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Manuscript Group 329
IVAN L. CARTER COLLECTION
[ca. 1922-1938]
(Approximately 4000 items)


This photograph collection contains images of small town life during the 1920s and 1930s in the area of Cumberland County. Major subjects include Dickenson College and Medical Field Service School (Carlisle Barracks). These Photographs were taken by Ivan L. Carter, a Carlisle druggist.

Ivan Lewis Carter was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on April 5, 1894. The son of a dentist, he pursued studies at the University of Pittsburgh to become a druggist. He settled in Carlisle after serving overseas during World War I, taking over the drugstore of N.O. Eckels in 1920. Carter was a semi-professional photographer who did work for the Harrisburg Telegraph, Dickenson College, the Medical Field Service School, the Carlisle police, and local public schools and attornies. He served as secretary of the Molly Pitcher Camera Club of Carlisle that photographed numerous historical sites throughout Cumberland County. Carter held a commission in the United States Army until he retired to Florida in 1954.

The photographs in this collection record Cumberland County people, businesses, general landscape views, and news events. Notable items include the Babes in the Woods murder Case (November, 1934); Dickenson College 150th Anniversary; visits to Carlisle Barracks by Secretary of War Dern, Assistant Secretary of War Harry Woodring, and, Surgeon General Reynalds; State Senator Leon Prince; views of numerous Civil Works Administration projects; Civilian Conservation Corps workers; and the opening of Hanover Street in Carlisle. Also included are photographs of plays, high school and college sporting events, car wrecks, church activities, and events sponsored by such community organizations as the American Legion, Elks, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Among the collection, are views of Boiling Springs, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Mechanicsburg, Mifflintown, Mount Holly Springs, and other communities.

Most of the images in this collection are captured on 5" x 7" and 3 1/2" x 6" glass plate and nitrate film negatives, though some are 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" film negatives. A portion of the negatives are in the initial stages of deterioration, with very few original contact prints available. The negatives are numbered consecutively in chronological order. Carter kept detailed notes on the negative envelopes about the subjects of the photographs.




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