Bass Photo Company photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P034
Scope and Contents
This collection includes photographs from the Bass Photo Company in Indianapolis, Indiana ranging from circa 1850 to 1975 and undated regarding people, buildings, street scenes, illustrations, and events such as Foch Day (November 4, 1921) in Indianapolis, as well as a few shots taken around Indiana.
Dates
- circa 1850-1975, undated
Creator
- Bass Photo Company (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Administrative History
Bass Photo Company's originates in the establishment of the Indianapolis, Indiana location of the James Bayne Company from Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1897. In 1899, William H. Bass, a middle-aged teacher, and Walter T. Woodworth, a Bayne Company employee, acquired the location, naming it Woodworth and Company. Located at 308 South New Jersey Street, the business was rechristened Bass and Woodworth by 1901 and the pair worked together until Woodworth sold his portion of the company to Bass in 1905, when it became the W. H. Bass Photo Company. Seven years later, Bass Photo incorporated under William H. Bass, Charles C. Branson, and Edwin H. Schafer. The company continued in commercial photography as started by the Bayne Company, but also captured street scenes, architecture, and local landmarks under the encouragement of manager Charles C. Branson. Bass Photo Company was unique in that its owners realized the historic value of its photographs and retained the old glass plate negatives which so many of its other contemporaries discarded.The company made it through the Depression and kept abreast of modern photographic trends and processes as the technology advanced. Bass died in 1936 and Branson, his wife Sadie, and son-in-law Theodore Abel held the reins of the company's operations. The company endured, remaining in the Abel family's hands to this day (2021), operating as commerical and corprate photographers at the same location on New Jersey Street.
Sources:
Bass Photo Co. "About Bass Photo Co." Accessed July 13, 2021. http://www.bassphoto.com.
Hostetler, Joan. "Indianapolis Then and Now: Bass Photo Company, 308 S. New Jersey Street." HistoricIndianapolis.com, September 19, 2013. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-bass-photo-company-308-s-new-jersey-street.
I.H.S. Visual Collections. "W.H. Bass Photo Company Collection, ca. 1897-ca. 1970." Finding aid. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/bass-photo-collection.pdf.
Sources:
Bass Photo Co. "About Bass Photo Co." Accessed July 13, 2021. http://www.bassphoto.com.
Hostetler, Joan. "Indianapolis Then and Now: Bass Photo Company, 308 S. New Jersey Street." HistoricIndianapolis.com, September 19, 2013. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-bass-photo-company-308-s-new-jersey-street.
I.H.S. Visual Collections. "W.H. Bass Photo Company Collection, ca. 1897-ca. 1970." Finding aid. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN. Accessed July 13, 2021. https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/bass-photo-collection.pdf.
Extent
0.45 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box, 1 half manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged numerically in original order.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2021/07/14 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid created 2021/07/14 by Brittany Kropf.
- African Americans -- History
- American Legion
- Architecture
- Architecture -- Indiana
- Automobiles
- Banks and banking -- Indiana
- Benjamin Harrison Home (Museum : Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Bicycle industry
- Bicycles
- Bridges
- Butler University
- Central State Hospital (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Church buildings
- Cities and towns
- Columbia Club (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Commercial Club (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Covered bridges -- Indiana
- Culver (Ind.)
- Culver Military Academy
- Department stores
- Dry goods stores
- Dwellings
- Fire departments -- Indiana -- Indianapolis
- Freemasons -- Indiana
- High schools
- High schools -- Indiana
- Hospitals
- Hotels
- Indiana School for the Blind
- Indiana School for the Deaf
- Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Indiana State Capitol (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Indiana State Library
- Indianapolis (Ind.)
- Jails
- Libraries
- Markets
- Monument Circle (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Monuments
- Newspaper publishing
- Parades
- Parks -- Indiana
- Photographs
- Psychiatric hospitals
- Public libraries
- Religious institutions
- Schools
- Shortridge High School (Indianapolis, Ind.)
- Societies and clubs
- Street-railroads
- Streets
- Theaters -- Indiana
- Transportation
- Universities and colleges
- Universities and colleges -- Indiana
- War memorials
- White River (Ind. : River)
- William H. Block Company
- World War Memorial (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Creator
- Bass Photo Company (Organization)
- Title
- Bass Photo Company photograph collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
