James N. Arnold image collection

Collection

Identifier: 029-03

Staff Only

Digital reproductions of items from this collection are accessible via the PPL digital repository.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains over 1100 glass plate negatives and 201 print photographs created by and/or collected by James N. Arnold. The images in the collection depict scenes across Rhode Island including beaches, farms and landscapes as well as activities and community events such as ice skating, parades, football games and community gardens.

Upon his death in 1927, Arnold bequeathed his library and research materials to the Elmwood Public Library in Providence, Rhode Island (now the Knight Memorial Library branch of Providence Community Libraries). The original bequest included 1500 genealogical works, 2500 bound volumes and over 10,000 pamphlets in addition to his research and manuscript materials and glass plate negatives and photographs. The library of published items (genealogical works, bound volumes and pamphlets) was not maintained as a discrete collection. Arnold’s image collection was transferred to the Providence Public Library sometime before 2009 and his manuscript materials were transferred to the Library in 2015.

In 2008-09 the Library rehoused the glass plate negatives into enclosures and partnered with AS220 to scan the images. Some original boxes and envelopes for the glass plate negatives were found during processing and include notes that identify the plates that were inside each as found during the 2009 project. Approximately half of the print photographs are contact prints from the negatives and include written description of the image. The other half of the photographs are not associated with negatives in the collection.

Dates

1900 - 1923
Majority of material found within 1920 - 1921

Creator

Arnold , James N. (James Newell), , 1844-1927 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

PPL does not claim copyright to this collection. Users of this item are responsible for determining copyright restrictions.

Biographical / Historical

James Newell Arnold (1844-1927) was a writer, editor, historian and genealogist specializing in Rhode Island history. Arnold was born on August 3, 1844 near the village of Knightsville in Cranston, Rhode Island to Captain James Lincoln Arnold, a farmer, and Amey Underwood. Arnold was a descendent of Thomas Arnold who joined Roger Williams in Providence in 1636, and of Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colony’s first governor. Sometime in his childhood, Arnold contracted an ailment that led him to the use of crutches for mobility throughout his life. In 1868, James Arnold moved the family to a farm in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Following this move, Arnold began his project to inventory historic burial grounds and to document the history of old Narragansett families.

Arnold’s professional work as a historian and writer began in earnest in the 1880s. Arnold traveled throughout Rhode Island collecting and transcribing local church records, pension rolls, burial records and town papers. He edited and published The Narragansett Historical Register, an 8 volume set on the history of southern Rhode Island, from 1882-1891. During that time, he moved to Providence in 1884 and worked as the assistant to historian Edward B. Hitchcock. From 1891-1912, he compiled and published his seminal work, Vital Records of Rhode Island, the first comprehensive set of vital records for the state covering 1636-1850 in 21 volumes.

In addition to his work on Rhode Island history, Arnold researched his Arnold family genealogy extensively, located and transcribed Revolutionary War newspapers, researched the Narragansett Indian tribe, and wrote numerous newspaper articles. Arnold died at Dexter Asylum on September 27, 1927 and was buried in a family plot in South Kingstown.

Extent

18 Linear Feet (29 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into series according to format and size. Series related to glass plate negatives were created during the 2009 digitization project according to size and have been maintained. Additional series have been added to reflect prints and miscellaneous materials. A partial itemized inventory is available and will be updated as the full collection is digitized.

Other Finding Aids

A portion of the images in this collection are digitized and described at the item level on provlibdigital.org.

Custodial History

James N. Arnold bequeathed his library and archival collection to the Elmwood Public Library Association, later named Knight Memorial Library, upon his death in 1927. During the years when Knight Memorial Library was a branch library of the Providence Public Library, the Arnold library of published materials was broken up and distributed amongst the library system. The glass plate negatives were transferred to the Providence Public Library sometime before 2009.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital surrogates made in 2009 and 2017 and are available on www.provlibdigital.org.

Related Materials

029-02, James N. Arnold Collection at Providence Public Library

Processing Information

The collection was partially processed by James DaMico and digitized by AS220 in 2009; collection was fully processed and finding aid written by Kate Wells in 2016.