Research Guides

Photography

Web Sites

General Sites

Photomuse: a resource for scholarship in the history of photography
George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film and the International Center of Photography (ICP).

Timeline of Color Photography.
Jennifer Uhrhane, Boston University

World Wide Arts Resources: Artists: Photography
Browse by photographer or by category such as "photojournalism." Includes links to the Web pages of individual artists.

Yahoo! Arts: Visual Arts: Photography
36 categories of sites from 3-D to Zone system, including education, exhibits, photographers, photojournalism, and underwater photography. Also searchable.

 

Portals

Art History Resources on the Web: Photography
Chris Witcombe, Art History Department, Sweet Briar College, VA. Short list of sites.

ARTstor  BU  NEW

BUBL LINK: Photography
Andersonian Library, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland. Photograph collections.

Digital Images Collections Guide: Photography
American Library Association  NEW

intute (best of the web): photography

Librarians' Internet Index: Photography

Women in Photography International   new
" Founded in 1981, and reorganized in 2000 as an online resource center, Women in Photography International serves the needs of photographers, photo educators, photography students, gallery owners and photographic organizations around the world."  The Reference Library provides a list of publications of single photographers arranged alphabetically by photographer.

Boston University Programs

Boston University American and New England Studies Program
Faculty, program, courses, resources.

Boston University Art Gallery
Links to several photography sites.

Boston University History of Art and Architecture
Faculty, resources, grants, Art Gallery, events.

Photographic Resource Center at Boston University
Exhibitions, interactive and educational programs, links to other photographic resources.

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Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

 

Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, ed. John Hannavy.   Almost 1,200 entries on photographers,

themes,regional surveys, societies and organizations, inventors, patrons, and critics.     XTR 9 H25 2007.                                      

Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, 3rd ed, by Leslie Stroebel.

Emphasis on technical aspects. Includes photographic organizations, types, e.g., botanical, commerical. Brief biographical entries, excluding artistic photographers.
XTR 9 F6 1993

Glossary of processing terms, with exhibitions using processes. 

Grove Art Online: Photography

International Center of Photography Encyclopedia of Photography, ed. William Broecker.

Artistic, technical, biographical. 1,200 entries describing aesthetic, communicative, scientific, technical, and commercial applications of photography; development of the medium; and contributions of photographers, scientists, and inventors.
XTR 9 I24 1984

Oxford Companion to the Photograph   BU   new

PhotoSpeak: a guide to the ideas, movements, and techniques of photography, 1839 to the present, by Gilles Mora.

Essential information about techniques; styles and movements; role of photography in advertising, fashion, and photojournalism; and aesthetic concepts and critical terms. No biographical entries; principal photographers involved in styles and movements are listed under those entries.
XTR 15 FM63 1998

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Bibliographies and Guides

Art Information and the Internet: How to Find It, How to Use It, by Lois Swan Jones.

Chapter on photography (pp. 194-197) includes print and Web resources under the headings: history of photography, biographical dictionaries of photographers, photography Web sites, photography collections of museums and libraries, visual resources for photography, indexes to photographs, and photography archives and vertical files.
XN 59 J66 1998

Bibliography of articles by and about women in photography, 1840- 1990, 4th ed, comp. Peter Palmquist.

XZ 7134 P34 2000

Bibliography of books by and about women photographers : in the collection of the Women in Photography International Archive as of January 1, 2000, comp. Peter Palmquist.

XZ 7134 P33 2000

Bibliography of German-Language Photographic Publications 1839-1984: Technology, Theory, Visual, 2d ed, 2 vols, by Frank Heidtmann.

24,347 titles covering technical, social and pictoral aspects. Arranged by topics. In English and German. Single alphabetical name and subject index.
XZ 7134 H44 1989

A History of Photography: From Its Beginnings to the 1920s
Dr. Robert Leggat.

An overview of photography from its beginnings until the 1920's, including a bibliography, biographies of significant people, and definitions of significant processes.

History of Photography (Microform)

This microfilm collection, consisting of approximately 2,100 monographs and 102 periodicals, is available in the Microforms Room, Mugar Memorial Library, under the call number Micro Mfilm TR 7 H5M.  Research materials of Eastman Kodak, New York Public, Columbia University and other library collections are included. The Bibliography and Reel Guide to the Microfilm Collection, 1982 (Micro XTR 7 H5M 1982) provides reel numbers for titles of monographs and periodicals.  Individual titles and reel numbers are in the library online catalog.

