Claude Matlack Photograph Collection - 1896-1943

circa 7,300 items

The bulk of the collection are 5x7 photographic prints. Views are of places, building exteriors, events and people in Miami, Miami Beach, and South Florida. Examples of topics include: clearing mangroves on Miami Beach and construction of the Overseas Highway; Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, mainly at Musa Isle and along the Tamiami Trail; present-day Everglades National Park, Tamiami Trail and environs, present-day Big Cypress National Preserve, and Ft. Jefferson (Dry Tortugas).

Corresponding negatives exist for most of the photographic prints. 5x7 inch negatives include original safety negatives and direct duplicate negatives made from nitrate-based negatives. 4x5 negaives include original safety negatives, direct duplicate negatives made from nitrate-based negatives, and copy negatives made from the 5x7 prints.

Matlack kept several logs, which record number, date photographed, and, for about half the entries, brief subject. The photographer's logs are in several original, post-bound binders.

Arranged numerically (usually also chronologically) in 50 topical series established by the photographer. Prints and corresponding negatives have a two-part number (e.g., 14-1), in which the second number (-1) is the series and the first number (14-) is the item. A 51st series is arranged by a four-digit number, and contains photographs Matlack did not assign to one of the topical series.

Prints and negatives are filed separately.

The photographic prints and logs are open for research.

Negatives not available due to fragility. Use photographic prints or digital images.

Permission from Historical Museum of Southern Florida staff required prior to reproduction of drawings and photographs in a publication. Please contact archives staff for more information.

Mileo Photo Shop, a photographic lab in Coral Gables, acquired the collection after Matlack's death. They gave the collection to the Historical Association of Southern Florida (parent of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida) in 1952.

Gift.

Some of the photographs were said to have been damaged during the 1964 hurricane (the museum, then directly on Biscayne Bay, sustained water damage. This may or may not account for the missing series (they disappeared before 1974).

Nitrate-base negatives destroyed during the 1970s, to reduce fire hazard. Many of these negatives were copied on direct-duplicate film prior to destruction.

The photographic prints were removed from acidic albums in 1983-1984. Some of the prints were accidentally torn during the process.

Matlack's Kentucky photographs were transferred to the University of Louisville photographic archives sometime between 1973 and 1977.

Other Information

Accession number: 1952-001

Item-level database available for research in the archives. Digital images are attached to some of the database records.

Finding Aid Authors: Finding aid encoded by Rebecca A. Smith on November 09, 2005.

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