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Robert R. McCormick. Photographs for With the Russian Army

 Collection
Identifier: I-143

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

In the first part of 1915, Robert R. McCormick and photographer Donald C. Thompson traveled to France and Russia to gather first-hand information on the war. Thompson and McCormick created approximately 200 still images (possibly more), and Thompson shot motion picture film. Thompson and McCormick appear then to have parted company: McCormick returned to the United States via Sweden and Norway, but Thompson remainded in Europe. McCormick wrote about his experiences in the book With the Russian Army (Macmillan, 1915), which included about two dozen photographs; and the motion picture film was presented as With the Russians at the front.

This collection consists primarily of the surviving still negatives and prints collected during McCormick and Thompson's travels. (Most of these images were never published.) The bulk of the images show activities of the Russian Army, in both Russia and Poland. The collection includes the envelopes that originally contained the images (with handwritten captions and other information), and associated information on separate slips of paper.

Dates

  • 1915

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the negatives and prints are extremely brittle, and require careful handling.

Extent

5 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

In the first part of 1915, Robert R. McCormick and photographer Donald C. Thompson traveled to France and Russia to gather first-hand information on the war. Thompson and McCormick created approximately 200 still images (possibly more), and Thompson shot motion picture film. Thompson and McCormick appear then to have parted company: McCormick returned to the United States via Sweden and Norway, but Thompson remainded in Europe. McCormick wrote about his experiences in the book With the Russian Army (Macmillan, 1915), which included about two dozen photographs; and the motion picture film was presented as With the Russians at the front. This collection consists of the surviving still negatives and prints collected during McCormick and Thompson's travels.

Arrangement

This inventory is arranged in two principal series: images (negatives and prints, together with envelopes and other material discovered with the images); and paper materials not found in association with images. The images are arranged into groups by broad location (France; travel through the Mediterranean and Balkan countries to Russia; Russia and Poland; Sweden and Norway; and a few images whose location could not be determined). Each group is arranged in alphabetical order by the descripive caption created for each image.

The different types of material are housed in separate containers: prints (including associated paper materials such as envelopes; 2 boxes), negatives (2 boxes), and other paper items (envelopes, and handwritten and typed captions).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Received from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Chicago Tribune Company, and Nexstar Media Group on January 10, 2020, accession #SPEC-2020-1. These materials were contained in a box labeled "Col Robert R. McCormick. With Russian army. Photos & negatives" discovered within a larger box of uninventoried photographic negatives. (The box itself was not retained.)

Related Materials

The "Russia" materials in the "Travel" section of Robert R. McCormick's personal correspondence (series I-63) contains correspondence and other materials related to his trip to Russia, including typescripts that may describe either still or moving images.

General

Some of these images were published in the 1915-08-22 issue of the Tribune's Rotogravure section (pages 4-5)

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to Robert R. McCormick. Photographs for With the Russian Army
Author
Gary L. Strawn
Date
2021-04-17
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Library Details

Part of the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Repository

https://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/mccormick-library/index.html
Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Drive
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635