History of Photography: Bibliography of Books [published between 1839 and 1988], by Laurent Roosens.

11,000 titles listed chronologically within subject groups. Includes photographers born before 1914. Personal name index. International publications limited to Western languages.
XZ 7134 R66 1989

Incunabula of British Photographic Literature, by Helmut Gernsheim.

Subtitle: A Bibliography of British Photographic Literature 1839-75 and British Books Illustrated with Original Photographs.
XZ 7134 G47 1984

Library Catalog of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, 4 vols, 1982.

Books only, including exhibition catalogs. Author/title and subject indexes. XZ 7134 I58 1982

Midley History of Photography.  Online scholarly articles written by R. Derek Wood on the history of photography.

 

Nineteenth-Century Photographic Press: A Study Guide, by Robert Sennett.

Material published between 1840 and 1900 in European and American journals. Includes a brief history of the photographic press, a person/subject index, and a geographical guide.
XZ 7134 S45 1987

Nineteenth-Century Photography [1839 - 1879]: An Annotated Bibliography, by William Johnson.

Books and articles in English published between 1839 and 1989. Arranged by artist or author. Separate "special topics" section.
XZ 7134 J64 1990

Photographic Literature: An International Bibliographic Guide to General and Specialized Literature on Photographic Processes; Techniques; Theory; Chemistry; Physics; Apparatus; Materials & Applications; Industry; History; Biography; Aesthetics, 2 vols, ed. Albert Boni, 1962, Suppl. (1960-1970), 1972.

Coverage from the 15th century through the 1960's. Books, pamphlets, and periodical articles. Arranged alphabetically by subject. Author index.
XZ 7134 F62

Photography and Literature: An International Bibliography of Monographs [1839-1991], by Eric Lambrechts.

Arranged by author/photographer. Subject index.
XZ 1023 L33 1992

Photography and Photographers to 1900: An Annotated Bibliography, by Robert Sennett.

In five sections: general works, early technical treatises, early theoretical treatises, monographs on photographers, and early views and topographic surveys.
XZ 7134 S46 1985

Soucebooks in the History of Photography: Theory and Technology of Optics, Light, Colours, Physiology of Colour-Vision. Rare Books from the 16th - 19th Centuries, compiled by Walter Alicke.

Antiquarian bookdealer catalogue. Useful for lengthly descriptions of books and some facsimile pages. Arranged by author. Many books are available on microfilm in the History of Photography collection. Check the library catalog.
XZ 7137 A5 1988

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Indexes to Periodicals and Dissertations

America: History and Life, 1964--. BU

Subject index to articles, book reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Also available in print at Mugar Reference X Z 1201 F64.

A&HCI (World of Science: Arts & Humanities Citation Index), 1975--. BU

Multidisciplinary database covering journal articles. Indexes articles and references cited in articles . Useful for authors who want to find out where their articles have been cited.   new

Art Index/Art Index Retrospective, 1929--. BU

Periodical coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. Includes books reviews. Reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals also are indexed. Subjects covered include archaeology, architecture, art history, city planning, crafts, motion pictures, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, museology, and photography.

ARTbibliographies Modern, 1974--. BU

Indexes and provides abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews covering artists and movements beginning in the late 19th century to the present. Photography is covered from its invention in 1839. Lesser-known artists, performance art and installation works, video art, computer and electronic art, graffiti, artists' books, theater arts, crafts, jewelry, and illustration are included in addition to painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing. Emphasis on foreign-language publications.

BHA(Bibliography of the History of Art), 1973--2009.

Getty Information Institute. Books, journals, dissertations, exhibition catalogs. Western art, all media, late antiquity to the present. Includes and continues RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art), 1975-1989 and RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie), 1973-1989.

CUFTS

Information about journals including where they are indexed.

Dissertation Abstracts, 1861--.

