Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The glass plate negatives of the George W. Wise family of Delta, Ohio date from approximately 1910 to 1920. The collection consists of fifty-one 4 x 5 inch glass plate negatives. Contact prints have been made for the best twenty-one of the plates.

The negatives were donated and transferred to the Center for Archival Collections on October 13, 1992 with the cooperation of Jim Adams, Toledo, Ohio. There are no restrictions on the research use of this collection and duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The collection was processed and register prepared by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts, in November 1992.

Biographical Sketch

George W. Wise was a resident of Fulton County, Ohio, living on State Route 109 southwest of Delta. A carpenter by trade, he was married on March 19, 1905 to Blanche Welson. The couple had no surviving children. Blanche died July 17, 1942. George died in 1971.

Scope and Content

The photographs of the George Wise negative collection are typical of family pictures of the early twentieth century. A large number of the shots show everyday activities and scenes around the farm, including a line of wagons loaded with harvested crops, barnyard areas and outbuildings, and a butchering scene. The interior views illustrate popular styles of decoration and home furnishing, including rocking chairs, wall decorations, doilies, and a cast iron stove. The largest grouping of shots are related to summer vacation activities at a lake cottage area, possibly located in southern Michigan. Of interest in this category is a view of Minkley's Refreshments, a lakeside concession stand and boat rental, shots of family members outside the screened-in cottage, and pictures of lakeside activities, such as boating and fishing.

The quality of the images varies widely. The best of the plates in the collection were selected for printing, but adequate pictures could be obtained from the remaining negatives.

Series Description

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

GLASS PLATE NEGATIVES
Circa 1910-1920
Family scenes and activities around Fulton County, Ohio, including groups of unidentified people, house interiors, farm scenes, some commercial buildings, and numerous scenes at an unidentified summer cottage area, possibly in southern Michigan.

POSITIVE PHOTO PRINTS
Circa 1910-1920.
Selected copy prints from 21 of the best glass plates, illustrating some interiors, buildings, family groups, and cottage and lake scenes.

Inventory

Negative Envelopes

1. Two men and a woman, plate identified as G. W. Wise in pencil
2. Young woman and child in buggy
3. Group of seven adults
4. Group of three adults
5. Woman on porch, wearing winter coat with wool collar
6. Farm butchering scene, with two hogs hanging from pole
7. Charles G. Smith Groceries, store at Lakeland, Michigan rail junction
8. People boarding a train at unidentified station
9. House, with directional sign for West's Tog Shop, Liberty Center
10. Line of wagons, with unidentified crop
11. Man in chair, sleeping
12. Man in chair, in front of bookshelf
13. Outhouse, or small shed
14. Kitchen with Sears stove
15. Minkley's Refreshments, boat rental concession at unidentified lake, possibly in southern Michigan
16. Shoreline and dock at small lake, unidentified
17. Boat at end of dock, unidentified small lake
18. Three women in front of summer resort cottage #5, unidentified location
19. Five people in front of summer resort cottage, unidentified location
20. Five people in a rowboat (CAUTION: CRACKED PLATE)
21. Two rowboats, with people fishing
22. Woman with small child
23. Woman with baby
24. Large group on grass in front of house
25. Two small children
26. Small group on porch
27. Two women sitting on porch railing
28. Large group of people on porch of house, from front
29. Large group of people on porch of house, from side
30. Three women and seated man
31. Woman in buggy on road
32. Two women standing by buggy
33. Line of wagons, with unidentified crop (similar to #10)
34. Three people in barnyard, with windmill in background
35. Small dog by fence of barnyard
36. Man with dog and gun in barnyard
37. Dog in field
38. Three cats by door
39. Dog and three cats by door
40. Interior with wicker chair and cat on rug (vertical)
41. Interior with wicker chair and cat on rug (horizontal)
42. People by a house and car, license plate date 1916
43. People boarding interurban train
44. People sleeping on screened-in porch (at cottage)
45. Man in rocking chair on screen-in porch (at cottage)
46. Shoreline of lake
47. Two men in a rowboat
48. People in a rowboat by overhanging tree
49. Two women on shore by lake
50. Two children on dock by rowboat
51. Man with two fish

Photographic Prints

1. Two men and a woman, plate identified as G. W. Wise in pencil
2. Young woman and child in buggy
3. Group of seven adults
4. Group of three adults
5. Woman on porch, wearing winter coat with wool collar
6. Farm butchering scene, with two hogs hanging from pole
7. Charles G. Smith Groceries, store at Lakeland, Michigan rail junction
8. People boarding a train at unidentified station
9. House, with directional sign for West's Tog Shop, Liberty Center
10. Line of wagons, with unidentified crop
11. Man in chair, sleeping
12. Man in chair, in front of bookshelf
13. Outhouse or small shed
14. Kitchen with Sears stove
15. Minkley's Refreshments, boat rental concession at unidentified lake, possibly in southern Michigan
16. Shoreline and dock at small lake, unidentified
17. Boat at end of dock, unidentified small lake
18. Three women in front of summer resort cottage #5, unidentified location
19. Five people in front of summer resort cottage, unidentified location
20. Five people in a rowboat
21. Two rowboats, with people fishing

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