Guide to the Walter Johnson collection of post mortem and memorial photography and artifacts

This thesis project is a guide to the Walter Jones Collection of post mortem and memorial photography and artifacts currently held at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. The 1,108 objects in the collection are both commercial and vernacular in content. The range of its contents span from daguerreotypes created in 1840, through color Polaroid snapshots created in approximately 1970. The museum purchased this collection from Walter Johnson in 1986, and completed its accession into their permanent collection in 1988. From February/07 to July/07, I analyzed the collection catalog records and inspected the current conditions of the objects and their housings. I determined that thought all of the objects have been catalogued, the information included in the records should be updated for improved accessibility to the objects. In order to improve accessibility, this project proposes new terminology to describe the objects to enhance interpretation of the information in the records, and assesses the condition of the objects and their housings. It concludes with recommendations for long-term preservation of the objects in the collection.