Citations to dissertations accepted for doctoral degrees at accredited North American institutions and more than 200 institutions elsewhere; abstracts are available from 1980 to date. Citations to masters' theses from 1962 to date; abstracts available from 1988 to date. Boston University dissertations published from 1997 to date may be downloaded at no charge.  For a subject list of Dissertations in Progress, see the June issue of Art Bulletin.  BU

FRANCIS, 1984--. BU

A multidisciplinary, multilingual database indexing articles in the humanities, social sciences, and economics.

Historical Abstracts, 1969--. BU

Indexes articles, book reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Also available in print from 1955 to 1999 at Mugar Reference X D 1 F55.

Index to 19th-Century American Art Periodicals. BU

Covers nearly all art journals from the 19th century. Indexes entire journal contents--articles, art notes, illustrations, stories, poems, and advertisements. Source of information on popular culture and industry, artists and illustrators, painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, architecture and design, exhibitions and sales, decoration, and collecting.

 

 

JSTOR, dates vary. BU

Retrospective database of full text academic journals that can be searched individually or in groups. "The moving wall is a fixed period of time ranging, in most cases, from 2 to 5 years, that defines the gap between the most recently published issue and the date of the most recent issues available in JSTOR".

Lexis/Nexis Academic, dates vary, generally from the mid-1980s. BU

Full text current newspapers and magazines.

 

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Biographical Sources

American National Biography, includes artists and architects.  Also, theme collections.

Artcyclopedia

Choose artists by medium. Click on photographers for a chronological list.

Black Photographers 1840-1940: A Bio-Bibliography and Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988, by Deborah Willis-Thomas.

Entries include biographical data, public repositories of works, selected list of exhibitions and selected bibliography. Both books provide large sections of representative photographs arranged alphabetically by photographer.
XTR 139 W55 1985, 1989

Contemporary Photographers, 3rd ed, ed. Martin Evans.

Entries include exhibitions, collections, and publications by and about 750 photographers. See also the 1st (1966) and 2nd (1988) editions.
XTR 139 C663 1995

Directory of Boston Photographers, 1840-1900, by Ronald Polito.

Information on 890 studio photographers and 204 related professionals taken from the Boston Business and City Directories. Separate list of women photographers. Lists of album manufacturers, dealers, publishers, and supply, apparatus, and copying firms.
XTR 25 B66 P64 1985

A History of Photography
http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/

Dr. Robert Leggat. Biographies of various lengths of significant people in the history of photography from its beginnings until the 1920's.
XZ 7134 S46 1985

History of Women Photographers, by Naomi Rosenblum.  3rd ed. 
Mugar Library TR139 .R67 2010

International Guide to Nineteenth-Century Photographers and Their Works, based on Catalogues of Auction Houses and Dealers, by Gary Edwards, 1988.

Directory providing brief biographical and career data and a chronological listing of sales entries in bookseller, gallery, and auction house catalogues. Separate list of catalogues dating between 196l and 1986. Prices excluded.
XTR 15 E48 1988

Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists and Innovators, by Turner Browne.

International; 19th and 20th centuries. Entries include publications by and about, and locations of photograph collections for over 2,000 biographees.
XTR 139 B767 1983

Photographers: A Sourcebook for Historical Research, by Richard Rudisill.

Includes essays on theory, technique, and regional research. Annotated world bibliography of directories of photographers.
XTR 15 P477 1991

Photographers Encyclopedia International 1839 to the Present, 2 vols, by Michele Auer.

In French and English. 1,600 single-page biographies of inventors, illustrators, photojournalists, etc. Entries include bibliographies; exhibitions; photo of artist and illustration of work.
XTR 139 A94 1985

Photographers of the Farm Security Administration: An Annotated Bibliography, 1930 - 1980, by Penelope Dixon.

In two parts: individual photographer bibliographies and group publications. Books, periodical articles, master's theses, exhibition catalogs, reviews. For images, see America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945.
XZ 7136 D63 D59 1985

Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on Their Art, compiled by Brooks Johnson.

C0-published with the Chrysler Museum.
Mugar Reference XTR 185 P53 2004

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Reproductions

Photography Books Index: A Subject Guide to Photo Anthologies, 2 vols, by Martha Moss, 1980, 1985.

Indexes books, including Time-Life photography series, published between 1963 and 198l. Organized into three sections: photographers, subjects, and portraits. Color reproductions noted.
XTR 199 M37, suppl.

