Research Library 1 Museum Court Buffalo, NY 14216-3119 (716) 873-9644 ext. 306 www.buffalohistory.org library@buffalohistory.org Updated April 4, 2025 | ||||||
Guide to Major Picture Collections | ||||||
The Buffalo History Museum has been collecting visual material of all kinds ever since we were founded in 1862. We have over 200,000 images sorted into about 100 specialized collections. Nearly all of these collections focus on the people, places, things, and events of the Buffalo/Niagara area. This guide describes our major image collections, which are mostly undigitized and offline. We add what we can, when we can, to our picture store.
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Call Number | Name of Collection | Size | Inven- tory? | Description | Date range | Loca- tion |
None | General Subject Collection | 74 file cabinet drawers, incl. 6 oversize drawers | Folder list | Listed first because it is our largest, most comprehensive, and best organized collection. Has an estimated 100,000 photographs of Buffalo-area people, places, buildings, things, and events. Most are black & white and 8x10” or smaller. | Bulk 1870- 1980 | Cabinets next to reference desk. |
Picture .A39 | 1 regular box | Yes | Mill and warehouse operations of Agway Inc. in Buffalo. Includes docks, barges, waterways, buildings and elevators, men operating machines, workers on strike, and a section labeled Miscellaneous. | 1928-1966,bulk 1930s- 1950s. | North wall |
Picture .A94 | 1 regular box | Yes | Family members, maps of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, views of Chautauqua Lake region, floor plans of BHM, and unidentified persons. | 1890-1965; bulk 1930s- 1960s. | North wall |
Picture .B37 | 15 regular boxes; 2 loose oversize folders | Yes | A large collection of negatives and a few prints. Includes family members from 1850-1928, family home at 1038 Delaware, offices of Erie County Bank building, Pan-American Expo. | 1850- 1950s; bulk 1890s- 1920s | North wall |
Picture .B44 | 1 narrow box | Yes. Copy in box. | Reproductions from 1895 book, The Architectural Portfolio of Some of the Buildings, Erected by M.E. Beebe & Son... Oversize NA737. B43 B43 1895 | 1873-1895 | North wall |
Picture .B48 | Bethlehem Steel | 3 boxes | No | Factory construction, interiors and exteriors, and workers | Ca. 1903-ca. 1989 | North wall |
Picture .B63 | 19 regular boxes | Yes, see Hauser Bob Inventory | A collection of photographs from a photographer’s studio on various subjects from around the Buffalo area. Photo sizes are mainly 8 x 10 and are filed by subject matter. | 1913- 1946; bulk 1930s- 1950s. | North wall |
Picture .B69 | 3 regular boxes | Yes. Copy in box | Bound albums of photos of lake and waterfront scenes, public buildings, homes with interior and exterior views and scenes of the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. | 1885-1890 | North wall |
Picture .B75 | 1 regular box | Yes. Copy in box. | Views of costumes worn by children, infants and adults in the early 1900s. Small albums of unidentified family members and house interiors. | ca. 1900-1910 | North wall |
Picture .B85 | 4 regular boxes +2 oversize | Yes. Copy in box. | Photographs, negatives, and slides, mainly of activities but also of buildings. | ca. 1895-1985 | North wall |
Picture .B86 | Buffalo: Lake City in Niagara Land | 2 regular boxes | No, in order by page | Photographs and negatives used in the 1981 book, Buffalo: Lake City in Niagara Land: An Illustrated History Oversize F129 .B857 B76 | North wall |
Picture .B87 | 1 regular box + 2 oversize wrapped packages of loose photos | Yes | Mainly graduation and class group photographs. One photo of building exterior. | 1904-1980 | North wall |
Picture .B88 | Buffalo Savings Bank/ Goldome | 4 bound volumes | No | Photographs of trustees, CEOs, and presidents of the bank. | 1846-1986 | North wall |
Picture .B884 | Folio of Photographs of Main Street | 1 bound volume | No | Top photographs are East side of Main Street, bottom photographs are West side of Main Street. By A.W. Simon. Owned by John Ketchum. | 1892 | North wall |
