Guide to the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection

This finding aid describes the E.B. Thompson Negative Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. For access to the collection or for more information, contact the archivist.

Ezra B. Thompson self-portrait. (NPS History Collection photo by E.B. Thompson, HFCA 1174)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 1174
Creator: Ezra B. Thompson
Dates: c. 1890s–1944, 1974–1975, 2008
Volume of Collection: 20.1 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digitized Copies: This collection has been partially digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: The collection is open for research use. Acetate, nitrate, and glass negatives are in cold storage. They require acclimation to room temperature before use. At least 72 hours prior notice is required for access to this material. Unless absolutely necessary, access will be limited to polyester copy negatives and prints. See also the NPS general copyright & restrictions information.
Provenance: Donor purchased these images at an estate sale around 1973. He donated them to the NPS in 1974. Copy negatives and prints in this collection were created by the NPS.
Processing Note: This collection was processed and described by Taylor Adams, Marissa Lindsey, John Reynolds, and Nancy J. Russell.

Rights Statements for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: E.B. Thompson Collection, NPS History Collection (HFCA 1174)
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials:

• E.B. Thompson Collection at the D.C. Public Library

Biographical Note

Ezra Bowen Thompson was born in 1865 in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Alfred Thompson and Anna Christophers. His father died in May 1871. His mother married Nathan Pope Holleman in January 1875. Ezra and his sister Daisy took the Holleman name. They lived with their mother, stepfather, Holleman’s child from a previous marriage, and their five half-siblings in North Carolina. In the mid-1890s Ezra Holleman moved to Washington, DC, and reclaimed the Thompson surname. In 1895 he was a "signwriter." From 1890 to 1891 he worked as a painter. The 1903 city directory lists his occupation as photographer.

According to Dr. Susan Barsy, who has access to Thompson's civilian personnel file, he began working for the US Geological Survey in 1903, after presenting letters of recommendation for a job with the government. Without seeing his file, we can't confirm if the position was temporary or permanent in nature, or full- or part-time. We suspect it was temporary or part-time. It's possible that he traveled to Yellowstone National Park with the Geological Survey in 1903. In 1904 Thompson is listed in the city directory as a photographer and seller of photographic equipment. He opened a store that sold “stereopticon supplies, cameras, lantern slides,” and other photographic equipment at 1343 F Street NW. A stereopticon is a slide projector that combines two images to create a three-dimensional effect.

Thompson married photographer Sigrid Gustafson on October 13, 1904. She died unexpectedly in December 1905 while visiting her family in Sweden. Her obituary notes that he was "in the employ of the Geological Survey and had been in the West for several months." However, that seems to overstate his role at the time. The US Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service lists Thompson as an assistant photographer for the Geological Survey in 1905. His salary was $2 per day, suggesting that he was a temporary employee paid "when actually employed," a common designation in the first few decades of the 1900s. The 1905 entry is the only one for him in that government employee register, which was published every two years.

Although Thompson was working in the West, it's unlikely it was for the Geological Survey. A newspaper article from October 1905 reports that he was working for the Park Transportation Company, shooting films in Yellowstone to accompany the company's winter lecture programs. He did this from at least 1905 to 1907. He traveled with the lecturer in the winters, showing his motion pictures and stereopticons. It's possible that the newspaper editor didn't know that he had left government employment when Sigrid's obituary was published, or that his work for the Geological Survey was on an as-needed basis (if, in fact, that was the case). It seems unlikely that he would have been working for the Geological Survey while spending several weeks each summer filming in Yellowstone and winters traveling with the lecture program, all to benefit a commercial enterprise.

In 1906 the city directory lists him as a photographer rather than a government employee. In August 1907, however, mail was being sent to him at the “Interior Department exhibit” at the "Jamestown exhibition" in Virginia, suggesting he was working for the government again, most likely on a contract for a special project. Besides a short position with the Geological Survey, prior to 1908 Thompson seems to have had a couple short-term projects or contracts for the government or other entities. Although newspaper articles frequently refer to him as a "government photographer," the articles overlap with dates when he was operating his private businesses or working for others. This has added to the confusion.

