Louis L. McAllister Photographs

The L.L. McAllister Collection has been divided into three series: (1) “A” Collection of original photographs printed by the photographer, (2) “B” Collection of negatives which were printed recently, and (3) Oversize Panorama Collection.

“A” Collection: the “A” Collection consists of nineteen boxes of original McAllister 8´10 prints, and two boxes of negatives, some of which match the prints. Nearly all of these originals came from two sources. The McAllister family donated the basic collection in 1969. This includes portraits, construction projects, buildings, businesses and events in the Burlington area covering the period ca. 1920-1960. Most of the negatives which were printed for the “B” collection came with this gift. A 1979 gift from the Burlington Street Department included photos of street, bridge, airport and sewer construction and repair, ca. 1928-1950. There are approximately 70 originals in this group which are not McAllister’s. All of the photos from the Burlington Street Department are duplicates of a set retained by the Department. The library had 4´5 prints made from unique items in the Department’s collection. These are so marked. Over the years countless donors have added original McAllister prints to the “A” collection.

“B” Collection: The “B” Collection consists of nineteen boxes of 8´10 prints and five boxes of negatives. The prints were made from McAllister negatives by the University’s Medical Photography division. This work was funded by a 1977-1978 grant from the National Historical Publication and Records Commission. The majority of these photographs are Burlington group portraits, i.e., clubs, schools etc. Negatives for the prints are filed at the end of the collection. Many of the negatives were badly deteriorated and could not be printed.

Both the “A” and “B” Collections are arranged alphabetically by subject. Abbreviations such as St. and Mt. are spelled out in alphabetizing.