Picture .B89 | & Pan- American Exposition | 1 narrow Hollinger box | Yes | Photocopies of images used in the 1997 book, Images of America: Buffalo’s Waterfront F129 .B857 L43 1997 And the 1998 book, Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition Ref. T485 .B1 L43 1998 | North wall |
Picture .C37 | 1 narrow Hollinger box + offsite drawings | Yes | Photographs of selected buildings designed by Buffalo architect George Cary (1859-1945); also photographs of Cary’s home and office. Most are undated, some are unidentified.Includes list of offsite drawings & plans. | ca. 1891- 1930s | North wall |
Picture .C379 | George Cary Photograph Album | 1 oversize album | No | Study imagery and photographs of the Pan-American Exposition buildings and statues.As-built photographs taken by C.D. Arnold in 1901. Also includes photographs of some residences. Many photos are unidentified. | Ca. 1901 | North wall |
Picture .C45 | 1 box | Yes | Unidentified children, possibly orphans. Depictions of medical treatments may be restricted. | 1900- 1940s | North wall |
Picture .C54 | 2 boxes | Yes. Copy in box. | Includes Cleveland as a young man, mayor of Buffalo, President, campaign posters, his wife Frances Folsom Cleveland and her parents, the White House, law offices, etc. | 1864-1906 | North wall |
Picture .C62 | Coatsworth | 1 box | Yes | Consists primarily of family portraits, with some exterior views of houses | 1895-1950 | North wall |
Picture .C67 | 2 boxes | Yes | Prints of men, women and children dressed in clothing from the periods of 1800s through 1966. Helpful for exhibits. | 1800s- 1966 | North wall |
Picture .C68 | Costume - Whidding | 1 box | No | Magazine illustrations of women’s fashions. | 1890-1911 | North wall |
Picture .C69 | 1 box | Yes | Black & white photographs of construction projects in Niagara Falls and elsewhere. No Buffalo scenes. | 1915-1935 | North wall |
Picture .D45 | Dellwood Grain Elevator | 1 box | No | Photograph album showing construction process. | 1922 | North wall |
Picture .D46 | Dellwood Grain Elevator | 1 box | No | Photograph album showing construction process. | 1915-1916 | North wall |
Picture .D54 | Diehl, Thomas J. Negatives | 1 box | Yes | Negatives of paintings, engravings & lithographs of Buffalo & Niagara Falls. | 1850s- 1870s | Offsite at Resource Center, aisle 10 |
Picture .E53 | AKA Daguerreotypes & Ambrotypes | 12 boxes | Yes- | Several hundred daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes housed in pocket-sized, hinged cases. Most of the individuals, photographers, and dates are unknown. A Scholar Pass is required to access this collection. | Mid 19th century | Offsite at Resource Center, aisle 9; sample on North Wall |
Mss. B86-5 | 11 boxes | Yes | Mug shots of 1,025 men and women who served time at the Erie County Penitentiary. A Scholar Pass is required to access this collection. | 1896-1914 | Mss. Room |
Picture .E75 | 1 box | Yes | Contains the photos & prints used in 1983 book, Erie County’s Architectural Legacy. NA 730 .N42 E8 1983 | 1983 | North wall |
Picture .E84 | 1 box | Yes | Photos, illustrations and postcards of persons, buildings, and residences. | ca. 1899- 1915 | North wall |
Picture .F 55 | 1 box | Yes. Copy in box | Prints of the life of Millard Fillmore and his wives, Abigail Powers Fillmore, the first Mrs. Fillmore, and Caroline Carmichael McIntosh, the second Mrs. Fillmore, the children of Abigail and Millard, and other family members. | bulk 1850s- 1880s | North wall |
Picture .F58 | Fitzgerald Aerial Views | 1 box | No | A few dozen aerial photographs of the waterfront, Buffalo River, downtown, Kensington Expressway route and more. | 1940s- 1950s | North wall |
Picture .F582 | Fitzgerald Negatives | 4 boxes | Yes | Negatives of scenes, places, fairgrounds, and many other views of Buffalo and Erie County | 1940s- 1950s | Stored offsite at Resource Center, Aisle 10 |
