This collection consists of glass plate negatives donated by Bert Seymour and photographer David W. Hill. Both donations include images captured by local photographers John C. Brewster and Waldo Henry Dingman, Sr. The collection is composed entirely of glass plate negatives, mostly gelatin glass negatives, and some photographic prints. The images are of various Ventura County locations, historic sites, persons, and events, such as parades and community celebrations.

This collection consists of glass plate negatives donated by Bert Seymour and photographer David W. Hill. Seymour's donation was composed of items originally from the collection of Robert Brakey and later Judge Walter Fourt. Both Seymour and Hill's donations are negatives of photographs taken by John C. Brewster and Waldo Henry Dingman, Sr. Both men were local photographers. Brewster moved to Ventura County in the 1870s and was the first to establish a studio on Main St. He eventually built a custom studio and many photographs of early Ventura County and its residents were taken by him. Waldo Henry Dingman Sr. was born May 17, 1872, in Union City, Iowa and died on July 16, 1955, in Ventura, California. He was a professional photographer in Des Moines and Seattle before moving to Ventura in 1911. The Dingman family operated a photo studio for many years. While most of the images in this collection were captured by either Brewster or Dingman, some may be the work of other photographers.

9.13 Cubic Feet (31 boxes)

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org.

COLLECTION STORED ON-SITE: Open for research. Advance requests can be made to Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org. Some materials may be too fragile to handle and may require stabilization or digitization before they can be viewed.