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ESB Moore Photograph Donation

Moore Negatives

A very neat discovery from a recent donation of photographic negatives. The collection consisted of approximately 400 cellulose acetate negatives, mostly portraits. When we first received the donation the photographer was unknown but we knew the photographer was local from the surnames etched on the negatives. A volunteer noticed that the etching on the negatives was very similar to the etching on the glass plate negatives from our large ESB Moore photograph collection. Since we have the registers of photographer ESB Moore, we checked the numbers etched on the cellulose acetate negatives and sure enough they matched the registers. Not only did we discover the photographer of these photographs, we verified their provenance and gained all the other information listed in his register, such as date, individuals name, town, and more. These negatives are a very neat addition to our ESB Moore photograph collection since they represent his later work after he transitioned away from glass plate negatives to cellulose acetate sometime in the mid-1930s.