Photographs of university properties (PG 19)

This photograph group contains still images related to the buildings, landscapes, and artworks owned by the university. These images are produced from digital photographs and through chemical photographic printing processes, such as prints, slides, and negatives. Other pictures and illustrations created through mechanical processes, such as postcards, are located in RG 19: Collection on university properties.

These photographs document the buildings – their design, structure, and maintenance – rather than the departmental functions that occur within those spaces. A small number of photos of architectural schematic designs, comprised of drawings and site models, are also incorporated. Materials documenting the historic specimen trees on campus were generated through an independent collaborative botany project in 1985. Additional materials surveying the condition of campus trees and buildings originated in 1991 to document the aftermath of Hurricane Bob.

The furniture and paintings described herein as artworks are original to the properties that were acquired by the university. Many of these items have subsequently been sold at auction. Sculptural works of more recent date have been installed by the university.

These materials are produced by multiple and often unidentified sources – both amateur and professional photographers. While the larger creation of this photograph group is generally attributed to amateur photographers, the employment of professional photographers is a more recent characteristic of the materials in this collection. The images created by professional photographers for institutional use document aerial overviews, property condition surveys, construction and renovation projects, and holdings of select artworks. Professional photographers are cited in individual building descriptive notes.

Also of note in this collection are several reproduction prints obtained from other institutions, such as the Providence Journal Company and the Rhode Island Historical Society. Identification of these images is cited in individual building descriptive notes. Copyrights to these reproductions are owned by the creator of the originating institution, not by Salve Regina.

This group of photographs generally ranges in date from 1947 to 2001, but specific dates of creation for many images are largely unknown. While some of the prints have descriptive captions on the back, the reliability of these postdated notations is questionable, and researchers should make independent confirmations of all caption information. The chronological identification of these images is an approximation; a relative order has been established through attention to physical changes in the content of the photograph as well as changes in the photographic processes. The researcher is advised to consult related materials to clarify any further questions about dates, captions, and image content.

A small number of early photographs reflect the personal design and use of a building by its original owners prior to acquisition and adaptation by the university. These images are identified in individual building descriptive notes.

Aerial photographs have been filed in one of two ways based on their content. Images featuring multiple buildings have been filed together in the subseries "Aerial overview, general campus." Images featuring an individual building have been filed with the subseries for that building.

Photographic formats

This collection contains photographic material in multiple formats and dimensions. Included are transparencies (slides and 35 mm and 120 mm negatives), photographic prints ( 3.5 x 5 in., 4 x 6 in., 5 x 7 in., 8 x 10 in., and oversize), and oversized prints of digital photographs.

All materials are housed in sleeves relative to their standard dimension. Characteristic of this collection are a number of (thin) flexible-card mounted prints and (thick) mat-type mounted prints which may require modifications to their housing. Mounted photographs that exceed a standard dimension were placed into a larger sleeve. Descriptive notes for this collection quantify materials by sleeve size not by physical print dimensions.