Photography Index: A Guide to Reproductions, by Pamela Parry, 1979.

Indexes 19th- and 20th-century international artistic and documentary photographs published in eighty books. Color reproductions noted.
XTR 199 P37

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Resource

Focal Handbook of Commerical Photography, by Gerry Kopelow.

Guide to career planning and professional practice with emphasis on requisite skills of the commercial photographer-- as artist, entrepreneur, accountant, designer, carpenter, chemist, creative director, and electronic technician. Topics covered include the electronic studio, financing, industry overview, vocabularies of traditional and electronic production, and legal and ethical issues.
XTR 581 K663 1998

Photographer's Market: 2,000 Places to Sell Your Photographs, annual, ed. Michael Willins.

Annotated lists of markets, e.g., consumer publications, newspapers, book publishers, advertising firms, business organizations, galleries, etc. Articles on the industry and professional business. Resources include art/photo representatives, workshops, schools, professional organizations, Websites, digital markets, etc.
XTR 12 P515

Picture Research: A Practical Guide, by John Schultz.

Chapters include: Production and Reproduction of Photographs, Profiles of Professionals in Photography, Researchers and Buyers, Public Sources: Museums and Archives, Commercial Picture Agencies, Legal Issues, and Electronic Picture Transmission and Research.
XTR 147 S38 1991

Picture Researcher's Handbook: An International Guide to Picture Sources and How to Use Them, 6th ed, by Hilary Evans.

Provides annotated entries for 24 photograph collections of aesthetic or historical significance with information on contacts, purchase, lending, and copying.
XN 4000 E8 1996

 

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Photographic Collections

AP Images (Associaed Press) BU

"...a comprehensive tool for researching virtually all the major news events photographed from the 1840s to within minutes of an event occuring today... Choose from almost 700,000 news photos. Each day, 500 more are added. Full captions describe the news event."

American Memory: Photographs, Prints, & Drawings

Historical Collections for the National Digital Library, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Collections include: Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865; Daguerreotypes, 1839-1864; Detroit Publishing Company's Turn-of-the-Century Photographs, 1880-1920; Great Depression to World War II Photographs from the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection, 1935-1945; and Panoramic Photographs, ca. 1851-1991.

ARTstor  BU  NEW

Digital Images Collections Guide: Photography
American Library Association  NEW

 

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film

George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Features include Photography Collection, and the Schankman Image Server.

Guide to Canadian Photographic Archives, ed. Christopher Seifried.

Collection archives of government, educational institutions, private companies and associations, libraries, museums, and publicly accessible research organizations. Brief collection descriptions. Repository, subject, and photographer indexes.
XTR 199 G838 1984

Guide to Photographic Collections at the Smithsonian Institution, by Diane O'Connor.

Vol. I: National Museum of American History; entries arranged by activities of American people at home, at work, in their communities, etc. Vol. III: Cooper-Hewitt Museum; Freer Gallery of Art; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; National Museum of African Art; National Museum of American Art; National Portrait Gallery; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery; Office of Horticulture.
XQ 11 S79 1989 v.1,3

Helios: National Museum of American Art Photography Online

Washington, DC. New site featuring American Photographs: The First Century, Contemporary American Landscape Photography, and Secrets of the Dark Chamber: the American Daguerreotype. Other Photography Links is an annotated list of selected Web resources.

International photography : George Eastman House index to photographers, collections, and exhibitions,  ed. Andrew H. Eskind, three volumes. XTR 12 E85 1998

Index to American Photographic Collections, 3rd ed, by Andrew Eskind. Arranged by state. Separate index of photographers. XTR 12 E85 1996

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Photography  new

Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Photography   new

 

New York Public Library Photography Collecton

Center for the Humanities, The Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs. "Contains 200,000 original photographic prints representing an international range of photographers, and comprising a thorough survey of processes, from the medium's 150+ year history". CATNYP, the online catalog of The Research Libraries, includes photographs added to the collections mainly after 1971. Also features online photography exhibitions.

Peter A. Juley & Son Collection

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System, Washington, DC. Archive of 127,000 images of the work of 10,000 American artists. Catalog records only--no images.

Photographic Exhibitions in Britain 1839-1865.

 

Prints and Photographs (P&P) Online Catalog

Library of Congress.

Royal Photographic Society

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