Four photographic collections donated by the Mayville Historical Society. The first consists of black & white prints, circa 1950-1988, of Mayville and its surrounding area that were taken by Edgar G. Mueller (1913-2001), a photographer for the Mayville News and a stringer for the Milwaukee Journal. In addition to his news photography, Mueller was also known for his wildlife photography which appeared in Field and Stream magazine and once on the cover of Life magazine. His photographs also illustrated Robert Gard’s books on the Horicon Marsh. Subjects here include the full spectrum of small town news: automobile accidents, fires, road construction, athletic competitions and sporting events, and the activities of local churches, schools, and patriotic and civic organizations. There are few documentary views of the built environment. Although well identified with caption information, few photographs are dated. Mueller's early photographs are professionally printed although later images, which are more numerous, are not.
“Busheys,” a homemade photo album, is the second collection and documents the activities of students at Bushey Business College in Appleton during the 1920s. A separate album contains 12 interior and exterior views of the Solvay Coke plant in Milwaukee, circa 1920. Two additional albums of unknown origin were donated to MHS by Mrs. Vernon Engel and were likely created by an Engel family relative. They contain views of travel, circa 1910-1935, to scenic attractions in the West, in Tennessee, and in other southern states, as well as many views of camping and scenery in northern Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Dells area. Urban views document Darlington, Grafton, Mellen, Sheboygan, Tigerton, and Wittenberg, Wisconsin. Views of Milwaukee include scenes of state fairs and the Washington Park Zoo. Pre-1900 views were donated by MHS either because they did not document Mayville or were unidentified. These photographs have been separated to appropriate locations in the Archives Name, Place, and Classified Files.
