The photograph collections consist of over 1,000,000 images in roughly 800 photograph collections representing a range of formats from daguerreotypes to born-digital. Most of the photographs are regionally based with numerous images of USU, Cache Valley, Utah, National Parks, and South-west Idaho. A number of well-known photographers are represented including A.J. Russell, C.R. Savage, Charles E. Johnson, William Henry Jackson, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Hopkins, and W. Eugene Smith.
We have these historic photographs for our patrons to use! Please use this guide to help you search for photographs, get copies, and to explore ideas for how to use them for research, for illustration, and for teaching.
Special collection’s photos of USU can be seen all over campus and in Cache Valley, but patrons have also come up with interesting and creative uses. For instance, range scientist analyze biological changes by comparing historic and contemporary photos. Historical fiction writers look at historic images to write knowledgeably about the past. Aerial photos can give a snapshot of the growth of urban areas and the loss of agricultural land in the West. Risqué images give us a window into changing social norms. 19th Century Western photographs are studied as not only artistic works, but also historical documents.
Daniel Davis has been the photograph curator in Special Collections & Archives since 2000. He received tenure in 2006, has been the SCA coordinator of instruction since 2014, and was promoted to full Librarian in 2020. He is the author of two books as well as numerous articles about Western photography.
