Dec.16, 1997
                                                     Contact:Bob Brickhouse
                                                             (804)924-6856

        U.VA. LIBRARY GIVES HOLIDAY GIFT TO CHARLOTTESVILLE:
	A DIGITIZED ARCHIVE OF HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS

	The University of Virginia Library has placed thousands of
historic photographs of Charlottesville and Albemarle County and of
turn-of-the-century white and African-American residents on the World
Wide Web, where the images are freely available to all for non-profit
use and research.  The pictures are from the library's Holsinger
Studio Collection, a unique photographic record of life in
Charlottesville and the surrounding area from the late 19th century
into the 1920s.
	
        Most of the approximately 9,000 dry-plate glass-negative images
from the commercial studio of Rufus W. Holsinger have never
been displayed publicly and only about 100 have been published, said
Edward Gaynor, associate director of the library's Special Collections
Department. Some of photos are well-known, such as those of the
University Rotunda before, during and after its disastrous fire in
1895.  But many others, including most of nearly 500 important studio
portraits of African-American residents, have been rarely viewed.

	"It's an invaluable archive of community life.  We hope it
will be used and enjoyed not only locally but by anyone researching
individual or family histories or small-town southern life in that
era," Gaynor said.

	Approximately two-thirds of the images are studio portraits of
local residents and families. There are also many scenes and events
from the community and the University of Virginia, including historic
parades and fires, the first automobile and airplane in
Charlottesville, sports events, homes and buildings, exhibitions, and
even train wrecks.  One of the most historic Holsinger photos is a
portrait of artist Georgia O'Keefe, who lived for a time on Wertland
Avenue and taught art at U.Va. early in her career. 

	The collection is available on the World Wide Web in an online
searchable database at: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/holsinger

	Users can search for images of Charlottesville, the University,
individuals and events by performing a full-text search on the descriptive
data associated with each image.  In addition, the database provides searches
that will retrieve all images in the collection on the following topics:
African-Americans, Charlottesville, University of Virginia and World War I.

	The collection was digitized by the library's Special
Collections Digital Center with funding from several local businesses,
foundations and individuals (listed below).  Culminating an 18 month
effort to put the photos in a searchable electronic format, the
project will help to preserve the collection's fragile glass plates
while simultaneously making the photographs available on a world wide
scale.  Photographic prints and high-resolution digital images are
also available for reproduction for a small fee. 

	Rufus W. Holsinger came to Charlottesville from Pennsylvania
by way of Manassas in the late 1880s, to establish a photographic
business.  His "University Studio" at 719-721 West Main St. soon
became the leading studio in town, with a reputation for first-quality
work.  Holsinger himself served at various times as president and
treasurer of the Photographic Association of Virginia and the
Carolinas and as treasurer of the Photographers' Association of
America.  He was a long-time member of the City Council, president of
the Chamber of Commerce, and an organizer and director of the National
Bank of Charlottesville.

	After his death in 1930, the studio was owned and operated by
his son, Ralph W. Holsinger Jr., who moved it in 1935 to its familiar
location at 908 West Main.  Upon the son's retirement in 1969, the
studio passed from the hands of the Holsinger family, and the business
ceased operation in 1977. 

	A studio fire in 1912 destroyed the early business ledgers and
some negatives.  Those negatives surviving the fire range in size from
5-by-11 to 14-by-17 inches.  The Holsinger Studio Collection was
acquired by the University in 1978 through contributions made by the
Alumni Association and an anonymous donor.

	Funding for placing the collection on the World Wide Web came
from the Perry Foundation of Charlottesville, Charlottesville-Albemarle
Foundation, Associates of the University of Virginia Library, John Allan
Love Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. J. Wallace Sieg, Jefferson National Bank,
John J. Owen, University of Virginia Alumni Association, Thomas Jefferson
Memorial Foundation, Crestar Bank, and Beirne Carter Foundation of Richmond.

                             ###

	For additional information, or to obtain prints or
high-resolution files for a story on the collection, contact Edward
Gaynor at the U.Va. Library at (804) 924 3138 or contact the Special
Collections Department at mssbks@virginia.edu
	



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