E.B. Thompson filming motion pictures in the Everglades, 1920. (NPS History Collection, HFCA 1174)

In January 1908 Thompson began working for the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation as chief of its photographic department. He spent two months that summer in Idaho filming mining operations, a sheep-shearing factory, farming, irrigation methods, and scenic views. His films were shown at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition held in Seattle, Washington, in 1909 to advertise Idaho and encourage settlers to move there. During the trip he also shot footage of tree-felling operations for the Forest Service.

Another of his assignments was to travel to Fort Myer, Virginia, to document the first test launch of Wilbur and Orville Wright's Army aeroplane flight in September 1908. The Wright Brothers' Flyer was a bid to meet the US Army Signal Corps aircraft contract for its newly established Aeronautical Division. Although film from this day has been described as "the first government-produced film," Thompson was already creating motion pictures for the government. Thompson's film from test flight has been lost, but it's possible that it was spliced into the US Army Signal Corps film held at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Thompson married his second wife, Nancy Elizabeth Little, around 1909. The 1910 census records that they were living in Washington, DC. The census lists his occupation as photographer but his industry as "photographic gallery," suggesting he was operating a private business rather than (or in addition to) his government service. His marriage with Nancy was brief, as she died on February 18, 1911.

In June 1911 Thompson, in his official capacity of chief photographer, was a passenger on the "Reclamation Special Train" that arrived in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Barsy reports that he was furloughed with pay from his job with the Reclamation Service soon thereafter. He gave public lectures that fall and in early winter 1912. A January 12, 1912, announcement of an upcoming lecture described him as the former chief photographer for the Reclamation Service, but Barsy reports that his appointment with them didn't end until summer 1912.

After he left the Reclamation Service, Thompson continued his business while taking contract work from the government. His trip to Alaska in 1914 was taken as part of a government contract. It's also likely that he was working for the government, and even Reclamation again, when he was filming in the Everglades in 1920.

A 1918 advertisement in The Washington Herald referred to him as a commercial photographer. The 1919 Washington, DC, city directory lists Thompson’s business as a photographic laboratory. Various Washington, DC, city directories from the 1920s and 1930s describe Thompson’s business as selling photographic apparatus, photographic equipment and supplies, or photographic supplies. The 1940 census lists his occupation as “proprietor” of a “motion picture supply co.” In 1944 his business letterhead advertised his store as selling “Sound and Silent Motion Pictures and Slides."

As he prepared for retirement in 1944, Thompson offered to sell his collection of images of Washington, DC to that city's public library. The DC Public Library purchased over 1,800 lantern slides and glass plate negatives from him for $1,000. In the final years of his life, Thompson returned to North Carolina, where he died in Burnsville on April 20, 1951. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.

Source:

National Park Service. (2023, March 27). "50 Nifty Find #19: A Lens on History." Accessed May 22, 2023, at https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/50-nifty-finds-19-a-lens-on-history.htm

Scope and Content Note

Photographic negatives created or assembled by photographer E. B. Thompson. His images consist primarily of cellulose nitrate and glass negatives, although a few cellulose acetate negatives are also present. Negatives vary in size from 2 inches square to 5" x 7". Subjects include national park areas, particularly Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Yellowstone National Park. Images of Washington D.C. and surrounding areas are also common. Fewer images of Alaska and other NPS areas are also included. Subjects outside of NPS areas include flowers, Florida, Mount Vernon, Williamsburg, George Washington, and religion. Collection also includes preservation copies created by the National Park Service.

Arrangement

Organized into three series based on format. Series I is organized into four subseries.

Series I: Film-based Negatives, c. 1890s–c.1944, 1937, 1974–1975, 2008

Subseries A: NPS Copy Negatives, 2008
Subseries B: NPS Interpositives, 2008
Subseries C: Other Negatives, 1937, 1974–1975
Subseries D: Thompson's Nitrate Negatives, c. 1890s–c. 1944

Series II: Glass Negatives, c. 1890s–c. 1920s
Series III: Prints, 1974–1975

Series I: Film-based Negatives, c. 1890s–c. 1944, 1937, 1974–1975, 2008

Volume of series: 6.9 LF
Organized into four subseries by format.