Picture .F59 | 1 box | Yes | Photographs of family members and vacation spots | ca. 1910- 1925 | North wall |
Picture .F76 | 1 box | Yes | Fronczak family members, friends, and maps. | 1880s- 1940s | North wall |
Picture .G47 | German Society Portraits | 1 box | No | Photographs of unidentified members of a German society, possibly the Liedertafel. Includes men and women. | 1883-1885 | North wall |
Picture .G65 | 66 boxes; 5 oversize boxes; 1 oversize wrapped album | Yes. Shelf list at item level and a subject list | Large collection of prints from a Buffalo collector. Includes views of many Buffalo buildings, streets, persons, and factories. Album contains photos of Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, 1913-1918, interiors and exteriors. | 19th and 20th c. | All on North wall, including oversize |
Picture .H34 | Hahn, Albert | 1 box | No | Prints of soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War, scenes of the area and around Fort Sill, OK and hospitals. Rolled prints of groups of men or veterans. Persons unidentified. | 1898 | North wall |
Picture .H37 | 25 regular boxes, + (1) narrow box with 4 albums, + (1) oversize folder with box #1 | Yes | Divided into 3 sub-groups: 1) Erie Canal: canal construction, people, celebrations and bridges. 2) Buffalo Harbor: breakwall construction and harbor dredging, 1898-1903. 3) Black Rock Harbor project, 1908-1912. The (3) wrapped albums are labeled Breakwall Construction. | 1817 –1960s bulk: 1890- 1915 | North wall |
Hare | Hare Studio | 30 file cabinet drawers | Cataloged in FRANK & WorldCat | About 10,000 negatives & prints from the Hare Photography Studio, mostly of businesses and street scenes. Nearly all are listed in FRANK, the Library’s online catalog. | ca. 1940-1980 | Manu- script Room |
Picture .H46 | 2 regular boxes | Yes | Collection of 8 x 10 prints of lumber yards, residences and types of wood used on different buildings from the Henrich Lumber Company | ca. 1900-1950 | North wall |
Picture .H57 | Historic Homes | (1) regular box | No. Partial list in box (first half msg.) | Mostly the Wilkeson Mansion on Niagara Square, demolished ca. 1915 | ca. 1910-1915 | North wall |
Picture .H84 | (1) regular box | Yes. | 27 WNY automobile and truck companies, including E.R.Thomas and Pierce-Arrow. | 1899- 1950s | North wall |
Picture .H86 | (1) small box + 2 regular boxes | Copies in boxes 2 & 3 | Daguerreotypes, tintypes, and prints of family members. | ca. 1848-1940 | North wall |
Picture .I58 | 14 regular boxes | Yes | Prints of IRC buildings, buses, trolleys, streets, and horse drawn vehicles. Arranged by subject. | ca. 1919- 1960s | North wall |
Picture .I584 | International Railroad Bridge Construction | 1 bound volume | No | 16 black and white photographs of the construction of the Canadian National Bridge at Black Rock, ca. 1911, and one photograph of enlargement made in 1921. | 1911, 1921 | North wall |
Picture .J33 | 2 regular boxes | Yes. Copy in box. | Collection contains color slides and notes which Dr. Jacobsen used when giving slide presentations on the history of Erie County and other subjects. | ca. 1968-1989 | North wall |
Picture .J34 | Helen Claire Jackson | 1 bound volume | No | Helen Claire Jackson from birth to high school graduation | Ca. 1909-1930 | North wall |
Picture .J64 | Johnston Family | (1) oversize box | No | Prints of family members and friends; prints are various sizes and some are unidentified. | ca. 1910- 1960s | North wall |
Picture .J66 | (1) oversize box | Yes. Copy in box. | The Milton G. Wolfe Collection of Jones Iron Works contains photographs of sites where the wrought and cast iron produced by the company was used. | Late 19th, early 20th century | North wall |
Picture .J67 | (1) narrow box | Yes | Mostly forts and sites on the Niagara River, including War of 1812 sites. | 1916 -1925 | North wall |
Picture .J64 | Irvine J. Kittinger | 1 bound volume | No | Photographs primarily of Irvine J. Kittinger, Sr. and his boyhood friends while at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa | 1894-1896 | North wall |
