ERLENE LEDFORD PHOTOGRAPHS
c. 1890-1923

East Tennessee State University
Archives of Appalachia
Box 70295
Johnson City, Tennessee 37614

E-mail: archives@etsu.edu
Telephone: (423) 439-4338

INTRODUCTION

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: The Erlene Ledford Photographs were donated to the archives on November 20, 1987 by Erlene Ledford.

Access: The photographs are open for research.

Processing Information: Marie Tedesco completed processing of the collection in July 1993.

HISTORICAL NOTE

The photographs which make up the Erlene Ledford Photographs collection were among materials found in Ledford's antique shop in Limestone, Tennessee. The original owners of these photographs are unknown.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Erlene Ledford Photograph collection contains 137 black and white photographs which date from around 1890 through 1923. Many of the photographs were taken at Hull and Rankin photography studio in Greeneville, Tennessee. Other photographs were taken at studios in Denison, Texas; Okemah, Oklahoma; Norton, Virginia; Knoxville, Tennessee; Shelbyville, Indiana; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Lebanon, Tennessee. A few photographs are dated, but most are undated. The collection consists overwhelmingly of studio portraits of individual men and women, children and young persons, and small groups of persons. Also included are group portraits of families taken at family picnics and reunions. Snapshots of individuals and groups, and photos of landscapes and structures, make up the remainder of the collection.

Organization: The collection is divided into three series: Series I, Portraits, c. 1890-1920; Series II, Snapshots, c. 1890-1923; and Series III, Other Photographs, c. 1890-1920. The photographs are arranged according to the subject of the prints.

Important subjects covered in the collection include:

Children
Costume
Family reunions
Flower arrangement
Men
Women
Youth

SERIES DESCRIPTION/BOX LISTING

Series I, PORTRAITS, c. 1890-1920, Boxes 1-5.

This series includes studio portraits of individuals, couples, and small groups, together with group portraits taken at family reunions and similar gatherings. The series is divided into three subseries as follows: Subseries I-A, Children and Youth, c. 1890-1920, Boxes 1-3; Subseries I-B, Adults, c. 1890-1920, Boxes 1-3; and Subseries I-C, Groups, c. 1890-1920, Boxes 3-5. Arrangement is by subject of the portraits.

Subseries I-A, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, c. 1890-1920, Boxes 1-3.

This subseries contains studio portraits of individual children and young persons, and of two or more individuals posed together. Many are portraits of babies.

This subseries contains studio portraits of individual adults or couples.

This subseries contains studio group portraits or portraits of large groups taken at family reunions or similar gatherings. These latter portraits were taken outdoors.

Series II, SNAPSHOTS, c. 1890-1923, Box 1.

This series includes snapshots of children, couples, individual adults, groups of adults, structures, and landscapes. Some of the photos of persons are posed, while others are candid shots. One group of snapshots was removed from a scrapbook and kept together in an acid-free envelope. Arrangement is by type of print.

This series includes prints of cemetery floral arrangements, landscapes, and buildings. Arrangement is by subject of prints.

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