Subseries A: NPS Copy Negatives, 2008
Subseries B. NPS Interpositives, 2008
Subseries C: Other Negatives, 1937, 1974–1975
Subseries D: Thompson's Nitrate Negatives, c. 1890s–c. 1944

Scope and Content Note

Original acetate and nitrate negatives taken by Thompson, and polyester interpositives and copy negatives created by the National Park Service for preservation purposes. Images are of national parks and other subjects. Parks include C&O Canal; Yellowstone; Yorktown; Great Falls; Statue of Liberty; Wakefield (George Washington's birthplace); Harpers Ferry; and Shenandoah. Other places include Alaska; Washington, D.C; Virginia; Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Florida; New Orleans; Rome; and England. Subjects include the Potomac River; Mississippi River; Mt. Vernon; dogs; men on horseback; Williamsburg; Wood River Island; western cattle and sheep; Niagra Falls; religious iconography; flowers; miscellany; and personal subjects such as Thompson's house and vehicles.

Subseries I.A: NPS Copy Negatives, 2008

Volume: 1.5 LF
Arranged by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Polyester copy negatives made by the NPS of Thompson's nitrate negatives. Images are of national parks and other subjects. Parks include C&O Canal; Yellowstone; Yorktown; Great Falls; Statue of Liberty; Wakefield (George Washington's birthplace); Harpers Ferry; and Shenandoah. Other places include Alaska; Washington, D.C; Virginia; Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Florida; New Orleans; Rome; and England. Subjects include the Potomac River; Mississippi River; Mt. Vernon; dogs; men on horseback; Williamsburg; Wood River Island; western cattle and sheep; Niagra Falls; religious iconography; flowers; miscellany; and personal subjects such as Thompson's house and vehicles.

Container List

BOX 01
74-3 to 74-770

BOX 02
74-782 to 74-1233

BOX 03
74-1234 to 75-582

BOX 04
75-583 to 75-1194

BOX 05
75-1196 to 84-10

OVERSIZE BOX 01
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries A.

OVERSIZE BOX 02
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries A.

OVERSIZE BOX 03
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries A.

Subseries 1.B: NPS Interpositives, 2008

Volume: 1.5 LF
Arranged numerically by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Interpostives made for the National Park Service when creating copy negatives of Thompson's nitrate negatives for preservation and access purposes. Images are of national parks and other subjects. Parks include C&O Canal; Yellowstone; Yorktown; Great Falls; Statue of Liberty; Wakefield (George Washington's birthplace); Harpers Ferry; and Shenandoah. Other places include Alaska; Washington, D.C; Virginia; Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Florida; New Orleans; Rome; and England. Subjects include the Potomac River; Mississippi River; Mount Vernon; dogs; men on horseback; Williamsburg; Wood River Island; western cattle and sheep; Niagra Falls; religious iconography; flowers; miscellany; and personal subjects such as Thompson's house and vehicles.

Container List

BOX 01
74-3 to 74-770

BOX 02
74-782 to 74-1215

BOX 03
74-1216 to 75-582

BOX 04
75-583 to 75-1197

BOX 05
75-1198 to 84-10

OVERSIZE BOX 01
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries B.

OVERSIZE BOX 02
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries B.

OVERSIZE BOX 03
This box contains materials separated from across Subseries B.