Picture .K59
| (1) oversize box | Kleinhans: No. Sattler’s: Yes. Copy in box. | Two separate collections in one box. 1) Kleinhans Company: photos of exterior, interior and employee groups. 2) Sattler’s Aerial Views: aerial photos of Buffalo area and Niagara Falls marketed to customers | Kleinhans: 1893- 1950s. Sattler’s Aerial Views: ca. 1947 | North wall |
Picture .L35 | (1) regular box | Yes | Photographs, negatives and maps of properties in the Allentown neighborhood, conducted by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier. | 1970 | North wall |
Picture .L36 | (1) small box | Yes | Nine lantern slides, various scenes | North wall |
Picture .L37 | 7 regular boxes; 3 oversize boxes + (1) small box of filmstrips | Yes | A collection of photographs and fragile scrapbooks of the Larkin building and company in downtown Buffalo. | Late 19th , early 20th C. | North wall; (1) oversize flat box in Library stacks, East wall |
Picture .L47 | Letchworth House | (1) album | No | Album of 11 photographs of 155 North Street, home of Pierre and Sarah Letchworth and the birthplace of Pierre Edson Letchworth. The Letchworth house was demolished to build the Mayfair Lane townhouses. | 1899 | North wall |
Picture .L52 | (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box. | Includes Seneca-Salamanca Community, the Indian Community in the Buffalo area, and some African- Americans. | Possibly late 19th C. | North wall |
Picture .L53 | Library Prints | (1) regular box | No | Various engravings and illustrations of Buffalo scenes clipped from books, alphabetical by subject. | North wall |
Picture Oversize .L69 | (1) flat oversize box | Yes | Photos of Bethlehem Steel, Republic Steel, grain elevators, and U.S. Air taken by Jet Lowe for the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER). | ca. 1980s | Library stacks, East wall, next to Double Oversize |
Picture .L77 | LRRT | (1) portfolio | No | 35mm slides of light rail (Metro Rail) construction in Buffalo | 1970s- 1980s | North wall |
Picture .L87 | (1) narrow box | Yes. Copy in box | Photographs of the Peace Bridge and Rainbow Bridge under construction by the Buffalo Fort Erie Public Bridge Company | 1924-1921, 1940-1959 | North wall |
Picture .M35 | 5 boxes, + 2 oversize folders | Yes | Views of President William McKinley’s life, visit to Pan American Expo, and death/funeral. Includes Theodore Roosevelt and Leon Czolgosz. | 1896-1901 | North wall |
Picture .M37 | Views of Western New York | 1 album | No | Photographs of various places in Western New York, taken by Dr. William H. Marcy in 1893 and 1894. | 1893-1894 | North wall |
Picture | Metcalfe House, 125 North Street | (1) regular box | No | 8x10 prints of the interior and exterior of the Metcalfe house prior to demolition in 1980; also five sheets of color slides | ca. 1980 | North wall |
Picture .M55 | Military- Mounted Unit | (1) regular box | No | Single, staged, sepia photographs of men mounted on a wooden horse. Individuals are identified by last name and first initial. Possibly a German-American organization or a Mounted Police Unit. | Possibly late 19th to early 20th c. | North wall |
Picture .M56 | 3 oversize boxes | Yes | Artists’ conceptions of military uniforms dating from 1811-1995, filed in chronological order. Subscription. | 1811- | North wall |
Nagle Collection see Goldome/ Nagle |
Mss. C2011-04 | New York State Dept. of Transporta- tion | 3 cartons | Yes | Photographs of state highway construction in Buffalo and Erie County, including expressways. Bulk date from the postwar period. | 1932-1987 | North wall |
Picture .N53 | Niagara Blower Negatives | (1) regular box | Yes | Negatives of company’s interior and products. | 20th c. | Shelved off-site, Resource Center, Aisle 10 |
Picture .N54 | 13 boxes, + 1 oversize folder | Yes | Spans three centuries of images of the iconic natural landmark. Includes American & Canadian Falls, Niagara River, bridges, people, tourist attractions, business and more. | bulk 1850-1950 | North wall; oversize folder is shelved on top of boxes |
