Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
Biographical
Note
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related
Material
Administrative
Information
Other Finding
Aids
Bibliography
Detailed Description
of the Collection
1
- Residences in Miami
2
- Residences in Miami Beach
3
- Residences Elsewhere
4
- Apartments in Miami
5
- Apartments in Miami Beach
6
- Apartments Elsewhere
7
- Hotels in Miami
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- Hotels in Miami Beach
9
- Hotels Elsewhere
10
- Public Buildings
11
- Buildings under Construction
12
- Old Pictures
13
- Development, Construction
14
- Street Views, Parades, Bridges
15
- Public Parks
16
- Churches
17
- Scenery
18
- Commercial
19
- Groups and Individuals
20
- Bathers
21
- [Bathing] Casinoes, Pools, Water Sports
22
- Boats
23
- Race Boats and Regattas
24
- Fishing, Pleasure and Commercial
25
- Polo
26
- Golf Players
27
- Golf Clubs
28
- Schools
29
- Other Sports
30
- Indians
31
- Farming
32
- Dairies
33
- Animals
34
- Air Views, Local
35
- Air Views, not Local
36
- Aviation
38
- Storms
39
- Motion Pictures, Making
40
- Other Cities or Localities
41
- Scouts, Boys and Girls
42
- Outings, Picnics, etc.
43
- Waterways, Dredges
44
- Things and People
45
- Art Objects
49
- Commercial Pictures
50
- Everglades National Park Area
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| Repository: |
Research Center
Historical Museum of Southern Florida
101 West Flagler Street
Miami, FL 33130
305-375-1492
archives@historical-museum.org |
| Creator: |
Claude C. Matlack, 1878-1944 |
| Title: |
Photographs of South Florida |
| Dates: |
1896-1943 (bulk 1918-1942) |
| Quantity: |
12 linear feet (7,287 photographs, 3 log books) |
| Abstract: |
The Claude Matlack Collection contains black-and-white photographs of South Florida places, people and events. The views are primarily of places and people in Miami Beach, Miami, Florida Keys, Tamiami Trail, and the Everglades area; and to a lesser extent, of Fort Lauderdale, the Bahamas, and Fort Jefferson. Series include buildings of various types, Seminole Indians, people at beaches, recreational boats and boating, polo, golf, school children, aviation, film making, dredging and construction. |
| Identification: |
1952-001 |
| Language: |
The records are in English.
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Claude C. Matlack was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1878. He graduated from DuPont Manual Training School in 1899, and joined the family plumbing and gas lighting business. He and his mother, Minnie Freeman, were avocational photographers.
In 1916 Matlack moved to Miami to work as an electrical engineer. Within three years, he had opened a photographic studio specializing in commercial and portrait photography, and selling cameras and photographic equipment. He opened a branch on Miami Beach in 1923, and thereafter focused much of his work on that city.
He apparently retired in 1940, when he began rearranging his photographs topically, renumbering both prints and negatives, and placing them in albums. He died suddenly four years later, before the project was completed, which explains the inconsistencies in image-numbering and documentation.
Return to the Table of Contents
The bulk of the collection are 5x7 photographic prints. Views are of places, building exteriors, events and people in Miami, Miami Beach, and South Florida. Examples of topics include: clearing mangroves on Miami Beach and construction of the Overseas Highway; Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, mainly at Musa Isle and along the Tamiami Trail; present-day Everglades National Park, Tamiami Trail and environs, present-day Big Cypress National Preserve, and Ft. Jefferson (Dry Tortugas).
Corresponding negatives exist for most of the photographic prints. 5x7 inch negatives include original safety negatives and direct duplicate negatives made from nitrate-based negatives. 4x5 negaives include original safety negatives, direct duplicate negatives made from nitrate-based negatives, and copy negatives made from the 5x7 prints.
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Arranged numerically (usually also chronologically) in 50 topical series established by the photographer. Prints and corresponding negatives have a two-part number (e.g., 14-1), in which the second number (-1) is the series and the first number (14-) is the item. A 51st series is arranged by a four-digit number, and contains photographs Matlack did not assign to one of the topical series.
Prints and negatives are filed separately.