Subseries I.C: Other Negatives, 1937, 1974–1975

Volume: 0.8 LF
Arranged numerically by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Acetate and polyester copy negatives created in 1974 and 1975 from glass negatives, prior to destruction of damaged negatives, or for other reasons. The 1937 negatives are believed to be made by Thompson. Images are of national parks and other subjects. Parks include C&O Canal, Wakefield (George Washington Birthplace National Monument), Harpers Ferry, Washington Monument, and Yellowstone. Other places include Alaska, Virginia (including Newport News and Mount Vernon), Maryland (includng Fredericksburg), and Washington, DC. Subjects include Washington’s Headquarters; battleships, shipping and shipyards; private residences; Thompson’s motion picture truck; locks, canal, and people living and working along the C&O Canal; an unspecified inauguration parade; personal subjects such as Thompson and associates camping, Christmas cards, and his home; views of monuments and buildings in Washington DC, aerials of the city, the Library of Congress, and other buildings; the Roosevelt arch at Yellowstone; visitors arriving at Yellowstone by coach; and natural features and lodging at Yellowstone.

Container List

BOX 01
74-6 to 75-158

BOX 02
75-165 to 75-1647

BOX 03
75-314 to 75-576

Subseries 1.D: Thompson's Nitrate Negatives, c. 1890s–c. 1944

Volume: 3.1 LF
Arranged numerically by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Nitrate negatves of national parks and other subjects. Parks include C&O Canal; Yellowstone; Yorktown; Great Falls; Statue of Liberty; Wakefield (George Washington's birthplace); Harpers Ferry; and Shenandoah. Other places include Alaska; Washington, D.C; Virginia; Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Florida; New Orleans; Rome; and England. Subjects include the Potomac River; Mississippi River; Mt. Vernon; dogs; men on horseback; Williamsburg; Wood River Island; western cattle and sheep; Niagra Falls; religious iconography; flowers; miscellany; and personal subjects such as Thompson's house and vehicles.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: 74-1 to 74-53
Folder 02: 74-54 to 74-126
Folder 03: 74-127 to 74-218
Folder 04: 74-219 to 74- 269
Folder 05: 74-271 to 74-318
Folder 06: 74-319 to 74-362
Folder 07: 74-363 to 74-479

BOX 02
Folder 01: 74-480 to 74-718
Folder 02: 74-719 to 74-875
Folder 03: 74-719 to 74-875
Folder 04: 75-876 to 74-933
Folder 05: 74-934 to 74-1000
Folder 06: 74-1001 to 74-1057
Folder 06: 74-1059 to 74-1114
Folder 07: 74-1117 to 74-1168
Folder 08: 74-1169 to 74-1233

BOX 03
Folder 01: 74-1234 to 74-2125
Folder 02: 74-2127 to 74-2202
Folder 03: 74-2293 to 74-2380
Folder 04: 75-1 to 75-170
Folder 05: 75- 171 to 75-339
Folder 06: 75-340 to 75-477
Folder 07: 75-478 to 75-582

BOX 04
Folder 01: 75-583 to 75-646
Folder 02: 75-647 to 75-749
Folder 03: 75-751 to 75-871
Folder 04: 75-872 to 75-999
Folder 05: 75-1000 to 75-1131
Folder 06: 75-1131 to 75-1230
Folder 07: 75-1235 to 75-1369

BOX 05
Folder 01: 75-1370 to 75-1420
Folder 02: 75-1431 to 75-1507
Folder 03: 84-1 to 84-10

Series II: Glass Negatives, c. 1891–c. 1920s

Volume: 9.8 LF
Arranged alphabetically by park or subject and thereunder by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Original glass negatives of images from national parks and other subjects taken or accumulated by Thompson, and prints and copy negatives made from the glass negatives by the National Park Service (NPS). C&O Canal and Yellowstone comprise most of the NPS-related images. The C&O Canal images include areas relevant to Harpers Ferry and Great Falls. Other park sites represented include Arlington House, Glen Echo, Mount Rainier, National Mall (particularly the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial), Rock Creek Park, Shenandoah, Statue of Liberty, and the White House. Alaska, Fredricksburg, and Potomac River images may also be relevant to NPS sites. Non-NPS subjects include Florida, flowers, Mount Vernon, religious iconography, historic sites in Virginia, Williamsburg, and general images of Washington, D.C. Like the religious images, the George Washington subject features photographic reproductions of art or historical documents. The Washington Country negatives document historical areas related to George Washington and his family in the U.S. and England. Washington, D.C. images include the U.S. Capitol, presidential inaugurations and parades (Lincoln, Harding, McKinley, Wilson), Fort Stevens, old Pennsylyvania Station, various government buildings, city views, aerial views, Smithsonian Institution, early maps, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing Congress, Constitution Hall, city bridges, interior views of Thompson’s dining room on Euclid Avenue, and first test of Wrights’ airplane at Fort Myers. Some negatives are unidentified. The Washington, D.C. images also include “old Washington” images that include historic figures associated with US history and earlier U.S. Capitol buildings in other locations.

