Photographs (1913-1956) document the comprehensive building program that occurred in the early 1920s during the presidency of Marion Burton. According to the Board of Regents proceedings, Burton, at one point, requested to see photographs of buildings that other universities had constructed. It was perhaps that which inspired him to have his building project so well documented in photographs. The photographer (or photographers) of the pictures is somewhat of a mystery, but evidence suggests that Mr. Eugene Francisco, first of Lyndon Photographers and then with Francisco and Boyce Photographers, was responsible for taking many of the pictures. Some later photographs are stamped with the name of George Korwin, who was also a photographer in the Ann Arbor area. Of special interest are the photos of the construction of the Clements Library. The photos show how the building was built while the Old Engineering Building next to it was being razed. Also of special interest are the photos of the construction of Angell Hall. On the back of several of the prints are the content of descriptions of the pictures. Many of the later photographs, which document the initial stages of building of North Campus, will also be of interest. Some of the photos were taken on the roof of the Veterans Administration Hospital and provide an excellent birds-eye-view of the South side of the North Campus area along Fuller Road.
The series contains many prints, the bulk of which have a matching original negative. The series also contains prints without negatives and some negatives without prints. The photographs are arranged alphabetically by the name of the building or subject that appears in them. There are three types of identifying systems in this series: bound prints with matching negatives, unbound prints with matching negatives, and lastly unbound, unmatched prints or negatives. The prints in the bound books have a number (1,2,3,4....) on the back. The negative that matches each print has a corresponding number on the envelope in which it is contained. The prints that are not bound and have a matching negative are labeled with both a letter and a number (A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4...). These are found on both the back of the print and on the envelope in which the negative is housed. The prints that have corresponding negatives are labeled alphabetically A,B,C... (if there are more than twenty-six than the system continues A-1, B-1, C-1...). The same system is used for negatives without matching prints. The envelopes are labeled either "print" or "negative" to differentiate.