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Restrictions on Access
The photographic prints and logs are open for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission from Historical Museum of Southern Florida staff required prior to reproduction of drawings and photographs in a publication. Please contact archives staff for more information.
Return to the Table of Contents
Matlack's Kentucky photographs were transferred to
the University of Louisville photographic archives sometime between 1973
and 1977.
Return to the Table of Contents
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Persons:
Matlack, Claude C.
Organizations:
Overseas Highway (Florida Keys, Fla.) -- Photographs
Tamiami Trail (Fla.) -- Photographs
Places:
Everglades (Fla.) -- Photographs
Florida Keys (Fla.) -- Photographs
Miami (Fla.) -- Photographs
Miami Beach (Fla.) -- Photographs
Miami-Dade County (Fla.) -- Photographs
Subjects:
Aeronautics -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County
Agriculture -- Florida -- Photographs
Beaches -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County
Boats and boating -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County
Golf -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County
Hurricane, 1926 -- Photographs
Hurricane, 1935 -- Photographs
Motion picture industry -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County
Polo -- Florida -- Miami Beach
Seminole Indians -- Photographs
Document Types:
Photographs
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Mileo Photo Shop, a photographic lab in Coral Gables, acquired the collection after Matlack's death. They gave the collection to the Historical Association of Southern Florida (parent of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida) in 1952.
Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Claude Matlack Collection.
Return to the Table of Contents
Database index available in the archives.
Matlack kept several logs, which record number, date photographed, and, for about half the entries, brief subject. A photocopy of the topical series log is available in the repository.
Return to the Table of Contents
Thomas, Samuel W. Dawn Comes to the Mountains.
Louisville, Ky.: George Rogers Clark Press, c1981. Pictorical account
of Matlack in Kentucky. Return to the Table of Contents
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| 2 - Residences in Miami Beach and Grounds, 1921-1943 |
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Views of houses in the cities of Miami Beach and Golden Beach.
Includes Belle Isle, Palm Island, Star Island, Sunset Island, Venetian
Island, and, possibly, Fisher Island (Vanderbilt home). Includes homes
located on Alton Road, Bay Road, Collins Avenue, Indian Creek, Ocean
Drive, Pine Tree Drive, Washington Avenue, and other streets. Includes
homes of Carl Fisher, Harvey Firestone, Colonel Henry Greene, and
other prominent men. 659 photographic prints.
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| 4 - Apartments in Miami Proper, 1920-1928 |
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Exterior views of apartment buildings in the city of Miami, including
the Bulmer and Brickell apartments (off Brickell Avenue), Gallett
Court, Granada Apartments, and Ft. Dallas Park. 44 items.
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| 7 - Hotels in Miami Proper, 1919-1936 |
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Views of hotels and hotel grounds in downtown Miami and Miami
Springs. Miami hotels includes the Royal Palm Hotel, Bernie, Columbus,
Halcyon, Miami Colonial, McAllister, Robert Clay, Roberts, San Carlos,
Tamiami, and Urmey. Miami Springs views are labeled Kellogg hotel,
which was the Battle Creek Hotel, now called Fair Haven Rest Home.
55 views.
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| 8 - Hotels in Miami Beach, 1920-1942
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Mainly views of Miami Beach hotel exteriors, interiors,
and grounds. Includes the Lincoln, Flamingo, Wofford, Breakers (North
Miami Beach), Nautilus, Haddon, Pancoast, Roney Plaza, King Cole,
Fleetwood, Boulevard, Sea Breeze, Blackstone, Floridian, Atlantis,
Abbey, and other hotels. Some views are not of hotels: the Flamingo
polo grounds (Miami Beach), W.I.O.D. radio station broadcasting towers
(Miami Beach), and Ives Dairy (6 views). 332 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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93-8 |
Children's party at
the Nautilus Hotel, Leap Day, February 29, 1924
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155-8 |
Playing miniature golf
on the grounds of the Nautilus Hotel, March 22, 1924
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251-8 |
Roney Plaza Hotel, late
1920s
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| 9 - Hotels Elsewhere, 1923-1930 |
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Views of the Hollywood Beach Hotel (Hollywood, Fla.), the Everglades
Club (Palm Beach), and the Boca Raton Club (Boca Raton). 11 views.
