This summer we started a multi-year project to reprocess one of our most visually rich, fascinating, least known and hardest to use collections (hoping, of course, to change these latter points).
Students exploring the newly opened Frost Library in September of 1965
The College Photographer’s Negatives Collection is a large collection of negatives and prints created by the official college photographers from 1960 to 2005. The college photographers documented all aspects of the college and college life: events, staff, buildings, sports, theater, daily student life, and everything in between. The current project is to rehouse the negatives (which are already listed in the finding aid) and organize and integrate the many boxes of prints. Our hardworking student assistant, Tessa McEvoy ’16, has already rehoused the 21,000+ negatives from the 1960s and is moving full steam ahead into the 1970s.
The old and the new. The negatives will be much easier to use in their new mylar sleeves.
Once this is complete our dream is to digitize all the negatives (by rough estimate there are 240,000 images) and make them available on the Amherst College Digital Collections site. We also hope to add the digital photographs of campus that have been taken since 2005 (many of which are available on the College’s flickr site) to the collection so we can ensure proper long-term storage and access to this more recent college history.
We will certainly be back on the blog to give updates on this epic project but for now, please enjoy this small selection of images from Amherst College in the 1960s (click through for larger images):
President Kennedy’s helicopter landing in memorial field in advance of his October 1963 commencement and Frost Library ground breaking speeches. (image 63-001-8 neg 17)
President Kennedy during his visit to campus, October 1963. (image 63-001-8 neg 23)
President Kennedy driving by the Amherst town common, October 1963. (image 63-001-8 neg 29)
Moving the books out of Converse Library, July 1965. (image 65-001-05 neg 9)
Students in the newly opened Frost Library, September 1965. (image 65-001-20 neg 1)
The circulation desk of the newly opened Frost Library, September 1965. (image 65-001-20 neg 4)
The future site of Hampshire College, August 1965. (image 65-007-3 neg 4)
Vietnam War protesters at commencement 1966, the commencement speaker was Robert MacNamara. (image 66-005-6 neg 15)
Chemistry lab, August 1966. (image 66-014-7 neg 5)
Administrative staff learning to use the new Centrix phone system, September 1966. (image 66-031-1 neg 13)
Performance of The Tempest in Kirby Theater, November 1967. (image 67-053-3)
Chuck Berry playing at the May 1967 prom! (image 67-044-1 neg 4)
Prom goers enjoying the Chuck Berry performance, May 1967. (67-044-1 neg 27)
Performance of Charly’s Aunt in Kirby Theater, September 1967. (image 67-052-2)
Newly finished social dorms, summer 1963. (67-080-18 neg 27)
Newly finished social dorms, summer 1963. (image 67-080-18 neg 23)
Common area inside one of the newly finished social dorms, summer 1963. (67-080-2 neg 11)
Trustees’ wives touring the newly completed Crossett Dormitory, November 1963. (67-080-3 neg 39)
Fraternity rushing, March 1968. (68-106-9 neg 34)
Open house in the new Merrill Science building, November 1968. (68-082-a4 neg 10)
Students gathered on the quad for a two-day moratorium on classes to allow students to discuss campus and national issues, April 1969. (69-001-1 neg 26)
Students gathered in the Cage to discuss campus and national issues during a two-day moratorium on classes, April 1969. (69-001-12 neg 14)
