Special Collections

Edwin Aehle Collection

The Aehle collection includes images of steamboat departure cards.

Robert Brown Collection

A collection of approximately twenty-seven images of Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy railroad depots in Missouri.

George I. Gird Collection

Aerial views of Clayton, Hermann, Independence, Joplin, Kansas City, Nevada, St. Louis, Springfield, Webb City, and Weston.

Ralph Gravely [b. 1898] Collection

This collection contains approximately 50 black and white copy photographs and copy negatives taken circa 1914-1919 of the Gravely family and scenes around Bear Creek (now known as Payntersville), Bolivar, Columbia, Eudora, Fair Play, Springfield, and Stockton, Missouri.

Otto and Joe Kroeger Collection

The Kroeger collection is comprised of glass plate negatives, film negatives, photographs, newspaper articles and letters. The collection includes one image of the atom bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, taken by a fellow Jefferson City soldier serving with Joe Kroeger during World War II.

Richard L. Lee Collection

The collection includes black and white photographs of Missouri courthouses

William Preston Collection

Sedalia resident William Preston gathered images related to the lives and careers of fan dancer Sally Rand.

William Pyle Collection

Columbia photographer William Pyle worked from a studio next to Central Dairy, one of his big customers. Central Dairy-related images, including interior and exterior views of the building, children’s field trips, “Central Baby” portraits, and photos of a the Merchandettes and a sponsored baseball team.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Cartoon Collection

Approximately 12,000 items comprise the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Cartoon Collection consisting of editorial cartoons created by Post-Dispatch staff members Daniel F. Fitzpatrick [1935-1958), Bill Mauldin (1958-1962) and Tom Englehardt (1962-1977). Of these, over 7000 searchable records are currently available on an in-house database.

Daniel R. Fitzpatrick [1891-1969]

Fitzpatrick strongly supported the rights of the underdog while attacking the conservative establishment. With cartoons on equal rights for women and blacks, a clean environment, and concern for the militarization of America's post-World War foreign policies, he gained the admiration and respect of scholars, journalists, and statesmen the world over.

William “Bill” Mauldin [1921-2003]

In 1958, Mauldin joined the staff of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where he earned his second his second Pulitzer Price followed in 1959, and in 1961 was awarded The National Cartoonist's Society's Reuben Award as cartoonist of the year. In 1962, Mauldin left St. Louis to join The Chicago Sun-Times where he worked until his retirement in 1992.

Schmidt, Maximilian [1865-1932] Collection

The collection of Boonville photographer Maximilian Schmidt captured his family, and Boonville inhabitants and their environs including early Missouri River floods, steamboats and ferries, views of Boonville streets and the riverfront area, Chouteau Springs, and the Kemper Family School buildings and students.

S. C. Steinberg Collection Collection

The Simon C. "Si" Steinberg Collection consists of sixteen prints of a political rally sponsored by the Young Democratic Club at Reed's Lake, west of Fulton in Callaway County on July 4, 1938 and nine prints of the groundbreaking ceremony at Stephens College, Columbia, for the Firestone Baars Chapel designed by Eero Saarinen.

E. B. Trail Collection Collection

Dr. E. B. Trail of St. Louis focused his collection on steamboats, river captains, and steamboat-related images. Other boats include ferries, flatboats, gunboats, houseboats, office boats, snag boats, tow and tug boats. Also included are advertisements, departure cards, documentation, and related scenes.

Dante O. Tranquille Collection

This collection consists of 104 images taken by Dante O. Tranquille who worked at the Utica [New York] Observer-Dispatch in the mid-twentieth century. He visited mid-Missouri sometime around the late 1940s or early 1950s photographing the riverfront area of St. Louis, the black community, downtown, and the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, and nearby McBaine.

Charles Trefts [1887-1963] Collection

This collection contains images from 1900 to 1963 depicting St. Louis City and County people, public buildings, riverfront scenes, bridges, churches, catastrophes, houses and parks. Trefts photographed many historic events such as the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition; the 1934 World Series; and aviation in St. Louis including the Wright brothers at Kinloch Field in 1908 and Charles Lindbergh's return from Paris in 1927. A number of images focus on Crawford and Iron Counties and the Lake of the Ozarks region in the early 1930s.

University of Missouri, Columbia Collection

The University of Missouri Collection includes: drawings, engravings, maps, and photos of buildings, clubs, faculty, fairs, festivals, Francis Quadrangle, fraternities, military life, monuments, officials, sororities, sports, student life, and views of campus.

MU College of Agriculture Collection

Various views of agriculture, buildings, students, and other related images taken from an early slide show developed by the college.

MU School of Journalism Scrapbooks [circa 1909-1912] Collection

In addition to showing everyday academic and student life, photos depict a tour of the state prison in Jefferson City, sports events, fraternity hazing, the Farmers’ Fair, St. Patrick’s Day events and homecoming parades. Other areas covered include Christian College and Stephens College, including images of students at Lake Okiboji, Iowa.