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| 10 - Public Buildings, Stores, Theaters, Garages, Clubs, Hospitals, 1913-1935 |
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Views of buildings in Miami Beach, Miami, Coral Gables, Adams
Key, and Hollywood. Buildings include automobile dealers, garages,
and filling stations; banks; clubs (beach, country, fishing, fraternal,
yacht); companies (construction, FPL, Matlack Studios, W.I.O.D. radio
station, etc.); city and county government buildings; Miami Beach
hospitals; office buildings; recreation (beauty contest, bicycle racing
track, dog racing track, tennis court, etc.); restaurants; stores
(groceries, department, etc.); and theaters. 327 views.
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| 12 - Old Pictures: Views of Places,
Streets, Buildings, and Events, 1896-1940 (bulk 1896-1920). |
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Series 12 includes copy work of photos predating Matlack's
arrival in Miami, as well as photographs he shot. Views of Miami,
Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Dania Beach, St. Augustine, etc.
Events include opening of Collins Bridge, confiscation of bootleg
liquor, Roosevelt's 1933 trip to Miami, William Jennings Bryan, War
of 1898, Palm Fete parade, etc. 269 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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20-12 |
12th Street (Miami) looking
west from the Halcyon Hotel, March 27, 1920.
12th Street has been renamed Flagler Street. The Halcyon Hotel was
located at present-day NE 2nd Avenue and Flagler Street.
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| 13 - Development, Construction of All Kinds Except Buildings, 1920-1938 |
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Views of land reclamation (clearing mangroves, dredge-and-fill
land creation, etc.), road and bridge construction, etc. Mainly Miami
Beach and the Florida Keys (Overseas Highway construction, Key West,
Pigeon Key, etc.), but also James Deering estate, Venetian Islands,
Holllywood, and Biscayne Point. 388 views.
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| 14 - Street Views, Parades, Bridges,
1919-1943 |
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Views of streets in Miami (Biscayne Boulevard, Brickell
Avenue, Flagler Street, Miami Avenue, etc.), Miami Beach (5th Street,
23rd Street, Collins Avenue, Biscayne Avenue, Dade Boulevard, Espanola
Way, Flamingo Drive, Lincoln Road, Ocean Drive, Palm Island, and Star
Island), Buena Vista, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Ft. Lauderdale,
Hialeah, Hollywood, Homestead, Magnolia Park, Miramar, Shenandoah).
Views of parades include Armistice Days, American Legion, Shriners
(1928 convention and other years), and Palm Fete. 261 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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112-14 |
Ocean Drive, South Beach
(Miami Beach), February 26, 1923
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| 16 - Churches and All [Related] Activities, [Such As] Choirs, etc., 1919-1943 |
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Views of churches in Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Miami, and
Miami Beach, St. Augustine, and one view of a synagogue. Activities
include services, Sunday school, social events, etc. Churches include
Plymouth Congregational, Gesu Catholic, Central Baptist, Miami Beach
Community, Coral Gables Congregational, etc. 150 views.
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| 17 - Scenery, Views General,
Sky Lines, River Views, 1920-1942 |
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Scenic views of gardens, natural areas, rivers, plants,
etc., and of moods (sunsets, ocean, etc.). Places include Buena Vista,
Coconut Grove, Cutler, Ft. Lauderdale, Golden Beach, Miami, Miami
Beach, Musa Isle, Opa-locka, Point View, New Smyrna, Ft. Matanzas,
and near Savannah (Ga.). Waterways include Arch Creek, Atlantic Ocean,
Biscayne Bay, Indian River, Little River, Miami River, and New River.
Lighthouses include Cape Florida, Hillsboro, and Jupiter. Views of
palms, flowers, 1932 flower show, etc. Views of Charles and James
Deering estates, Matheson estate, Royal Palm Hotel grounds, etc. View
of Okeechobee City flood, 1928, probably after the 1928 hurricane.Approximately
450 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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219-17 |
Women in bathing suits,
with parasol, beneath coconut palm, Miami Beach, December 31, 1923
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| 18 - Commercial: Auto Wrecks, Machines, Commercial Objects, 1921-1933 |
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Photographs shot for advertising illustrations, insurance claims,
etc. Includes views of things (jewelry, auto parts, aerocar moving
van and bus, etc.), displays, businesses (FEC Railway sidings, Ft.
