Photographs
Science History Institute/Conrad Erb
The Science History Institute’s Image Archives, part of the Othmer Library of Chemical History, contains an extensive collection of photographic prints, negatives, slides, and advertisements reflecting the chemical history of the last century.
A diversity of compelling subjects and research interests are represented in the photograph collection, including scientific instruments and apparatus, laboratory facilities, industrial production, advertising and marketing, and even the visual history of chemistry. In addition to these topics, the collection also boasts a significant number of portraits and informal snapshots of prominent chemists and industrialists, including Leo Baekeland, Herbert H. Dow, the DuPont family, Donald F. Othmer, William Henry Perkin, and Rosalind Sussman Yalow.
For additional information about the photograph collection, research assistance, and general questions, contact [email protected].
Accessing Our Photograph Collection
Search or browse our growing collection of digitized photographs.
In addition to our Digital Collections, inventories and finding aids for some of our most notable photograph collections, including the records of the Dow Chemical Company and Hercules Inc., are available in our library’s online catalog, Midon. The genre terms "photographs" and "photograph collections" will locate photographic materials in the online catalog and can be used in conjunction with keywords in other search fields. In addition, a significant portion of materials are discoverable through our collections management database, which is available to researchers on-site with the assistance of the curator of photographic and moving image collections. To access this service, please schedule a visit.
Rights and Reproductions
Digital reproductions of photographs, archival materials, and other items from the Institute’s collections are available through our Collections staff. For more information on obtaining digital reproductions, click here.
Collection Highlights
Browse the slideshow for curated highlights from our photograph collection.
