Chicago Daily News negatives collection, [ca. 1901-1973]

  • Collection ID 1960.0784
  • Creator Names Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer. pht
  • Title Chicago Daily News negatives collection [graphic].
  • Dates [ca. 1901-1973]
  • Physical description
    • ca. 243 negatives : glass ; 8 x 10 in.
    • ca. 17,731 negatives : glass ; 5 x 7 in.
    • ca. 65,000 negatives : glass ; 4 x 5 in.
    • 7,767 negatives : nitrate ; 8 x 10 in. and smaller.
    • 1 negative : b&w ; 8 x 10 in.
    • ca. 200,000 negatives : b&w ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller.
    • ca. 10,500 negatives : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • Access and usage restrictions
    • Original negatives are fragile and are not available to researchers. To see copies of the images in this collection, researchers may (1) consult the on-line, digital images linked to each catalog record for the early, glass plate negatives or (2) purchase a photographic copy of an image described on a Daily News index card.
    • Nitrate negatives restricted from access, see reference copies instead.
  • Collection summary
    • Collection of black and white photographic negatives created by staff photographers of the Chicago Daily News. Primarily contains images of events, people, and activities in the Chicago area as well as national events that held a local interest. Topics include civic ceremonies, public demonstrations, court cases, festivals, ethnic celebrations, and persons in the news, especially politicians, local celebrities, and criminals. Also shows street scenes, commercial and domestic buildings and construction, and members of the ethnic groups prominent in Chicago's population. Sports negatives relate to amateur and professional sporting events and athletes as well as to leisure activities, sports facilities, and spectators. Approximately 15-20% of the images in this collection were published in the Chicago Daily News; however, most images are not dated or labeled specifically enough to identify the issue of the newspaper in which they appeared.
    • Most of the collection is divided between glass plate negatives and flexible film negatives and arranged by the identification number assigned to the negatives by staff of the Chicago Daily News, roughly in chronological order. The regular news negatives are labeled DN, and the negatives categorized by the Chicago Daily News staff under "Sports" are labeled SDN. There are many gaps in the collection indicated by gaps in the original identification numbers.
    • The collection contains mostly 4 x 5 in. film negatives. However the collection includes ca. 82,974 glass plate negatives. Of the glass plate negatives, ca. 243 are 8 x 10 in. and ca. 17,731 are 5 x 7 inches. The collection also includes many 120 mm. film negatives and ca. 10,500 35 mm. negatives.
  • Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Credit the Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum.
  • Biographical or Historical Note The Chicago Daily News published from 1875 to 1978. For many years, the newspaper sold for a penny a day and reached a diverse audience of Chicagoans returning home from work in the afternoon. In the twentieth century, it became well known for its extensive foreign coverage, investigative local reporting, and excellence in writing for which it earned 15 Pulitzer Prizes.
  • Finding Aids Note
    • A card index created by the Chicago Daily News staff provides one section covering regular news images, ca. 1902-1930; one section covering sports images, ca. 1902-1930; one section covering news images, ca. 1931-1955, and one section covering sports images, ca. 1931-1955.
    • The 55,000 images that were digitized from glass negatives dating between 1901 and the spring of 1933 are individually cataloged and viewable through the online catalog of Chicago History Museum, Research Center, (at: www.chsmedia.org ). The easiest way to search for specific topics is to search for the topic in General Keyword and add the term jpg to the topic before clicking on ENTER.
    • An inventory list was made for the nitrate digitization project; this nitrate box level inventory is available online.
  • Acquisition information Gift of the Chicago Daily News, 1960 (1960.0784), 1973, and later.
  • Names
    • Chicago Daily News, Inc. Employees.
    • WMAQ (Radio station : Chicago, Ill.)
  • Subjects
    • Buildings Illinois Chicago. lctgm
    • Events Illinois Chicago 1901-1973. lctgm
    • Interpersonal relations Illinois Chicago 1901-1973. lctgm
    • People Illinois Chicago 1901-1973. lctgm
    • Radio broadcasting Illinois Chicago 1920-1939. lctgm
    • Sports Illinois Chicago 1900-1973. lctgm
    • Strikes and lockouts Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Newspaper publishing Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Photojournalism Illinois Chicago 20th century.
  • Geographic coverage Chicago (Ill.) Pictorial works.
  • Genre
    • Newspaper illustrations. gmgpc
    • Portrait photographs. gmgpc
    • Glass negatives. gmgpc
    • Film negatives. gmgpc
    • Dry plate negatives. gmgpc
    • Gelatin dry plate negatives. aat
  • Geographic name United States Illinois Cook County Chicago.
  • Finding aid URL