Earl Dotter collection of Charles G. A. Thamm photographs, 1860s-2023

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:
Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions. Access note. Some materials in this collection are...
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Dotter, Earl, Thamm, Charles G. A., 1849-1925, Dotter, Clara M., 1882-1958, and Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University)
Abstract:
Earl Dotter is a documentarian, photojournalist, and labor activist based in Maryland. Dotter's great-grandfather, Charles G. A. Thamm, also worked as a photographer in Pennsylvania and was employed by the Landreth Seed Catalog Company. This collection contains photographs in various formats - including negatives and prints - created by Thamm and his family in the 1890s and early 1900s. It also contains digital surrogate images of Thamm's work, adjusted by Dotter.
Extent:
12 Gigabytes (approximately 1276 files)
5 Linear Feet (11 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13033

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of Earl Dotter's collection of Charles G. A. Thamm's photographs, consisting of glass plate negatives, prints, albums, and some ephemera, as well as Dotter's raw and restored digital images of those photographs.

Thamm's photographs often depict his family, their friends, and his workplace, the Landreth Seed Catalog Company. Thamm's photographs of Landreth Seed Company include images of the Landreth family at home on the Bloomsdale Seed Farm, as well as the labor of factory workers and farm workers harvesting and packaging seeds in Bristol, Pennsylvania.

Thamm's images also include Civil War veteran reunions, such as the Grand Army of the Republic's 33rd encampment and parade in Philadelphia; Grant's cabin in Fairmount Park; and naval ships from the Great White Fleet on the Delaware River in 1899. Several family friends appearing in Thamm's portraits were Civil War veterans. Some families documented by Thamm include the Charles Deininger family; George W. Paul and his family; William H. Copeland and his family; and Fredrick C. Kunle and his family. Many of these images include scenes with children posed with their toys and dolls; others include the family's home or porch, carefully staged. The collection also contains images photographed by Clara Thamm, typically of her parents, Charles and Susanna Thamm.

Thamm's photographs include scenes of railroads, trains, mills, bridges, roads, water works, and manufacturing companies, documenting technological innovations from the turn of the twentieth century. Areas represented include Reading, Bristol, Landisville, and Philadelphia.

The collection includes Thamm's captions (when known) as well as Earl Dotter's inventory of the photographs. Dotter researched Thamm extensively as he assembled his collection, and many images' locations and individuals have been identified. Image titles appearing within this collection were either originally created by Charles Thamm, or were later assigned by Earl Dotter. Dotter assigned most images a CT number (for example, CT1, CT2, etc.) which he used when digitizing the glass plate negatives and prints. When present, an image's CT number is included in its description. Multiple versions may exist of each image. Some digital CT images have no corresponding physical print or negative. Original glass negative sleeves with Thamm's captions are included in the collection. Due to their poor condition, they have been separated from the original negatives in order to preserve the image on the glass negatives. Use the CT number recorded on the sleeve to match the sleeve with its corresponding image. Most captions on the sleeve match the title of the image appearing in the inventory.

Biographical / historical:

Charles G. A. Thamm (1849-1924) was an artist, inventor, engraver, and photographer born in Breslau, Germany. His family immigrated to the United States shortly before the American Civil War, and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Charles attended Philadelphia's Central High School, graduating 1869, and began working for the Landreth Seed Catalog Company (now D. Landreth and Co.). He remained with the company for the next thirty years. By 1896, he had become a photographer and his photography was used to illustrate some of the company's seed catalogs. He also invented some seed packing machinery, patented in the 1890s. Thamm retired from Landreth Seed Catalog Company in 1903.

Charles Thamm's family included his wife, Susanna Melvina Loeser Thamm (1844-1934), and their daughter Clara Melvina Thamm (1882-1958). Clara attended Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia and became a certified art and music instructor in 1900. In 1904, Clara married John Christian Dotter Sr. and changed her name to Clara Melvina Dotter.

Clara Dotter was Earl Dotter's grandmother. Earl Dotter was born in 1943 and recalls spending time with his grandmother as a child. In his illustrated biography, Charles G. A. Thamm: Artist Copper Plate Engraver, Inventor and Photographer , Earl Dotter writes: "For me, to see the creative work of my great grandfather, then see how my grandmother followed him with her own artistic path, represented a major inspiration to me as another creative in the family. I ultimately found my way as an Occupational Photojournalist, seeing the artistry my great grandfather and grandmother accomplished, two generations before me."

Acquisition information:
The Earl Dotter Collection of Charles G. A. Thamm Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Earl Dotter in 2023.
Custodial history:

Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts.

Processing information:

Processed by Paula Jeannet, Meghan Lyon, Matthew Farrell, and Mary Mellon, Oct. 2024

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2023-0193

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into three series: Charles G. A. Thamm's original prints and negatives, plus raw digital scans of those images; Earl Dotter's adjusted digital images of Thamm's photographs and other artifacts; and Earl Dotter's research and other artifacts from Thamm and his family.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile glass plate negatives and may require extra assistance from staff. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Earl Dotter Collection of Charles G. A. Thamm Photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1cj1k