E.S. Needles, J.M. and W. H. Walmsley, and others.
• Charles Philips Collection: views of the milling industry in southern Chester County and northern Delaware from 1895-1912.
• William C. South Collection: offers the only complete archive of the Solgram Color Photo process by this photographer and inventor. Included are the original 1906 patents, brochures, correspondence, catalog for the Keystone School of Photography, ca. 1911, Downingtown and 241 color photographs by South and his students.
• Anna Belle Swayne Collection: small collection of work of this professional woman photographer who did landscape and portrait work between 1892 - 1920.

Donor Collections:

These 120 collections represent a group of photos given by a single donor that document an extended family group or a special interest. Some collections of note are:

• Robert E. Brinton Collection: 1930s survey of sites used as Post Offices throughout Chester County, Pennsylvania.
• Christian Brinton Collection: art critic Christian Brinton traveled widely and rubbed elbows with the artistic and theatrical community in the 1890 -1940 period. This collection has been microfilmed by the Archives of American Art.
• Samuel J. Entrekin Collection: personal photographs of the artic explorer. Entriken was part of Peary's Relief Expedition 1892, Northern Greenland expedition 1893-4 and the Mt. St. Elias expedition. He also lived in Seattle, Washington and Alaska during the Gold Rush 1897-1901, Mexico, Texas and Arizona 1904-1910 and Florida 1914-1942.
• Charles H. Howell Collection: photographs collected by this Phoenixville Justice of the Peace document the immigrant groups that came together in the Phoenixville community.
• Thomas B. Marshall Collection: photographs taken by this Birmingham Township Supervisor document life in Birmingham Township in 1976.
• Albert Cook Myers Collection: this collection features the life and work of historian Albert Cook Myers, a noted William Penn Scholar. It includes Myers family photographs, historical images of Adams, Chester, Delaware and other counties, sites associated with William Penn, Quakers, Revolutionary war, Native Americans, etc. Myers installed markers between 1921 - 1933. Click here for the 272 page collection guide.
• Uriah Hunt painter Collection: features 128 photos documenting painter's ice harvesting industry in 1889, taken with the Kodak Ordinary #2 Camera.
• L. Carstairs Pierce Collection: documents inns and taverns in Chester and Delaware Counties taken in the 1940s - 1950s, also includes milestones.
• Joseph Trimble Rothrock Collection: photographs relating to the father of Pennsylvania forestry include portraits and documentary views of trees.
• Benjamin M. Walker Collection: 179 photographs of the family of Benjamin and Lillian Mercer Walker and of views in Chester, Delaware and York Counties, Pennsylvania where they lived, 1860s - 1940s.

Photographic Formats

Some highlights include portraits of Frederick Douglass, Castner Hanway, and passmore Williamson. Also includes work by Philadelphia daguerreotypists Marcus Root, Samuel Van Loan, McClees & Germon, William & Frederick Langenheim, John Plumb, Jr., Frederick DeBourg Richards, M.P. Simons and others. See Every-Name index below.

The George Pyle Collection gives a rare look at the work of an itinerant daguerreotypist between 1846 and 1849. The collection consists of 16 plates, including a portrait of Pyle's mentor J.J.E. Mayall, daguerreotype formula book, daguerreotype register, account book, receipts for supplies, handbills and personal letters. Bibliography and transcripts available.

• Daguerreotypes: 1840s -1860s.
• Ambrotypes: 1854 - 1870s Includes rare outdoor views and many local portraits. See Every-Name index below.
• Cased Tintypes: 1856-1870s See Every-name index below.
• Cartes-de-visite: 1858-1890s Also known as CDV or photographic visiting card, this was a popular portrait format. See Every-Name index below.
• Cabinet cards: 1870-1900 See Every-Name index below.
• Tintypes: 1856-1920s See Every-Name index below.
• Ivorytypes and unique processes: 1860-1920s Features many unusual photographic processes such as Ivorytype, Orotone, Crystoleum and Opalotype.
• Stereoviews: 1850s-1930s Features views of Yosemite by Thomas C. Roche, Centennial Photographic Co. views of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and views by John Moran.
• Glass stereoviews: 1850-1910s Features rare Hyalotypes, the first stereographs made on glass by the Langenheims of Philadelphia.
• Magic lantern slides: 1840s-1920s Features early hand painted slides in wood mounts and slides on a variety of subjects by a number of Philadelphia manufacturers.
• Oversize and panoramic photographs: 1860s - 1950s Features many group portraits of organizations, businesses and family reunions.
• Chromos or Crayon Portraits: 1860-1900 These large photographs, commonly hung in parlors, are enhanced with charcoal, chalk, ink or paint.
• Photograph albums: 1860- present 191 albums record families, the landscape, businesses and organizations. Some highlights include:
  • Pierce-Lamborn Family Album records the members of the Longwood Progressive Friends meeting during the 1860s active in abolition, suffrage and temperance. Among those pictured are: Lucretia & James Mott, Dinah & Isaac Mendenhall, Abby Kimber, Thomas Garrett, Sarah Pugh and others.
  • Album of the parkesburg Iron Co. Baseball Team, 1920, documents the Industrial League and Negro League teams that visited parkesburg in 1920. Includes Louis Santop, Herb Pennock and others.
  • West Chester Views, Charles S. Bradford's views of West Chester and the Brandywine Valley, 1892-1899.
  • Albert Biles' West Chester, emerging professional photographer Albert Biles photographs West Chester and surrounding area, 1899 - 1905.
  • The Wilmington and Northern Railroad, Charles A. Elston's hand-colored photographs document the railroad from Wilmington to Birdsboro, 1947.

General Collection

• Portrait Collection, 1850s - present: Self-indexing files of portrait photographs by family name. Some noteworthy portraits include: Samuel Barber, Buffalo Bill Cody, Dr. William Darlington, MD, Madame Louise Homer, Brevet Major General Galusha Pennypacker, Dr. Ann Preston, Horace Pippin and Bayard Taylor. See Every-Name index below.
• Miscellaneous photographs, 1850s - present: these photographs are arranged by topical headings from the LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials, and subdivided by location.

 Every-Name Index to Portrait Photographs:

The Every-Name portrait index is a merged listing of seven portrait format collections. They include daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes or ferrotypes, cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards and the portrait file. These listings give access to photographic portraits made between 1840 and 1990. There are other sources for portraits in the CCHS collection that are not represented on this list.