Picture .N54 | Niagara Falls Hydroelec- tric Plant | 1 slim box | No | One album of photos from the construction of the plant | 1924 | North wall |
Unpro- cesssed, un- cataloged | Multiple cartons | Folder level | Drawings & plans from the architectural firm | Ca. 1910-1994 | Stored offsite at Resource Center |
Picture .O43 | Old Buffalo | (1) small box | No | Glass negatives, some used in 1911 book, Palmer’s Views of Buffalo Past and Present and in 1912 book, | 1911 | Stored offsite at Resource Center, Aisle 10 |
Picture .P36 | 11 boxes + 1 flat oversize box | Yes | Nearly all are exterior views of Exposition buildings and grounds; few interior scenes. Most are black & white. | 1899-1901 | North wall; 1 flat box in Library Stacks on East wall |
Picture .P37 | 13 boxes; 1 oversize folder | Yes | Construction scenes mounted on both sides of warped cardboard. Oversize folder contains 23 panoramic views. | 1899-1901 | North wall |
Picture .P38 | (1) narrow box | Yes. Copy in box | Reproductions made from glass plate negatives and glass slides loaned by Thomas Cosgrove, August 2000. | 1901 | North wall |
Picture .P39 | Pan-American Exposition - Gerity Glass Negatives | (1) small box | No | 9 glass negatives transferred from Chemung Historical Society, 1987 | 1901 | Offsite at Resource Center, aisle 10 |
Picture .P40 | Pan-American Exposition -Photograph Albums | 6 wrapped packages | No | William Bertling 77-2; Charles Perry Coleman 90-261; August F. Fey 81-31; Guthrie Gray 94-217; Anonymous 80-43.1; Anonymous 2000-91 | 1901 | North wall |
Picture .P56 | (1) oversize box | Yes | Photographs of Buffalo waterfront occupations and places other than Buffalo | 1968- 1985 | North wall |
Picture .P67 | 53 boxes plus (1) oversize box | Yes, on Google spreadsheet | Over 7,600 black & white photographs of Western NY by Courier-Express photographer Wilbur H. Porterfield (1873-1958), filed by subject, including rural landscapes, cityscapes, churches, trees, farms, and persons. This collection is also on microfilm. | ca. 1920s- 1940s | North wall |
Picture .P678 | 8 postcard boxes + (1) oversize box | Yes | Focuses on Buffalo-area scenes and buildings. Arranged by subject matter. Selected cards are online at NYHeritage.org. | ca. 1900 to present | Behind library director’s desk |
Picture .R35 | Railroad Snow and Ice Emergency | 1 bound volume | No | 40 photographs of the New York Guard 4th Brigade during the Railroad Snow and Ice Emergency, January 31, 1945 to February 10, 1945. | 1945 | North wall |
Picture .R43 | Re: Collections | (1) narrow box | No. Publication in box | Photos of TBHM artifacts & manuscripts used in 1986 book, Re-- Collections: Artifacts and Manuscripts at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, F127.N6 B84 1986 | 1986 | North wall |
Picture .R64 | (1) oversize Hollinger box | Yes. Copy in box. | Photos of Yemeni community of Lackawanna (1974-1978), Musicians Union, Lower West Side, and October Graphics. Reproduction or publication requires permission from the Rogovin estate. | 1970s | North wall |
Picture .R65 | Rolled Photographs | (1) regular box | No | North wall |
Picture Oversize .R66 | (1) large flat box | Yes | Photos are in color. | 1980s- 1990s | Shelved in Library Stacks, East wall next to double oversize |
Picture .R69 | Rowing Clubs | 2 boxes | No | Photos of clubs and individual oarsmen from Buffalo, New York City, and Canada | bulk 1900- 1910 | North wall |
Sattler’s Aerial Views see Kleinhans Company |
Picture .S43 | Second Looks | 3 boxes | No | Photos and negatives from 1987 book, Second Looks: A Pictorial History of Buffalo & Erie County, Oversize F129 .F843 E24 1987 | 1987 | North wall |
Picture .S53 | (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box. | Photos of family and properties, persons, the canal, ice gorge, Spaulding building, and Sidway block. | Late 19th c, early 20th c. | North wall |
