The UMass Amherst Libraries hosted “Focus on Photographic Archives: Collector and Archivist in Conversation,” a conversation with collector Paul Rheingold about photographic archives. 

The event, held on Friday, September 20 in Old Chapel, celebrated the recently acquired Paul D. Rheingold Historic Photograph Collection.

Paul Rheingold, an attorney and author, started collecting photographs in the mid-1980s. He amassed 50,000 photos mounted on board representing an array of technologies, sizes from wallet to poster, time periods from the 1860s to the 1930s, and just about any subject imaginable in front of a camera in the decades following the invention of photography. Rheingold’s great project has been the sorting of the pictures, resulting in a complex—some might say baroque—taxonomy. As he writes, “If this collection of pictures, or any collection, was given to a thousand people who were asked to place them into categories, no two people would come up with the same topics and divisions.” Thanks to his passion for research and storytelling, he has been able to locate many of these photos in time and space, and he described his experiences building and learning about his collection during the event.

Visual Archivist Annie Sollinger situated the Rheingold Collection among the variety of photographic collections held in the Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center. Also a photographer and art historian, she shared her own experiences with photography and archives as well as her work with the Rheingold Collection.

Following their presentations, the collector and archivist came together to discuss the archival life of photographs, visual literacy, how this collection has engaged students on campus, and of course, the joy of discovery.

The Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center (SCUA) collects materials of enduring historical and cultural value relating to four major thematic areas: the history and experience of social change in America; the histories and cultures of New England with an emphasis on Massachusetts; innovation and entrepreneurship; and the broad community associated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. SCUA’s collections are highly integrated and span all formats, including personal papers and organizational records, books and periodicals, maps, photographs, audio and video recordings, and digital materials of all kinds. The department is located on the 25th floor of the W. E. B. Du Bois Library and is open to the public.

This story was originally published by the University Libraries.