Manuscript Group 464
FRANCIS COOPER PHOTOGRAPHS
1896-1920
9 cubic feet
Francis L. Cooper was an amateur photographer who documented scenes of life
in Juniata and Mifflin counties. Born in Philadelphia in 1874, Cooper attended
the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and in 1896 began taking photographs
of the countryside around Philadelphia, several of which were displayed at the
1899 John Wanamaker Exhibition of Photographs by Amateurs and the 1899 Philadelphia
Inquirer Photographic Contest. One of his photographs was selected for a United
States exhibit at the 1900 Paris Exposition. In 1901 Cooper left behind city
life, moving to Spruce Hill, Pennsylvania. He spent the rest of his life as
a country squire, and serving Juniata County as a justice of the peace, a tax
collector, a clerk at public auctions, a storekeeper, a clerk at a steel company,
and as a draft registrar during World War I. From 1901 until 1920, Cooper took
family photographs and portraits, school portraits, and photographs of family
reunions, which were commissioned and purchased. In 1920, he stopped taking
photographs. Francis Cooper died in Spruce Hill on October 29, 1944.
The collection includes photographic negatives and prints by Cooper, and related
material. The images are mostly scenes of life around Juniata and Mifflin Counties
and at the University of Pennsylvania. Subjects include individuals and families,
buildings, patients, pets, farm animals, hunting, landscapes, townscapes, fires,
railroads, celebrations, a circus, and general rural life.
Cooper Photographs from the Port Royal Times (FC series), [ca. 1896-1920].
(334 items) {#464m.1} [Holdings]
Cooper Photographs owned by Helen Cooper Fanus (FCF series), [ca. 1896-1920].
(218 items) {m#464m.2}[Holdings]
Cooper Photographs (FCP series), [ca. 1896-1920]. {#464m.3}[Holdings]
Cooper Photographs from Jay Ruby (FCR series), [ca. 1896-1920]. (103 items)
{#464m.4}[Holdings]
Cooper Photographs developed from nitrate negatives (FCN series), [ca.
1896-1920]. (642 items) {#464m.5}[Holdings]
Albums of Mounted Prints, [ca. 1896-1920]. (7 boxes) {#464m.6}[Holdings]