Special Collections and University Archives: Photographs and Prints

The repository's general pictorial collection consists of interfiled prints and photographs, both oversize and non-oversize, that are divided into four categories. The first category is General Subjects which includes images grouped by the subjects illustrated (e.g., categories of buildings) or by their type (e.g., political caricatures). The other three categories are United States Subjects (excluding New Jersey), Foreign (i.e., non-United States) Subjects and New Jersey Subjects. The three latter categories are each further divided into three subcategories: historical events (arranged chronologically), views (arranged geographically) and portraits (arranged alphabetically).

Two significant collections have been incorporated into the general pictorial collection. The first, an accumulation of over 8,000 prints gathered by Warren Cady Crane, emphasize images of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and (in greatest depth) Napoleon Bonaparte. The second, gathered by William S. Sharp, consists primarily of portraits of New Jersey elected officials through the late nineteenth century.

The New Jersey portion of the general pictorial collection is the largest. It includes twelve linear feet of views (with especially thorough coverage for Middlesex County and New Brunswick, the county seat), four linear feet of portraits and several folders of historical events.

Online finding aids exist for the following:

Additional finding aids listing the subject headings for each of the pictorial collection's categories and subcategories (excluding the alphabetically-arranged portraits) are available at the New Jersey Room reference desk or by contacting scua_ref@libraries.rutgers.edu.

To learn about additional prints held by the repository in the form of posters, see Broadsides and Posters. Online checklists exist for portions of the collection:

For prints depicting aerial views of urban areas, see Maps. 

Quite a few of our maps are cataloged and findable QuickSearch, while others require the use of a guide/index available in our reading room. Please contact our Map Curator, Al King, with any questions: albert.king@rutgers.edu.