Collection inventory

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E. J. Wall Collection

An inventory of his collection at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Steffi Chappell
Date: 2014

Revision history:

Biography

Edward John Wall was born in Gravesend, England in 1860. In 1888 he founded Photographic Answers, a magazine about photography than ran for several years. Wall was also a contributing writer for Amateur Photographer, and between 1892 and 1895 he served as the journal’s editor. In 1897 Wall was named as the editor of Photographic News, and he held this position until 1900. At this point he left journalism and became employed as a chemist at the European Blair Camera Company, which manufactured celluloid film. Within his first year of working for the company, Wall’s foot was seriously injured. The injury required a two-year recovery, during which time Wall was left virtually immobile. He used this time to immerse himself in photographic literature, including writing for the British Journal of Photography.

Wall relocated to the United States in 1910 with his wife and daughter. Upon his arrival in America, he worked for the Fireproof Film Company based in Rochester, New York. When the company closed, Syracuse University hired Wall as a professor of photography and as the head of the Photography Department. He worked for the University from 1913 to 1916, when the Photography Department was shut down. Wall then began working for the Technicolor Motion Picture Company, which specialized in producing color films. In the 1920s he wrote for American Photography and consulted on many projects involving photographic technology. A few months before his death, Wall was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. He died on October 13, 1928, in Wollaston, Massachusetts.

Wall published several books over the course of his career, many of which continued to be reissued after his death. These titles include the Dictionary of Photography (1889), the Beginner’s Guide to Photography (1890), Carbon Printing (1894), Everyone’s Guide to Photography (1898), A Practical ABC of Photography (1901), Practical Color Photography (1922), History of Three-Color Photography (1925), Intensification and Reduction (1927), and Photographic Darkroom (1933).

Scope and Content Note

The E. J. Wall Collection contains three of Wall's published books, a bound compilation of notes of Wall's lectures from one of his students between 1913 and 1915, as well as a brief correspondence between Wall and William D. Wheeler.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

In addition to this collection, the Syracuse University Archives holds a clippings file for E. J. Wall.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Wall, E. J. (Edward John), 1860-1928.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Photography.
Syracuse University -- Faculty.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

E. J. Wall Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Bruce Archey, Class of 1915, donated the bound compilation of notes from E. J. Wall's lectures to the Archives in 1960. The correspondence with William D. Wheeler was donated by the heirs of Clarence W. and Ralph W. Shoemaker in 1962. The origin of the published books is unknown.

Processing Information

The materials have been rehoused in acid-free folders and box.

Arrangement

The items are arranged in alphabetical order.

Table of Contents

Papers

Inventory