Division of Culture and the Arts Photographs
name: label: Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Culture and the Arts
place: label: Place
content: Alaska -- Sitka -- Russian cemetery
label: Place
content: Alaska -- Sitka -- Russian Church
label: Place
content: Great Britain
label: Place
content: Italy
label: Place
content: Oklahoma
label: Place
content: Philippine Islands -- 1910-1920
label: Place
content: Utah
topic: label: Topic
content: California -- Missions
label: Topic
content: Cowboys
label: Topic
content: Drawing -- 20th century -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Temples, Mormon -- 1890-1920 -- Utah -- Salt Lake City
label: Topic
content: Weapons
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Culture and the Arts
setName: label: See more items in
content: Division of Culture and the Arts Photographs
abstract: label: Summary
content: A collection of photographs collected by the Division of Culture and the Arts, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, Institution.
bioghist: label: Historical
content: The Division of Culture and the Arts Photograph Collection NMAH.AC.1292 is a group of transferred materials from previous Smithsonian departments. A portion of the material was accessioned by the Smithsonian between 1891 and 1902.

For example, Sub-Series 1.4, the Philippine Islands, includes photographs originally accessioned on November 6, 1902. The United States National Museum (USNM) Division of Ethnology, later named the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology (SOA), originally housed these materials, later transferred to the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History (NMAH). In the early twentieth-century cataloging system, many of these materials were categorized under "Ethnic," "Domestic Life," and "American Miscellaneous."

The majority of the photographs are photographic prints. The collection includes photograph negatives, artwork, correspondence, memorandums, and clippings. The collection features portraits, scenes of daily activity, landscape views, architecture, religious personages and sacred architecture (including Mormonism, Russian Orthodox, Catholic), weapons and material related to the American-Philippine War, and Spanish Missions in California. The collection includes but is not limited to material from Alaska, Italy, Spain, and the Philippine Islands, as well as architecture and mission-related photographs from California.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Cubic feet (15 boxes, 3 map folders)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1840-1948
label: Date
content: undated
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1292
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1: Geographic Locations, 1840-1948, undated

Series 2: Architecture: Missions, 1890-1903, undated

Series 3: Cultural Landscapes, 1884, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Audrey Clancy, intern, July 2025, supervised by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 19th-20th century -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- Silver gelatin prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Content Description
content: Collection is comprised of photographs collected by the Smithsonian Division of Culture and the Arts in the National Museum of American History. There are a few non-photographic materials included within this collection as well.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at the Smithsonian Institution

National Anthropological Archives

Division of Ethnology photograph collection, NAA.PhotoLot.97