Curator Branch
Availability of Photographs of U.S. Navy subjects
There are several institutions that hold large collections of photography
of U.S. Navy Subjects. Four major ones are briefly discussed here. Three
are agencies of the U.S. Government, and one is a private organization.
The three government agencies' collections can be roughly differentiated
chronologically:
The Naval Historical Center's Photographic Section
has a very large collection that is the best source of Navy photography
predating the 1920s. In addition, its collections include supplemental coverage
for later dates.
The National Archives' Still Picture
Branch holds the Official U.S. Navy photo collection predating 1982,
and is generally the most complete source of Navy photographs from the 1920s
through 1982.
The Department of Defense Still Media
Records Center holds the official U.S. Navy photo collection from 1982
to the present.
The privately-operated U.S. Naval
Institute has an extensive collection of Navy photographs from all eras.
In contacting these institutions, you should keep in mind than none
of them can support general requests or requests for more than three or
four specific subjects at a time.
Last update: 1 October 96