Other Alabama Towns Photograph Sources at The McCall Library
A sign welcoming "Yankees" to Gulf Shores, 1974. Mobile Press Register Collection
The McCall Library's photographic collections are listed alphabetically in this guide. The name of the collection may be that of a person, business, organization, institution, location, subject, or donor.
For more information about these collections please email us at mccalllib@southalabama.edu.
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AERO SERVICE CORPORATION (91-02-230)
This collection contains 58 nitrate negatives (8 x 10 and 9 x 9). Thirty-two of the
negatives are of a blast furnace in Fairfield, Alabama, and Barret's Fairfield Plant
in Birmingham, Alabama. They were taken between August 24, and October 5, 1940. The
remaining 26 negatives are not dated but show an area near Talladega, Alabama. None
of the negatives have been printed.
ASHDOWN, SPAN (99-07-345)
This collection is made up of 30 black and white photographs (8 x 10), 2 copy negatives
(4 x 5), and 13 postcards of bay boats, hurricane damage, and Selma, Alabama, defenses
during the Civil War.
CLARK, GAYLORD LEE (10-07-526)
Contains 27 original black and white prints of various sizes. Most of the images show
scenes from the Dallas County plantation of Judge John Starke Hunter, including several
of former Hunter Plantation slaves. There are also scenes taken in Montgomery, Alabama,
including the inauguration of Jefferson Davis, as well as images of flooding in Mobile,
Alabama, after the 1906 hurricane. John Starke Hunter was a businessman born in Pleasant
Hill, Alabama, near Troy in 1848. Hunter was the son of Ransom Davis Hunter and Martha
Famariah Hunter, and the grandson of Henry Larence (or Lawrence) Hunter and Mary Howard
Hunter. There are no negatives but all of the images have been digitized.
COCHRANE, MRS. JOHN T., JR. (80-07-42)
This photo album contains scenes of Magnolia Springs, Alabama, the Mobile waterfront,
and the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The 133 photographs were made by Mrs. Cochrane's
grandfather, William A. Gates, between 1890 and 1904. Some of the images are cyanotypes.
Some are in excellent condition; others have become extremely faded. There are no
negatives.
EDGAR, GEORGE (92-10-257)
Consists of 92 slides of postcards, the majority of which are of the Mobile area but
there are also scenes from Brewton, Clanton, Eutaw, Florence, Linden, and Phenix City.
Most of the postcards date to the early 20th century.
EICHOLD, SAMUEL
Contains 131 color slides and 99 black and white copy negatives (35mm) of Dr. Eichold's
postcard collection. The postcards date from the early 1900s to the 1930s and show
primarily Mobile and Fairhope scenes. An inventory of the postcards and contact prints
are available.
FAIRHOPE PUBLIC LIBRARY (85-01-82)
Consists of 3 glass plate negatives of a view of the Fairhope Pier around 1900, a
lumber mill belonging to Frank Brown (circa 1897), and a man working construction.
FORT, RAY (89-03-186)
Contains 88 black and white copy negatives of photographs from albums of early Grand
Bay, Alabama, taken from around 1900 to 1930. The best images have been printed and
are identified. The collection may not be used for any commercial purpose, but is
otherwise available to researchers.
FRUITDALE NEGATIVE COLLECTION (11-01-550)
Consists of 12 glass plate negatives of the Fruitdale, Alabama, area, an unincorporated
community in Washington County, Alabama. The photos include the Fruitdale railroad
station, cattle being driven by men on horseback, men standing on a railroad track
above flood waters, a milk delivery wagon, and men in a canoe on the Dog River. All
of the images have been digitized.
GASTON, GARY R. (99-12-355)
Contains 70 color slides of landmarks, people, and activities at Dauphin Island, Bayou
La Batre, Grand Bay, Fairhope, and other locations in Baldwin and Mobile counties,
taken by Dr. Gaston in the 1970s, both before and after Hurricane Frederic. Some of
the structures photographed were destroyed by that storm. These slides may not be
used commercially but an inventory is available.
HAMILTON, LARRY AND VIRGINIA V. (86-12-138)
This collection consists of 739 color slides (35mm) of over 300 historic sites in
Alabama taken by Larry Hamilton (a few commercial slides are included). The slides
are well identified and an inventory is available. There are restrictions on the commercial
use of material in this collection.
HIGHTOWER, D. L. (97-03-323)
This collection consists of approximately 5,000 black and white negatives (mostly
120mm) made by Draffus Lamar Hightower and depicting various scenes in Barbour County,
Alabama, from 1930 to 1965. Most of the images feature the everyday people and ordinary
events of the county but some do show George Wallace campaigning for governor. The
photographer's work is examined in Michael Thomason's book To Remember a Vanishing
World (1997).
HUMPHREY, DOROTHY L. (94-02-283)
Made up of 35 nitrate negatives (3 1/2 x 6 and 3 x 5) showing views of the Seacliffe,
Coden, and Leinkauf areas. The negatives were made between 1910 and 1924. All of them
have been printed. Also contains 1 photo (8 x10), taken about 1910, of people unloading
mahogany from a schooner.
KNOWLES, COLIN S. (07-08-464)
Contains 219 color postcards, 99 of which are of the Mobile area. Scenes include USS
Alabama (BB-60), the Azalea Trail, and the Bragg-Mitchell home. There are also views
of Dauphin Island, Gulf Shores, and Bellingrath Gardens, as well as shots of the old
police building on Government Street and the docks. The remaining postcards are of
other Alabama cities and counties, including the Peanut Festival in Dothan, and views
of Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. The postcards range from the 1930s (a couple)
to the 1960s and 1970s (more frequently). The cards were collected by the donor's
great-grandmother and organized by his grandmother and parents. They were donated
to The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2007.
MASON, I. P. (89-01-183)
The 67 glass plate negatives in this collection were taken c. 1900. Subjects include
picnic scenes at Shelby Springs, Alabama, a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity group photo,
and portraits of unidentified groups and individuals. Twenty of the best images have
been printed.
MCGILL STUDIO (89-02-192)
Max P. McGill Sr. (1892-1956), was a commercial photographer in Mobile and Fairhope,
Alabama, ca. 1926-1942. Unfortunately, only a small portion of his work has survived
due to a fire. There are 123 safety and nitrate negatives (5 x 7 and 8 x 10) and 53
glass