Brimley Photograph Collection

The Brimley Collection is named for Herbert Hutchinson Brimley, the first Curator (and later, first Director) of The North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. During his years of service with the State Museum, Brimley assembled North Carolina displays at various national and international expositions. In preparation of his exhibits for the various shows, Brimley did his own photographic work and traveled throughout North Carolina to capture scenes for display in his exhibits. This collection, PhC.42, includes photographic negatives and prints taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs document many aspects of life in the state between the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries.

 

The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II. After the subject files, there are also unidentified lantern slides (1900s-1920s), and oversized prints. There are a total of 110 categories in the collection. Most of the collection is black and white, but a few of the oversized prints are hand colored. A complete listing of each topic and its contents is available in the Brimley Photograph Collection finding aid through the State Archives website or online catalog, DOC. You can also find more information on Brimley at NCPedia.

 

Now referred to as the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the Museum of Natural History had its origins in 1851 when the General Assembly provided for a state geologist appointed by the governor. In addition to his duties of conducting a geological and agricultural survey, the geologist was directed to retain representative samples of the state's minerals. This collection came to be known as the "Cabinet of Minerals" and was housed on the third floor of the State Capitol. It formed the nucleus of the museum's first collection. In 1877 the legislature established the Department of Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics under the direction of a seven-member Board of Agriculture. Two years later the legislature authorized the board to pay rent and other expenses for a geological museum.

The General Assembly of 1887 directed the board to maintain a museum that would illustrate both the agricultural resources and natural history of the state. This museum was known officially as the North Carolina State Museum. During that era one of its primary purposes was to advertise the state's soil, natural resources, and climate and to encourage settlement of its rural sections. For two decades the museum's staff produced exhibits that appeared in numerous national and international expositions. Many of these exhibits became permanent displays of the museum. In subsequent years the museum was commonly referred to as the State Museum of Natural History. You can learn more about the history of the State Museum in the State Archives online catalog DOC, from which this text is drawn.

Agriculture

H. H. Brimley

Boats, Boating, and Bodies of Water

The Aycock Brown Photograph digital collection contains a variety of images taken by Brown starting in the 1940s. Images range from Brown family photographs, Outer Bank aerials, beach and fishing scenes, to documenting the evolution of the Outer Banks as a popular tourist destination. This will be an ongoing project and additional images will be added as they are digitized. The physical collection is available at the Outer Banks History Center.

Related Collection: Aycock Brown Photographs

50th Anniversary of First Flight

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Aycock Brown Family - Brantley, Billy & Gale