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Over a million local photographic images document pivotal events and daily life in West Michigan during the past one hundred fifty years.

The Robinson Studio Collection is the largest. Robert Robinson opened his studio in 1930. Within a few years Robert's nephews Shelley (Henry) and Bud (Reuben) Robinson assumed control of the studio, which they operated for more than four decades. Shelley and his brother provided portraits, commercial photography and news coverage for the Grand Rapids Herald. They carefully filed and documented their work. When the business closed in 1989, almost 950,000 negatives were saved from destruction by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission, which purchased the collection, and with the help of several generous foundations donated it to the Library.

Grand Rapids Public Library Photo Collection: Since the Ryerson Library opened in 1904, we have been gathering and preserving the many images of Grand Rapids and environs, graciously offered by members of the community. It now numbers over 60,000 items and is the richest resource of pre-World War II images of West Michigan citizens, places and events.

George Fitch, an amateur photographer with an interest in history, combined his two hobbies. His own photographs of the early 1920s and collected images dating back to the 1850s are now part of the Library's holdings.

James Hooper was an officer of Michigan National Bank who during the 1940s set up displays of donated local historical photographs in the bank's streetfront windows. The more displays he created, the more people brought him photos. He eventually donated 700 prints to the Library.

Murch Morris, photographer for the Grand Rapids Herald, photographed much of the city during the late 1920s. The Library bought a portion of his personal collection of 500 prints profiling good times and hard times in West Michigan during the early years of the Great Depression.

Also, in the Library's motion picture and video holdings is a 1915 silent film, The Blissfield Romance. Shot on location in and around Grand Rapids, it featured local local actors and adds the dimensions of motion and action to views of our town in the early part of the century. It is also in circulation in the Main Library's video collection.

Del Blumshine won a Peabody Award for his investigative reporting on the homeless in Grand Rapids in the early 1960s. A reporter for WOOD-TV, Channel 8, his pioneering use of hidden cameras and hidden microphones is preserved by the Library.

Several personal bequests include pictures of World War I. A contingent of doctors and nurses from Grand Rapids served in the medical corps near the combat areas in Europe. They were among the few who had the time and resources to take pictures of this part of Western history.

These are just part of the Library's special photographic holdings. All are thoroughly catalogued, and the index to the Robinson collection is computerized. The Library's Local History Department can help you to locate the images to serve your needs, provide enlargements, contact sheets and slides, and license specific rights for commercial reproduction. Call (616) 988-5400 option (5).