Collection documents the National Photographic Society, an amateur camera club in Washington, D.C.
Scope and Contents:
The Executive Records, 1944-1978, consist of copies and drafts of the constitution, by-laws, correspondence, and the Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes. The Treasurer Records, 1956-1973, include bank account information that deals with authorization to open an organizational bank account, correspondence about monies collected and expenses incurred and the treasurer's annual reports that document receipts, disbursements, and special activities. The Membership Records, 1945-1984, contain directories (with mailing addresses and telephone numbers), officer information detailing which members served as trustees and/or on what committee. The club had several committees—slide, projector, portrait, special activities, publicity, finance, reception, dinner, membership, salon, audit, print, nominating, program, library and by-laws. The membership applications were maintained on 3" x 5 and 5" x 8" index cards. The annual awards information contains certificates awarded to Barbara Schroeder for a variety of honors, but the majority of documentation deals primarily with annual awards given for color slides. The Henry B. Shaw Memorial Trophy was a specific award and honor that was presented to the NPS member who made the greatest contribution to the well being of NPS. The award was named for Henry B. Shaw, former president of NPS.
The club published a monthly bulletin titled The Finder, 1942-1986, which was distributed to club members and photographic dealers. The Finder was a one-page newsletter from 1942 to April 1945, but in May of 1945 enlarged to four pages, in some instances with inserts. The Photographs and Negatives, 1959-1960, provide documentation of the club's annual banquet and presentation of awards in 1959 and a holiday outing to Petersburg, West Virginia. The photographs and negatives are approximately 4" x 5". The Salons, 1944-1959, includes schedules and other printed materials about salons that club members participated in or attended in the Washington, D.C. area. Camera Clubs, 1949-1967, documents the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs, an organization with which NPS was affiliated, and the Metropolitan Camera Club Council, Inc. of New York, New York. The newspaper clippings, 1948-1955, contain information on two columns, "Camera Angles," a weekly written by Alexander J. Wedderburn, Curator of Photography at the Smithsonian Institution and the "Monthly Print Clinic" featuring a photograph with narrative description.
Includes documents concerning the National Photographic Society's affiliations with the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs and the Photographic Society of America.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series
Series 1: Executive Records
Series 2: Treasurer Records
Series 3: Membership Records
Series 4: The Finder Newsletter
Series 5: Photographs and Negatives
Series 6: Salons
Series 7: Camera Clubs
Series 8: Newspaper Clippings
Biographical / Historical:
The Revenue Camera Club was organized in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 1938. It changed its name to The National Photographic Society (NPS) on April 1, 1943. It became affiliated with the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs and the Photographic Society of America. The NPS was incorporated in 1944 with a constitution and by-laws as a "non-profit organization under the provisions of Chapter 5 of the Code of the District of Columbia for the promotion of art and science of photography in all its various branches, through individual memberships, associated camera clubs and other photographic organizations, research and the dissemination of photographic knowledge and the promotion of photographic salons and exhibitions." The management of the society was vested in a board of trustees that was made up of nine members. The club held meetings in each other's homes, church basements or at the Mt. Pleasant or Georgia Avenue libraries where they showed member's prints and eventually held meetings at the Arts Club of Washington. The club dissolved in 1986.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Ms. Barbara Schroeder, February 12, 1999.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Clubs -- Photography -- 1940-1990 -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Exhibitions -- 1940-1990 -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Camera clubs -- 1940-1990 -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence -- 1940-2000
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film -- 1900-2000
Newsletters -- 20th century
Clippings -- 1940-1990 -- Washington (D.C.)
Minutes
Citation:
National Photographic Society Records, 1942-1986, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
