Johnston (Frances Benjamin) photograph collection, approximately 1889-1908

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
Frances Benjamin Johnston Photograph Collection
Dates:
approximately 1889-1908
Creators:
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952 and Brady, Mathew B., approximately 1823-1896
Abstract:
Collection of glass plate negatives produced by Frances Benjamin Johnston, corresponding prints, and interpositives.
Extent:
38.13 Linear Feet (1276 photographic prints, 1278 glass plate negatives, and approximately 1200 interpositives in 88 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains approximately 1,276 photographic prints and corresponding glass plate negatives by American photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston that focus on the portrait work of Johnston's earlier career in Washington, DC, mainly in the 1890s. The collection also contains interpositive copies of the glass plate negatives produced by The Huntington sometime during the mid to late twentieth century.

The photographic prints and glass plate negatives were hand-selected by Johnston for The Huntington based on their "historical interest or value" and include many autographed prints. The prints are largely cyanotypes, with a few gelatin silver and platinum prints. Also included alongside Johnston's original prints are copy prints made by The Huntington at a later date.

The collection is largely made up of Johnstons portraits of Washington, DC, socialites, politicians, artists, and more. In addition to that, there are photographs Johnston made for articles about government buildings and architectures, copies Johnston made of Matthew Brady's daguerreotypes, copies of State Department archives and War Department images, views of Bell Telephone Company instruments, and images of Abraham Lincoln objects and ephemera intended to illustrate Ida Tarbell's Life of Lincoln.

Biographical / historical:

Frances Benjamin Johnston was born in Grafton, West Virginia on January 15, 1864, and grew up in Washington, DC. She is considered one of the first American female photojournalists. Her mother, Frances Antoinette Benjamin Johnston, was a political journalist; and her father, Anderson Doniphon Johnston, worked for the United States Treasury Department. Johnston attended Notre Dame Convent in Baltimore, Maryland; the Académie Julian in Paris; and trained under Thomas Smillie at the Smithsonian Institution. Johnston opened a photography studio in Washington, DC, sometime around 1890. She was a member of the Photo-Secession, a group formed by Alfred Stieglitz that promoted photography as a fine art rather than just a commerical tool. Then in the early 1900s Johnston opened a photographic studio with her partner, Mattie Edwards Hewitt, on Fifth Avenue in New York City. She purchased a home in New Orleans in 1945 where she retired. Johnston died in May of 1952. In 1954 she was made an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Frances B. Johnston, 1924.
Processing information:

The original paper finding aid was prepared in November 1994. Jennifer A. Watts processed the collection and created a partial finding aid in 2014. The collection was reprocessed and the finding aid updated to include all boxes in 2026 by Carri Frola.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into three series: Series 1. Prints, approximately 1889-1908; Series 2. Glass plate negatives, approximately 1889-1908 ; and Series 3. Interpositives, approximately 1889-1908. Within each series, the items are arranged numerically by item number. The item numbers within each series correspond to each other. The current item numbers were applied by The Huntington; Johnston handwrote her original negative numbers directly on the glass plate negatives, and they can be seen on many of the prints as well.

Physical / technical requirements:

RESTRICTED: Boxes 16-80: Glass plate negatives are fragile. Cannot be paged, imaged or reproduced without conservator review. Use of original may require special handling instructions and extended retrieval and delivery time. Print surrogates are available.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Carri Frola
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-09-24 09:42:34 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
Website