Alabama Media Group Donates Massive Photographic Negative Collection to Alabama Department Of Archives and History

From a Joint Announcement

The Alabama Department of Archives and History and Alabama Media Group announced today that Alabama Media Group is donating its massive collection of photographic negatives to the Archives, where the images will be preserved, digitized, and made available to the public.
Containing an estimated three million images, the collection is the largest gift of historical content received by the Archives since its founding in 1901.
The negatives were produced by scores of photographers who worked at the Birmingham News, Mobile’s Press-Register,
and the Huntsville Times. They document occasions ranging from presidential elections to city council meetings and from
civil rights demonstrations to high school football games. The earliest images are from the 1920s, but the bulk of the
collection dates from the 1940s through the end of the twentieth century. Most were likely never published and have been
seen only by the photographer and perhaps an editor.

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Work to scan and place the images online will commence in the coming months and likely last for years, according to
Murray. An initial phase will involve capturing the handwritten or typed information on the envelopes containing the
negatives.
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Once ready, the scanned images will appear in a special Alabama Media Group Collection on the Archives’ site at www.digital.archives.alabama.gov.
For additional information about the announcement [including an FAQ], visit alabamamediagroup.com/archives/.

Direct to Collection Preview Site, Sample Images
Read the Complete Announcement

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, News