A collection of century-old photographs that somehow ended up in Salt Lake City will be the subject of a photo show next month in their hometown of Clinton, N.J.
Much of the research identifying the location of the historic views was carried out in the LDS Church's Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple.About 130 glass-plate negatives, most measuring 5 by 8 inches, were purchased by Deseret News reporter Joe Bauman from a Salt Lake antique shop more than 20 years ago. Most of the pictures were taken during the 1880s and early 1890s, although some seem to date from the late 1870s.
Nearly all are in pristine condition, sharply focused, and well-exposed. Usually taken outdoors, many are of historical value.
In researching the find, Bauman discovered that most of those that could be identified were taken in and around Clinton, although a few were from elsewhere in New Jersey.
Writing on one box of negatives said they were by Milton Y. Vandeventer of Clinton and were taken in 1889. Signs that appear in the photos identify towns and businesses in that vicinity.
Some show datable events, such as the centennial of George Washington's first inauguration as celebrated in 1889 in Elizabeth, N.J. Two views depict the destruction of boardwalks and bath houses because of extremely high tides that struck Asbury Park, N.J., in the fall of 1890.
A series of photographs depicts a large mill that was one of the biggest businesses in Clinton. This mill is presently the Clinton Historical Museum.
After Bauman contacted the historical group, the museum helped him financially so he could make prints of all the negatives.
A set presented to the museum is to be the basis for the photo display, scheduled for Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 at the museum. The show is titled, "Never Before, Never Again: The Bauman Photographic Collection."
"The exhibit is going to include 25 of the photographs," said David Breslauer, executive director of the Clinton Historical Museum. "I've sorted the photographs out into five themes - recreation, children, landscape, cityscape and the Leigh family."
Many of the photos show members of the Leigh family who were prominent in Clinton 100 years ago. Other family-type photos show another group that is as yet unidentified. Bauman believes they may be relatives of Milton Y. Vandeventer.
One view taken from what is called "the point," a cliff-top scene near the museum, shows the Leigh family cemetery and a meadow beyond it.
"The cemetery one we were able to date to within a year because of the stones," Breslauer said. Using a magnifying glass on the photograph, Breslauer went into the cemetery and checked which tombstones were present in the picture and which weren't up yet when the picture was taken.
"It was taken between the summer off 1894 and the summer of 1896," he said.
The exhibit will be shown during the museum's busiest season, the fall, when tourists drive through that part of New Jersey enjoying the crisp autumn air, colorful foliage and ripening pumpkins.
One of the mysteries not yet unraveled is how the negatives came to Salt Lake City.