Hughes Studio Photograph Collection - PP30

Collection finding aids of photograph collections in the Special Collections of the Maryland Historical Society Library 

HUGHES STUDIO PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

ca. 1940-1956

PP30

Collection Inventory Lists 

Maryland Historical Society, Special Collections Department
201 West Monument Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201 

Collection processed and finding aid created by Sarah Schmidt and LuAnn Sleeper. Cataloging and Digitization funded by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission, 1997-1999

History

The Hughes Company was a commercial photography studio in Baltimore, Maryland which made photographs for corporations, the government, and private individuals. The company was founded by James F. Hughes (d. ca. 1903), who was first listed as a photographer in the Baltimore directory in 1877. In 1889, Hughes advertised his services as a "practical photographer" in the Daily News and operated from quarters at 1414 Patterson Avenue. Many of the company’'s photographs were made with an 8 x 10 inch view camera.

James Hughes owned the company until the time of his death ca. 1903, when company employee James W. Scott (1878-1953) bought the business from Hughes’ widow. The business eventually passed to Scott’'s son, Gaither Scott. The Hughes Company existed until the late 1970s, when Gaither Scott retired. The company operated at numerous addresses over the years, including 1106 Riggs Avenue (mid 1890s-1902), 17-19 East Baltimore Street (ca. 1904, hence all negatives prior to that date were destroyed in the Baltimore Fire), 108 North Liberty Street (1906-1907), 205 West Fayette Street (1908-1929), 213 West Monument Street (1930-1963), and 115 East 25th Street (after 1963).

Collection Origin

Gift of Gaither Scott, 1981 (75752).

Scope and Contents

Note: There are two sections of the Hughes Collection. The first section, known as PP8, covers dates ca. 1910-1946. This portion of the collection consists of vintage glass plate negatives for which modern prints were made during the 1980s at the Maryland Historical Society, with some vintage prints and film negatives. The second section of the Hughes Collection, called the Hughes Studio Photograph Collection, is known as PP30, and covers dates ca. 1940-1956.

Go to PP8 Hughes Collection page. 

The Hughes Studio Photograph Collection (PP30) consists of 61 boxes containing approximately 36,000 negatives, with dates spanning 1940 to 1956. The majority of these photos are black and white negatives.

Large portions of the photographs were taken in the Baltimore area, however locations span the state and include Delaware and Washington, D.C. The collection provides an extensive professional documentation of many aspects of life in Baltimore city and county, St. Mary's County and Annapolis, including street scenes, buildings, shipping, industry, businesses, recreational and sports facilities, public buildings, residences, churches, schools, monuments, and transportation.

The subject matter varies widely with buildings, war rallies, machinery, employee identification photos, weddings and other special events making up a large portion of the collection.

Other topics identified include: advertising, display windows,  posters, women’s history, African American history, slavery, railroads, buses, automobiles, ships, airplanes, aerial views, funerals, fires and firefighting, grocers, architectural elements, furniture, fashions, hospitals, hotels, American Indian history.

Also copy negatives of many historical prints, paintings, and documents. Photographs of paintings, portraits, and print making; stained glass.

Arrangement

The photos are arranged in their original order as created by the photographers. For the most part this is a chronological order. The boxes are cataloged to the folder level. For the most part, each folder relates to a single job contracted to the Hughes Company. Each folder houses between one and twenty negatives. During the re-housing process some folders were divided into two folders due to the large number of negatives.

Container List

Due to the size of the collection, the inventory list has been placed into a PDF for download. All 61 boxes in the collection are included in the PDF below. 

View the PP30 Hughes Inventory List (PDF)