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Office of Communications and Marketing photographs, 1905-1999

 Collection
Identifier: 036.04.01

127 boxes of photographs of Illinois Institute of Technology campus, events, and people. Most photos are presumed to be taken by Communication and Marketing Office for various campus publications. Subjects and photographers are sometimes identified. The photos are in various formats: prints, negatives, and contact sheets, and some slides and transparencies. Most images are in black and white and most date from 1980 and before.

Dates

  • Creation: 1905-1999
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1940-1980

Creator

Language of Materials

Records are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for Research

Conditions Governing Use

Some individual photographs may not be reproduced.

Collection Size

128 Boxes

Biographical Note

Illinois Institute of Technology was formed in 1940 with the merger of Armour Institute of Technology and Lewis Institute. Both of these institutions were turn of the century trade and technical colleges founded by bequests from Chicago philanthropists: Philip D Armour and Allen C Lewis. As laid out in their bequests, both Lewis Institute and Armour Institute were progressive institutions that served a diverse group of Chicago area students, many first or second generation immigrants. But while Lewis Institute focused on coeducational liberal arts education, Armour Institute increasingly became exclusively a men's’ engineering school. In 1940, after several years of struggling with finances an enrollment, Lewis Institute joined Armour Institute. With the addition of liberal arts, Armour Institute of Technology transitioned from a trade school to a university: Illinois Institute of Technology. IIT soon expanded further when Institute of Design joined in 1949, solidifying IIT’s impressive architecture and design faculty. In 1969 Chicago Kent College of Law joined, and Stuart School of Business was established, rounding out the programs you see today.

Arrangement of the Collection

Multiple additions have been made as more photos are found in other collections. Series reflect the different accessions that make up the collection. Some series are additionally organized by topic, but most have been left as found.

Arrangement

Series I
Found in collection, 1940-1980
Series II
Mounted black and white prints, 1960s-1970s
Series III
Music probably for university publications, 1960s-1970s
Series IV
"Construction Files" primarily photos used in publications, 1940-1970s
Series V
Early photos, possibly related to Lewis Institute, 1930s
Series VI
Found in collection
Series VII
Oversize images for publications, Technology and Human Affairs, ca. 1980s & 1990s
Series VIII
Oversize group shots
Series IX
Miscellaneous subjects, mostly negatives, 1970s and 2003
Series X
"Pink Label" alphabetical files continued from Box TT, 1940s- 1950s
Series XI
Part of acc. no. 1992.3
Series XII
Possibly used in Technology and Human Affairs
Series XIII
Assorted black & white images for publications, 1970s
Series XIV
IIT, 1950s-1960s
Series XV
Buildings, black and white prints, 1940s- 1960s
Series XVI
Portraits, 4 x 5" B & W negatives
Series XVII
Mounted oversize photos, B & W
Series XVIII
B & W prints
Series XIX
Unidentified portraits, 1960s & 1970s
Series XX
Identified portraits, proof sheet and negatives, ca. 1968-1973
Series XXI
Alphabetical portrait series, 1970s-980s
Series XXII
Images from IIT publications, prints & negatives, 1960-ca. 1972
Series XXIII
"Pink Label" folders continued from TT, 1940s – 1950s
Series XXIV
A-V photographs
Series XXV
Staff photos by department, 1970s
Series XXVI
Photos from Public Relations/Communication & Marketing, 1970s-1980s
Series XXVII
Mounted images probably from exhibits, transferred in 2003

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Formerly 1998.199

Appraisal

This collection is primary source of images related to IIT; however, as a found-in-collection collection, most of the photos are undated and unidentified as to specific people and events depicted, and most images are undated and photographers are unidentified.

Separated Materials

Aerial campus photographs were removed. Lewis Institute photographs (Box D) have been moved to the Lewis collection. Some logs and non-photo materials have been removed.

Processor

Catherine Bruck, University Archivist

Part of the Paul V. Galvin Library. University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
35 West 33rd Street
Chicago IL 60616
(312) 567-5993

Paul V. Galvin Library

35 West 33rd Street | Chicago, IL | 60616
312.567.6847 library@iit.edu