Picture .S55 | (1) regular box | Outdated Inventory | Drawings (blueprints) of items made by the company | ca. 1950s | North wall |
Picture .S56 | (1) regular box | Yes | Slides of different views of the area. | 1980s? | North wall |
Picture .S67 | 2 regular boxes | Yes | Prints of the Sprague family in albums and folders. Other families represented are Noyes, Prentiss, and Ward. | Late 19th c, early 20th c. | North wall |
Picture .S74 | 11 regular boxes | Yes | Stereographs mainly of Buffalo and Niagara Falls scenes. Bulk are in A-Z order by name of publisher or photographer; the rest are arranged by subject. | Late 19th c. | North wall |
Picture .S78 | 3 regular boxes + (1) oversize box | Yes | Portraits of unidentified men, women and children taken by local photography studios. In A-Z order by name of studio or photographer. | ca. 1910- 1930s | North wall |
Picture .S93 | Swan, Ben | (1) oversize box | In box only | A collection of glass negatives, including Abraham Lincoln. | 19th c. | Stored offsite at Resource Center, aisle 10 |
Picture .T35 | (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box | Portraits of Mary B. Talbert and others,including some unidentified African-American individuals. | Late 19th, early 20th c. | North wall |
Picture .T43 | 40 regular boxes, 1 oversize box of Pan-Am Bldg., 4 binders of slides | Yes | Buffalo History Museum buildings, artifacts, collections, events, activities, exhibits, and persons. See also: Re: Collections, Picture .R43 | ca. 1902-2001 | North wall |
Picture .T45
| (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box | Collection contains plans, photographs of the exterior and interior and events and activities. | 1900-1982 | North wall |
Picture .T44 | (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box | Color slides of Buffalo and Erie County architecture and the grain elevators. | ca. 1979-1980 | North wall |
Picture .T73 | 2-drawer metal cabinet | Yes | Illustrated color lithographic cards promoting Buffalo manufacturers, businesses & services | ca. 1860- 1920 | West wall in grey metal drawers |
Picture .W33 | Wade, John J. Glass Slides | 2 wooden boxes, + (1) small box | No | Glass slides of interiors, exteriors, sculpture, construction, and blueprints of Buffalo City Hall, designed by architect John J. Wade. Wooden boxes are out for conservation as of Sept. 2014. | 1929-1932 | North wall |
Picture .W38 | (1) regular box | Yes | Photographs of individuals and groups in period costumes. | Bulk 1888 | North wall |
Picture .W45 | Weinheimer, Frank L. Lake Marine | (1) regular box | No | 38 photographs of unidentified ships and sailors on the Great Lakes. Includes photocopy of Weinheimer’s Master of Steam and Motor Vessels license, 1937. | ca. 1930s | North wall |
Picture .W47 | (1) narrow box, + (1) oversize folder | In box only | 16 black and white photographs of individuals and groups of people taken by William Westphal. Most are unidentified African-Americans and Jews. | late 19th c. to mid-20th c. | North wall |
Picture .W55 | (1) regular box | Yes. Copy in box | Prints from the company, including their products. The company manufactured drop forgings and drop forged tools. | 1900s- 1940s | North wall |
Picture .W65 | Women’s Educational & Industrial Union | (1) album | No | Photographic portraits of members of and donors to the Women's Educational and Industrial Union (WEIU). There are no views of their building. | Ca. 1900 | North wall |
Picture .W66 | Wood Family | 4 bound volumes | No | Snapshots of the Wood and related families. The families lived on Whitney Place and Fargo Avenue before moving to Kenmore. Photographs show Buffalo buildings and scenes in addition to family members. | Ca. 1907-1909 | North wall |
Picture .Z56 | (1) narrow box | Yes Copy in box | Photographs of horse-drawn and motorized trucks, wagons, and an ambulance made by the A. Zimmerman Co. | 19th c, early 20th c. | North wall |
Short, sharable link: http://tinyurl.com/TBHM-PictureCollections
Compiled by Cynthia Hayes, 2012
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