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Charles Suddarth Kelly Collection

 Collection
Identifier: P014

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 39 images (three proof sheets each containing nine images and three additional photographs). Additionally there are 39 negatives, however there is one negative without a corresponding print and one image without a negative.

Dates

  • Creation: 1900-1984

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

A long time resident of Washington, D.C., Charles Suddarth Kelly produced and directed the first telecasts of historic events from the White House, U.S. Congress and other places in the United States Capital. He arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1945 to establish the first television station programming department. Subsequently, he was program manager for the NBC network in D.C., and Vice President-Manager of Channel 7 Television. He has held other senior executive positions in television, including the Public Broadcasting Service.

Mr. Kelly became acquainted with Washington, D.C.’s historical archives, private and public, when illustrations were sought for news and information programs in his television work. He found the existing collections inconvenient to use because they were not catalogued by venue or date. In response, he began to assemble a personal collection of original and copy photographs in 1945, focusing on developing chronologies of landmark sites, and collecting panoramas, views of buildings (including city street vistas), neighborhoods, and parks.

The book Washington, D.C. Then and Now: 69 Sites Photographed in the Past and Present, published in 1984, was an outgrowth of his research.



Extent

1 Boxes

Arrangement

Basic archival procedures were used at the time of processing.

Custodial History

There is no deed of gift and it uncertain as to how the Library acquired these photographs.

Processing Information

Each proof sheet and individual image was placed in an individual polypropylene sleeve. Each image was assigned a number. For the proof sheets, images are numbered from left to right, top to bottom. The completed sleeves were placed in acid free folders and then in an archival box for storage in the Library. Negatives were individually placed in archival paper sleeves and assigned a number that directly corresponds with the positive version of the image. Negatives were then placed in an archival box and placed in the negative storage cabinet.

Title
Charles Suddarth Kelly Collection
Subtitle
An inventory of the Charles Suddarth Kelly Collection at DC Public Library
Author
Finding aid prepared by Mark S. Greek.
Date
2006-05
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository

Contact:
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Washington DC 20001
(202)727-1213