Call Number:

PH-00227

Collection Name:

Francis Edward Pratt Photography Collection

Creator:

No. of Items:

423 items

Span Dates:

circa 1910

Description:

The collection consists of 423 4x5 inch nitrate negatives taken by Francis "Frank" Edward Pratt while he was working in Mexico as a mining engineer. Captions were painted on to most of the negatives. The negatives, which were taken before and during the time of the Mexican Revolution, show scenes of daily life, buildings, scenery, and transportation, throughout various regions of Mexico. The negatives are accompanied by corresponding 8x10 inch prints that were likely made in the 1970s either by the Ransom Center or by Pratt's grandson Elliott Ward Cheney, Jr. (1929-2016), a faculty member of the Math Department at The University of Texas at Austin. Cheney donated the collection to the Harry Ransom Center in 1975. A photocopied index of print captions is available onsite at the Ransom Center. The few captions that include dates suggest the negatives were made between 1909 and 1911.

Frank Pratt was born June 25, 1865, in New York City, to artist Robert M. Pratt (National Academy of Design) and Mary Ann (Wheaton) Pratt. He was named after an uncle who died the previous year. Francis married Grace Ewer Brailey on May 17, 1898. He passed away in 1935, leaving his collection of photographs to Cheney.

The original negative sleeves are available upon request.

Accession No(s):

975:0004:0001-0423; Gift, 1975

Location(s):

Pratt, F.E., Box 1-4
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Curatorial permission requiredPratt, F.E., Box 5-10
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