Research

Syracuse Developmental Center Historic Prints and Negatives


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Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230

Summary:
These historic photographs were collected and displayed by Syracuse Developmental Center staff in the facility's museum. Most images date from the 1920s when the institution was the Syracuse State Institution for Mental Defectives; half of them are student portraits.
Creator:
Title:
Syracuse Developmental Center historic prints and negatives
Quantity:

0.5 cubic feet

(approximately 250 prints and negatives)

Inclusive Dates:
1922-1924
Series Number:
B1691

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of historic photographic prints and negatives that were collected, maintained, and (sometimes) displayed by Syracuse Developmental Center museum staff. Most of the images date from the early 1920s, a period when the institution was named the Syracuse State Institution for Mental Defectives.

About half of the images are student portraits that seem to have been removed from early institutional case files or admission books. About 100 of such photos are filed in unnumbered envelopes (in alphabetical order) that bear the individual's name and the date 1924. They may have been removed for microfilming and later salvaged. A group of negatives appears in numbered envelopes (1-61). These may be from a general negative collection. Each envelope includes a caption sheet with the negative. A third group includes pictures and unsorted negatives. These may be those for which cataloging was unfinished. Some of the photos have inked captions and/or a date (ca. 1922-1923).

Access Restrictions

Access to items depicting patients is restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Access Terms

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