Special Collections

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Special Collections
ACUA Photographic and Audiovisual Collections
This digital collection includes photographic collections from the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Included are images and prints of Catholic University's buildings and grounds, faculty, students, and University community from different periods of its history. So far, this collection contains images from the 1890's and 1917-1921; additional images are continually added to this collection., Approximately 420 selected items from the Archives of Catholic University of America., As historical objects, these photographs can reflect the customs and perspectives of their times. Some of the images in these collections may be offensive to contemporary viewers. We have chosen to leave all of the digitized contents intact as part of the historical record, though as with other records and objects in our archive, we do not endorse the views depicted in the archival materials we make available to the public.
First Vatican Council Photograph Album
This digitized album consists of a leather-bound album containing 30 pages of carte de visite albumen prints. The album features prints of Pope Pius IX, and 730 cardinals, patriarchs, primates, archbishops, bishops, and abbots who attended the Vatican Council I from 1869-1870., The First Vatican Council Photograph Album was most likely created sometime during the council sessions, from 1869-1870. Around 800 church leaders attended the sessions, including cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots, and religious superior generals. Most of the carte de visite prints are live portraits, though some are based on oil or charcoal prints.
Irish Home Rule Political Cartoons
This digital collection consists of 19th century political cartoons addressing Irish political issues of the time, including the Irish Repeal Movement, Irish Home Rule, Irish Nationalism and the Land War. While the majority of the collection consists of chromolithographs published in the 1880s by Irish newspapers, there are a few examples of political cartoons published in the 1840s by the British satire magazine Punch.
Irish Repeal Campaign Cartoons
Illustrating opposing attitudes to the 1801 Act of Union which created a legislative union between England and Ireland. Three anti- union cartoons published in Dublin flatteringly portray Daniel O'Connell, (Irish statesman, founder in 1840 of the Repeal Association which sought restoration of the Irish parliament), in his struggle against English rule as personified by Arthur Wellesley, (Duke of Wellington, British Prime Minster, 1828-1830, 1834), and Sir Robert Peel, (Prime Minister, 1834-1835, 1841-1846). Accompanying O'Connell in two cartoons is a figure that may represent Thomas Osborne Davis, (Irish writer, organizer of the Young Ireland movement, founder of the pro-repeal newspaper, The Nation). In contrast, a fourth cartoon, by English caricaturist, George Cruikshank, represents O'Connell as an ax-wielding bully attempting to sever the hands of England and Ireland united in friendship. The final item, a damaged election flier entitled, "Under the British Flag," depicts Liberal policies favorably in comparison to those of the Tories (Conservatives).
The John Mitchell Photographic Collection
Mitchell, a legendary leader of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), was born 4 February 1870 in Braidwood, Illinois, to Robert Mitchell and Martha Halley. Though mostly working in Illinois, he also worked in both Colorado and New Mexico. Mitchell was first a member of the Knights of Labor and then, successively, legislative agent, organizer, vice president and president of the fledgling UMWA. He was also vice president of the American Federal of Labor (AFL) and member of the National Child Labor Committee, the National Civic Federation, Federal Milk Commission, Federal Food Board for New York City, New York State Labor Industrial Commission, New York State Food Administration, and the New York State Council of Farms and Markets. It was, however, as president of the UMWA, 1899-1908, that Mitchell would have his greatest impact. His leadership in the momentous Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 resulted in significant gains for coal miners and greater recognition for the UMWA. Often in poor health, Mitchell stepped down as UMWA president in 1908 and died in 1919. He is buried in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His published works include Organized Labor: Its Problems, Purposes, and Ideals (1903) and The Wage Earner (1912). The photographs digitized here, 1898-1924, entail many portraits of important people, such as Clarence Darrow and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as significant events like the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike. There are also photographs illustrating mining techniques of the time., This is a collection of 207 photographs collected by John Mitchell from 1896 to 1924. These images are part of the John Mitchell Papers and relate to Mr. Mitchellbs personal and professional life as the President of the United Mine Workers of America.The collection includes images of Mr. Mitchell, his family, prominent Americans such as US Presidents and labor leaders (among others), union activities, and glimpses of what the workplace was like for coal workers around the turn of the twentieth century in the United States.
Photographs of theCatholic Educational Exhibit, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago,1893
In May 1890, a group of Catholic educators met with members of clergy and religious orders and decided that a Catholic Educational Exhibit at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago would be an appropriate way to showcase advances in Catholic education as an important aspect of American Christianity. The result was the Catholic Educational Exhibit at the World's Fair in Chicago. This digital collection consists of photographs of fifty 8"x10" images documenting the building, hall, and alcoves where the Catholic educational institutions displayed their objects and printed material. The educational exhibits occupied 115 alcoves, though the photographs document just under than half of these., This series of 50 images shows booths created by numerous Catholic Diocese in the United States that highlight their contributions toCatholic Education. These booths were part of the Catholic Education Educational Exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) in Chicago.
Strishock Print Collection
This digital collection displays an eclectic mix of etchings, paintings, and wood block prints acquired through collecting clubs and subscription groups and purchased by Daniel and Joan M. Strishock. The Strishocks donated this collection to The Catholic University of American in 1968 and it features a variety of subjects, themes, and artists., Mr. and Mrs. Strishock donated the collection of over 200 original prints and engravings to CUA in 1968 to strengthen the Department of Art.
Terence Vincent Powderly Photographic Prints
Terence Vincent Powderly, the son of Irish immigrants, was born in 1849 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Employed at a young age as a railroad switchman, he later apprenticed as a machinist. Powderly joined the International Union of Machinists and Blacksmiths in 1871, eventually becoming local president, then joined a local Scranton, Pennsylvania, Knights of Labor in 1876 and rose steadily until assuming the national leadership from 1879-1893. In addition to his labor connections, Powderly served as a progressive mayor of Scranton from 1878-1884, practiced law, and became a political operative with the Republican Party. From 1897-1901, he served as Commissioner General of Immigration, following these duties with a position as Chief of the Immigration Division of Information, 1907-1921, then Labor Department Commissioner of Conciliation, 1921-1924. Beyond these professional positions, Powderly was a world traveler, photographer, and author of Thirty Years Of Labor (1889) and his memoirs, The Path I Trod (1921). In 1999, Powderly was honored as the newest inductee into the U.S. Department of Labor's Hall of Fame, joining figures such as Samuel Gompers, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, and Philip Murray. Powderly, a photography enthusiast, took and collected thousands of photographs, nearly 1300 of which are reproduced in this digital collection., Terence Vincent Powderly (1849-1924) led the Knights of Labor at the peak of its power as Grand Master Workman (1879-1893), and later held important posts with the Bureau of Immigration (1897-1921).He was also an avid and talented amateur photographer, and several thousand of his photographic images produced in the first decades of this century (ca. 1902-1921) have survived in the form of glass and nitrate-base negatives (the nitrate has since been converted to safety film) and as glass lantern slides. In addition to his own work, Powderly collected prints produced by other photographers. This digital collection currently contains over 300 images selected from the collection.