Container List

BOX 01

Alaska

BOX 02

Alaska

BOX 03

C&O Canal

BOX 04

C&O Canal

BOX 05

C&O Canal

BOX 06

C&O Canal

BOX 07

Folder 01: C&O Canal
Folder 02: Florida

BOX 08

Flowers

BOX 09

Fredericksburg

BOX 10

Fredericksburg

BOX 11

Miscellaneous

BOX 12

Miscellaneous

BOX 13

Mount Vernon

BOX 14

Other NPS Sites
Folder 01: ARHO
Folder 02: COLO-YORK
Folder 03: GLEC
Folder 04: MORA
Folder 05: NAMA

BOX 15

Other NPS Sites
Folder 01: ROCR
Folder 02: SHEN
Folder 03: STLI
Folder 04: WHHO

BOX 16

Personal

BOX 17

Potomac River

BOX 18

Religion

BOX 19

Religion

BOX 20

Virginia

BOX 21

Virginia

BOX 22

Washington Country

BOX 23

Washington, D.C.

BOX 24

Washington, D.C.

BOX 25

Washington, George

BOX 26

Washington, George

BOX 27

Washington, George

BOX 28

Williamsburg

BOX 29

Williamsburg

BOX 30

Williamsburg

BOX 31

Williamsburg

BOX 32

Yellowstone

BOX 33

Yellowstone

Series III. Prints, 1974–1975

Volume: 3.4 LF
Arranged alphabetically by park or subject and thereunder by NPS negative number.

Scope and Content Note

Selected prints made from Thompson's glass negatives by the National Park Service. Most are 8x10 black and white prints, although a small number of contact prints are also present. Copy prints were prioritized for images related to NPS sites, including C&O Canal, Yellowstone, Fredrickburg, Great Falls, and Washington, D.C. monuments which are part of the National Mall site today. Images of the C&O Canal are the most prevalent and feature boats and people working and living along the canal. Yellowstone National Park images focus predominantly on the Mammoth area and illustrate themal features, visitor activities, the Roosevelt Arch, stagecoaches, and the Fountain Hotel. A few images from President Theordore Roosevelt's 1903 visit to Yellowstone are included. Historic Fredricksburg images primarily feature vernacular architecture and Chatham Gardens, although a smaller number of street scenes are also present. Great Falls images are images of the falls, although a hotel is included in one view. A small number of images were taken in Alaska and document street scenes, logging, and a whaling station, including whale butchering. Images of Virginia include historic sites such as Wakefield but also include U.S. Navy battleships and other ships in the Newport News and Hampton Roads areas. General images of Washington, D.C. feature the U.S. Capital, the White House, and street views, many of which are aerial images. Miscellaneous images include oyster boats; other boats and ships; unidentified structures and locations; interior views of an unidentified cavern; sites in Maryland, St. Louis, Washington state, and along the Mississippi; and people picnicing and generally enjoying areas near water. A small number of images related to E.B. Thompson (a self-portrait, interiors of his home, his business truck, etc.) are also included.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: Alaska
Folder 02: CHOH

BOX 02
CHOH

BOX 03
Folder 01: CHOH
Folder 02: General
Folder 03: Personal
Folder 04: Potomac River/Chesapeake Bay

BOX 04
Virginia

BOX 05
Folder 01: Virginia
Folder 02: Washington D.C.

BOX 06
Folder 01: Washington D.C.
Folder: YELL

BOX 07
YELL

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