Title: Portraits (Identified), circa 1865-1997

Predominant Dates:1870-1930

ID: VMA/RG03/ARCH.Photos.03/ALL

Extent: 11.1 Linear Feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Items have been arranged alphabetically into series by the surnames of the subjects of the portraits.

Subjects: Norwegian Americans

Forms of Material: Cabinet photographs, Carte de visite photographs, Portraits, Postcards, Real photo postcards, Tintype

Languages: English, Norwegian

Amassed piecemeal by Vesterheim curators over the course of many decades, the collection currently has more than 2,000 images of notable Norwegian and Norwegian-American church leaders, politicians, military officials, explorers, scientists, doctors, athletes, artists, writers, publishers, editors, historians, and university presidents, among other movers and shakers, in a variety of photographic and photomechanical formats, from 19th-century tintypes and albumen cartes de visite and cabinet cards to 20th-century silver gelatin prints, halftones, and real photo postcards.

The earliest of the portraits date from just after the Civil War, the latest from the 1990s. The bulk, however, are from the 1870s through the 1920s, decades of peak emigration from Norway to the United States. Imprints from over seventy Norwegian and Norwegian-American photographers, mostly with businesses in the Upper Midwest but some with studios as far afield as Nome, Alaska, were identified during the cataloging of the collection from February 2017 through March 2018.

Norwegian Americans

Repository: Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Archives

Alternate Extent Statement: 28 boxes

Use Restrictions: May be reproduced with written permission from Vesterheim collections staff or executive director. Though Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum may hold the property rights, Vesterheim might not hold the copyrights for materials. Individuals may use materials for non-commercial, private use, but commercial users must secure permissions from the copyright holders and Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum to reproduce, publish, or quote protected materials and photographs.

Processing Information: Prior to 2017, all portraits had been rehoused into document boxes, each item enclosed in an archival-quality paper or plastic sleeve. From February 2017 through March 2018, project archivist Tim Kindseth cataloged those items, conducting genealogical and other historical research to date the portraits and to confirm or establish the identities of the more than 1,200 Norwegian and Norwegian-Americans who are subjects of them.