Lauderdale gas plant, etc.) Views of decorative iron objects or or
in homes (gates, doors, window grills, lamps, railings, etc.) Includes
views of wrecked autos, transplanting of Royal Palms, etc. 1921-1933.
149 views.
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| 19 - Groups and Individuals, Street Clothing, 1920-1942 |
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Group shots of members of civic groups (Miami Beach Chamber of
Commerce, Bath Club, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Miami Beach police and
firemen, Bank of Bay Biscayne office personnel, Lions Club, etc.).
Candid and posed views of prominent residents and visitors (Samuel
Gompers, U.S. President Warren Harding, Pancoast/Collins family, Henry
Coppinger, Glenn Curtiss, Fritz Kreisler, Ruth Bryan Owen, Jack Dempsey,
etc.) Views of people with Christmas trees, acting in play, etc. 258
views.
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| 20 - Bathers and Groups, 1920-1935
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Men, women and children in bathing suits and at the
beach (Miami Beach). Includes views of Roman Pools, lifeguards, and
some prominent individuals (Al Smith, Jack Dempsey, Glenn Curtiss,
Jackie Ott, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Fisher). 179 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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151-20 |
Tea
time, Miami Beach, October 15, 1927 |
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| 21 - [Bathing] Casinoes, Pools, Water Sports, Aqua Planing, 1919-1936 |
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Views of bathing casinoes (Roman Pools, Cook's, Hardie's, Smith's, Deauville, Sunny Isles, Opa-locka pool), beach sports (swimming, diving, water polo, aqua-planing), Views of Palm Fete, beauty pageants, lifeguards, Christmas day at the beach (1921, 1926), and a Miami Beach high school class. Beach scenes at Lummus Park and South Beach. 330 views.
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No gambling casinoes are in this series.
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| 22 - Boats, Slips, Docks, Boat Slipping, 1919-1942 (bulk 1919-1927) |
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Views of passenger ships, yachts, sailboats, wooden speed boats,
houseboats, gondolas, and the Miami Beach ferry. Other views include
Miami and Miami Beach docks, Government Cut dredging and jetty construction,
boat launchings, and U.S. President Warren Harding onboard a boat.
87 views.
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| 23 - Race Boats and Regattas, 1919-1933 |
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Views of regattas and boat races, mainly in Biscayne Bay. Most
races are of outboard motor speed boats, but sailboat, gondola, and
rowboat races are also included. Views of Glenn Curtiss' invention,
a boat propelled by an airplane motor (probably the first airboat),
and of Gar Wood. 207 views.
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| 24 - Fishing, Pleasure and Commercial, Fish, 1910s-1939 |
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Views of sports fishing catches (sailfish, billfish, sharks,
etc.), fishermen and fisherwomen, and charter boat docks (Miami Beach
Rod and Reel Club, Baker's Haulover, Bimini). Some views show crayfish
and stone crab hunting at low tide, seining, leaping tarpon, a captured
Killer Whale (dead), and the capture of a manatee (alive) for the
Miami Beach Aquarium. Fishermen include Alexander Ott and Charles
Thompson. 1910s-1939. Matlack's original album for this series was
destroyed before 1974, for an unknown reason. 30 views.
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| 25 - Polo and Around Grounds, 1920-1928 |
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Views of polo players, matches and grounds on Miami Beach. Players
include John Herty, Harvey Firestone and Carl Grahm Fisher; teams
include the Cuban army polo team. Views of statues of polo players,
by Pellegatta. 140 views.
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| 28 - Schools and All [Related] Activities, 1919-1934 |
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Public and private schools, students, teachers, student activities
and sports, kindergarten through high school. Schools include Cushman,
Pelican Kindergarten, Hialeah, Miami Shores, Ida M. Fisher, Miami
High, Miami Beach High, Cobum (Miami Beach), Redland, Montmere (Miami
Beach), Riverside, Lemon City, Highland Park, Homestead, Northside,
Allapattah, and Davie. 227 views.
