D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections

PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS

  Required for viewing some photographic collections.

The photographic collections of  Special Collections & University Archives number some 20,000 items, including prints and negatives. 

A growing alphabetical list of photographers who either photographed extensively in western North Carolina or who lived and worked in the western part of the state may be viewed via the Photographers page of the Western North Carolina Heritage web site. 

The following collections are held at UNCA and represent many of the finest photographic images of the western North Carolina region. Many of these collections have accompanying manuscript materials. See Manuscripts or the link that accompany the photographic materials. 

 
  • Stafford and Wingate L. Anders Collection  
    Small digital collection of postcards of Asheville and photographs related to Exum Clement, mother of Stafford Anders and first woman legislator in North Carolina. (3 items, 26 images)
  • Asheville Area Photographic Collection
    Photographic survey of Asheville, NC, sponsored by the Southern Highlands Research Center in 1976. Photographs by Charles McLarty and Jefferson Davis.
  • Austin-Brooks Collection
    Papers and photographs of logging operations of the Ritter Lumber Company and life in the Hazel Creek area of Swain County, North Carolina, taken between 1914 and the mid-1920's.
  • E.M. Ball Collection
    Asheville and western North Carolina from 1919-1969. Collection is comprised largely of urban architectural photographs and people and events in Asheville. Also included are early images of rural life in the region. [Large file] See also Asheville's Built Environment which allows close zooms of many of the images.
  • Jody Barber Collection
    Views of Hendersonville, NC and surrounding area,  taken by members of the Barber family from 1884 until the 1930's.
  • Frank Coxe Papers, banker and past Executive Director of the Asheville Industrial Council and descendent of Tench Coxe. Approximately 140 photographs of Asheville, Green River area, and family members. 
 
  • Grove Park Inn Photographs, a virtual collection of early images of the construction and development of the Inn. Originals are retained by the Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, Inc. and any publication must seek permission from the GPI.  The images describe the construction techniques, materials of construction,  and landscaping processes of the large resort hotel. [In process]
  • Holladay Collection of John B. Robinson Photographs, a large collection of photographs from the turn of the century to the late 1930's. Includes Asheville, Marshall, Chimney Rock, and other regional sites as well as scenes from vacation travel in New Jersey and Florida. Collection has not been fully processed and is not available to the public.
 
  • Hugh Hester Photographs
    Small collection of photographs of Hester, a military General, political activist and writer, and his family. 
  • William T. Kirkman Photograph Collection, 1923-2000
    Approximately 4,000 images taken while Kirkman was member of the Carolina Mountain Club, an Asheville area hiking club established in 1931, and associated images of western North Carolina. Kirkman, a 50-year member of the Club, was  also active in other local environmental affairs. Collection contains some supplementary materials about the Carolina Mountain Club. [in process]
  • L.C. LeCompte Postcard Collection (1910-1977)
    A collection of photographs of western North Carolina and other southern states produced by the Asheville Postcard Company, dating back to 1910 when the company was founded.  [Large file]  
 
  • Edgar Lyda Collection (1873-1956)
    A small collection of early Buncombe Co. Courthouse and Buncombe Co. Commissioners documents. Includes small number of designs of architect Douglas Ellington and Milburn and Heister designs for the Buncombe County Courthouse. (33 items).
  • William Patrick Mungo Photographic Collection
    A virtual collection of photographs and postcard photographs taken and collected by Mungo during his tour of military duty from Hawaii to the Philippines within the years of 1939 and 1940 as part of  the 31st U.S Infantry, Company H.  Originals retained by the family of William Patrick Mungo. 
  • Hans Curt Pfalzgraf Collection 
    Large format photographic prints of various scenes of Western North Carolina  photographed by Pflazgraf in the 1940's. (34 items)
  • Helen Rice Collection
    Photographs of Sayles Bleacheries, Asheville, NC construction and operation.
 
  • Ora Rives Collection
    Digital copies of a travel journal and photographs of a 1905 vacation in western North Carolina. Includes Highlands, Sapphire, Cedar Mt., Cashiers and other locations.
  • U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station Collections
    This collection of 3,249 photographic prints documents the work of the U.S. Forest service in Region Eight, comprising forests in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee, from 1897 through 1952. Also included are research and logging operations in western North Carolina.
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