The collection consists of 1,702 items, 1,346 of which are black and white celluloid
negatives, and 356 of which are black and white photographic prints. Boxes 1-19
contain black and white negatives that are 2¾” x 4¼” in size. Box 20 contains
negatives that are 3½” x 5¾” and 3¾” x 5¾” in size. Boxes 21 through 23 contain
black and white prints of three different sizes: 2¾” x 4½”, 3½” x 5¾”, and 4¼” x 7”.
Boxes 1-14 contain photos of streetcars and interurbans from TMER&T and
Milwaukee Rapid Transit & Speedrail (MRT&S) companies. Boxes 15-19 contain
images from assorted railway and streetcar companies all over the United States. Box
20 contains oversized negatives mostly of TMER&T streetcars and interurbans. The
box also includes photos from a few other companies and a portrait of Edwin Wilson.
Boxes 21-22 contain black and white photographic prints of locomotives from various
railway companies. The majority of the photos are of steam locomotives, though there
are also photos of diesel and electric locomotives as well. Box 23 has assorted
photos of TMER&T streetcars and interurbans.
The photos in this collection were taken over approximately a 42 year period. The
earliest photo is dated from 1923 and the oldest from 1965, although some are
undated. It appears that the majority of the photos were taken by Wilson, but he
collected photos from other photographers as well. The names of the following
photographers appear on the back of many photos: Buckley, Cheson, Christensen, Cox,
Dale, Duchert, Ellis, Euringer, John W. Gaylord, Geske, Gladfelder, Graham, Gutman,
Hampel, Harper, Henderson, Hermanns, Idarius, Karl, Klova, Krop, Mailer, Mattingly,
Methlina, Miller, John Nelson, Ross, Herman G. Runge, Don Schneider, Tilton,
Valesanao, Vollrath, Waven, Weaver, Wietzke, and Zurn. Also on the backs of many
photos are the initials D, DS, and TW.