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| 29 - Other Sports, Dog and Horse Races, Baseball, Jai Alai, Tennis, etc., 1920-1940 |
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Amateur sports include skeet shooting, tennis, baseball, and
basketball. Professional sports include Babe Ruth in an exhibition
ball game, the Stribling-Dempsey boxing match, and the 1926 automobile
race at Fulford. Parimutual sports include dog racing, Jai Alai, and
horse racing (Hialeah Park). 54 views.
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| 30 - Indians, 1920-1932 |
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Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, mainly at Musa Isle
and Coppingers (tourist camps on the Miami River) and along Tamiami
Trail. Views include dugout canoes, studio portraits, fishing, parades,
alligators and alligator wrestling, cooking, sewing, villages, and
the 1927 Back to the Land publicity event. About 225 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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5-30 |
Woman poling past billboard
advertising sale of reclaimed land, March 27, 1920
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24-30 |
Seminole woman, March 27,
1920
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50-30 |
Henry Coppinger, inventor
of alligator wrestling, wrestling an alligator, January 28, 1921
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90-30 |
Men
and children, probably at Musa Isle, on the Miami River, December
11, 1923 |
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| 31 - Farming, Groves, Gardens, Tractors, Implements, Products, 1920-1941 |
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Views relating to agriculture in Davie, Pennsuco, Clewiston, Florida City, Homestead, Allapattah, etc. Miami Beach Garden Club. 1920-1941. 108 views. |
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The series originally contained 418 views. Most of these original
prints and negatives no longer existed by 1974.
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| 32 - Dairies and Products, All Kinds of Livestock, Poultry, 1919-1942 |
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Mainly views of dairies and cattle. Dairies include the Curtiss
Bright Ranch (Hialeah), White Belt Dairy, Milam Dairy, Southern Dairies,
and dairies in Miami Beach, Florida City, and Kendall. Some views
of dairy products (milk, butter, etc.). Other farm animals include
goats, hogs, and game cocks. 135 views.
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| 33 - Animals: Pets, Birds, Elephants,
Dogs, Monkeys, etc., 1920-1929 |
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Most views are of Rosie and Baby Carl, Carl Fisher's
elephants. Other views depict dogs, parrots, pigeons, and a bear.
69 views. |
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Number |
Digital Image
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35-33 |
One of Carl Fisher's elephants,
Miami Beach, April 21, 1924
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| 36 - Aviation, Aviators, Planes, All War Pictures, Soldiers, Sailors, 1918?-1939 |
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Military views include Dinner Key, Marine training field, and
aviators during or just after World War I; airplane wrecks; naval
ships and sailors; and victory parade. Civilian aeronautical views
include Pan Am, Eastern, air mail flights, air shows, flying boats,
and airships. About 350 views.
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| 42 - Outings, Picnics, etc., 1919-1930 |
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Picnics and parties, including Matheson's chowder party (i.e.,
Biscayne BayYacht Club), Angler's picnic at Soldier Key, Committee
of 100 picnic at Cocolobo Key, child's birthday party hosted by Al
Capone, and Rod and Reel Club event at Sunny Isles. 28 views.
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| 43 - Waterways, Canals (not scenic value), Dredges, Dredging, 1919-1928 |
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Miami-Dade and Broward counties rivers (Miami River, New River),
canals (Miami Canal, New River Canal, Collins Canal, Comfort Canal),
Pancoast Lake, County Causeway, and Al Capone property. 89 views.
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| 45 - Copies of Art Objects that we may sell, 1921-1928 |
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Views of people dressed as Greek gods, goddesses, and mythological
beings; people dressed as characters from Tennyson's Idylls of the
King (e.g., Lady of Shalott); and copy work of maps, paintings, drawings,
etc. 1921-1928. 70 views.
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| 49 - Commercial Pictures that are for temporary use, |
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Mainly views of businesses, including Sears tent, Flagler Kennel
Club, Howells Auto, FPL, Matlack's studio, Tip Top Grocery, and Esquire
Bar. Some photographs of objects, such as jewelry, an exercise machine,
and Dixie sportsware. 1936-1940. About 35 views.
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