Photograph Collections

Perhaps the most dramatic collecting achievement of the UCA Archives has been in building our photograph collections. In its first decade of existence, the Archives acquired and cataloged over 20,000 images documenting the history of Arkansas. Among the more impressive photograph collections are the following:

Faulkner County Historical Society Photo Collection (P4)

This collection of some 400 images, documents the history of Faulkner County, Arkansas, the county in which the University of Central Arkansas in located. The collection contains many images of the city of Conway.

Keller-Butcher Photo Collection (P5)

From 1900 to 1945 Arthur Keller, a German immigrant, documented the people and places of Baxter County, Arkansas--a beautiful Ozark mountain community. This collection consists of some 2,300 glass negatives, many of exceptional quality.

Ray Rains Photo Collection (P29)

During his later years, Ray Rains, a photographer living in Pangburn, White County, Arkansas, traveled the state convincing people to let him copy their family photos. The results comprise a varied and impressive collection which documents the state from about 1900 to World War II.

Julian Priddy Photo Collection (P27)

Though an accountant by profession, Julian Priddy of North Little Rock, Arkansas, was an outstanding photographer. His collection is especially strong in documenting Arkansas between World Wars I and II.

Photograph collection finding aids are listed by catalog number. Each finding aid has a description of the photo and a black & white copy of each. The actual photograph can be retrieved by the archivist.