John H. Tarbell Photographic Collection, 1897-1907 (bulk 1897-1901)

Collection Number: P0030

Collection Title: John H. Tarbell Photographic Collection, 1897-1907 (bulk 1897-1901)

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 68 items)
Abstract	John H. Tarbell (1849-1929) was a white photographer who operated a studio in Asheville, N.C., between 1896 and 1901. Originally from Massachusetts, Tarbell returned to New England around 1902 and remained there until his death in 1929. The collection includes 68 images taken by John H. Tarbell between 1897 and 1907 (bulk 1897-1901). A majority of the images are believed to have been be taken in Asheville, N.C., and surrounding areas. Images include the Biltmore Estate, which at that time was the private residence of George Vanderbilt, and people and residences believed to be in the vicinity of Asheville, N.C. Tarbell's images depicting African Americans in the southern parts of the United States were widely published during the early part of the twentieth century and appeared in publications including Cosmopolitan and New England Magazine; however, the collection contains none of those published images and only one image of an African American woman who may be Ms. "Aunt" Betsy Washington, whom Tarbell photographed/interviewed for an article in New England Magazine.
Creator	Tarbell, John H., 1849-1929.
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.
Language	English

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access: This collection contains materials which are permanently closed. The Library permanently closed the original glass-based formats in the collection because they are too fragile to be safely handled in the reading room. Contact wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options.

Restrictions to Use: No image in this collection may be reproduced without the permission and consent of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice: Copyright is retained by the authors of materials in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], in the John H. Tarbell Photographic Collection #P0030, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information: Materials were purchased by the North Carolina Collection in 1988.

Sensitive Materials Statement: Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Patrick Cullom, 2013

Encoded by: Patrick Cullom, 2013

Updated by Patrick Cullom, 2019

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Expand/collapse Related Collections

Ernesto G. Fabbri Photograph Collection (P0092), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives
Tarbell, John H., photographer: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Expand/collapse Biographical Information

John H. Tarbell was born in 1849 in Groton, Mass. He was an active photographer between 1896 and 1908, with a studio in Asheville, N.C., between the years 1896 and 1901. Originally from Massachusetts, he returned to New England around 1902 and remained there until his death in 1929. Tarbell stopped taking photographs in or around 1908. Tarbell's images depicting African Americans in the southern parts of the United States were widely published during the early part of the twentieth century and appeared in publications including Cosmopolitan and New England magazine (Boston, Mass.: 1887). A selection of Tarbell's work is held at the United States Library of Congress.

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection includes images depicting people and places believed to be in the vicinity of Asheville, N.C., between the years 1896 and 1908. The only images that have been identified depict areas in the vicinity of Asheville and include the Biltmore Estate. None of the individuals in the collection are identified. Tarbell's images depicting African Americans in the southern parts of the United States were widely published during the early part of the twentieth century and appeared in publications including Cosmopolitan and New England Magazine; however, the collection contains none of those published images and only one image of an African American woman who may be Ms. "Aunt" Betsy Washington, whom Tarbell photographed/interviewed for an article in New England magazine.

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series 1. People, circa 1897-1908.

36 images

Portraits made in the studio and in the field of unidentified individuals believed to have been taken in Asheville, N.C., and its vicinity; New York; and Massachusetts.

Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0001	African American woman measuring height of two white children, 1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Woman may be Ms. "Aunt" Betsy Washington, whom Tarbell photographed/interviewed for an article entitled "My Experiences Photographing the Negro in the South" featured in the December 1903 edition of New England Magazine.
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0002	Man walking down road with dog, 1907 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0003	Older man reading newspaper/whittling wood, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0004	Older woman reading book in chair, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0005	Portrait of man, circa 1906 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 3 images Image taken in New York, N.Y.
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0006	Portrait of man, circa 1906 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same subject as P0030/0007.
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0007	Portrait of man in military uniform, circa 1906 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same subject as P0030/0006.
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0008	Portrait of Native American man in traditional clothing, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0009	Portrait of Native American man in traditional clothing, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0010	Portrait of older man holding child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0011	Portrait of older man holding child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0012	Portrait of woman and child , circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images Same subjects as P0030/0013.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0013	Portrait of woman and child , circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images Same subjects as P0030/0012.
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0014	Portrait of woman and child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0015	Portrait of woman and child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0016	Portrait of woman and child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0017	Portrait of woman and child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0018	Portrait of woman and child, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0019	Portrait of older man, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0020	Portrait of older man, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0021	Portrait of older woman, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images
Image Box IB-P0030/01 Image Folder PF-P0030/0022	Portrait of three girls and one boy reading a book on a couch, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 2 images
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0023	Portrait of two children playing at table, 1897 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0024	Portrait of young girl surrounded by plants, 1897 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0025	Woman in rowboat on water, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0026	Young boy and girl fishing from bank, 1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Image taken in vicinity of Asheville.
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0027	Young boy and girl surrounded by plants, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0028	Young girl picking flowers, 1898 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0029	Young woman at piano, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image

Expand/collapse Series 2. Places, circa 1897-1901.

33 images

Images depict places and scenes located in the vicinity of Asheville, N.C. Some of the images may depict New York and Massachusetts locations.

Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0030	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity: Biltmore Estate, 1899 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0031	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity: Biltmore Estate (long view), circa 1900 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0032	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity: Biltmore Estate (long view), 1899 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0033	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity: Biltmore Estate (long view), 1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0034	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity: Churches: Cathedral of All Souls Episcopal Church (?), circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0035	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Bridge over stream, 1900 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0036	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Cabin on side of mountain (long view), circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same location as P0030/0037.
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0037	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Cabin on side of mountain (long view), circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same location as P0030/0036.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0038	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0039.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0039	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0038.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0040	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0041	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0042	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0043	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0044.
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0044	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0043.
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0045	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0046.
Image Box IB-P0030/03 Image Folder PF-P0030/0046	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Exterior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0045.
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0047	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Landscape, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0048	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Landscape, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0049	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Landscape, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0050	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Landscape, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0051	Asheville, N.C., and vicinity (?): Landscape, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0052	Exterior of unidentified residence (City), circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0053 and P0030/0054.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0053	Exterior of unidentified residence (City), circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0052 and P0030/0054.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0054	Exterior of unidentified residence (City), circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0052 and P0030/0053.
Image Box IB-P0030/02 Image Folder PF-P0030/0055	Exterior of unidentified residence (City): Snow scene, circa 1897-1907 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0056	Interior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0057 and P0030/0058.
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0057	Interior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0056 and P0030/0058.
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0058	Interior of unidentified residence, circa 1897-1901 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Same residence as P0030/0056 and P0030/0057.
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0059	Wall outside of building, circa 1897-1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image Possibly taken in the Bahamas for an article entitled "My Experiences Photographing the Negro in the South" featured in the December 1903 edition of New England Magazine.
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0060	Animals: Bison, circa 1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0061	Animals: Ducklings with cat, 1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image
Image Box IB-P0030/04 Image Folder PF-P0030/0062	Animals: Sheep grazing in field, circa 1908 Black-and-White Glass Plate Negative 1 image

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Collection Number: P0030 Collection Title: John H. Tarbell Photographic Collection, 1897-1907 (bulk 1897-1901)