The Community Built Whale: a photographic look at the communities that built the North Carolina State Museum

Item set

Title: The Community Built Whale: a photographic look at the communities that built the North Carolina State Museum
Description: The focus of this project is the whale exhibits built and displayed by curator H.H. Brimley during his tenure at the North Carolina State Museum in Raleigh, NC. The goal of this collection is to look at some of the community co-contributors through digitized photographs that often show unnamed individuals alongside the curators, assistants, and exhibit specimens. The collection will be organized by community theme. The themes will include museum visitors, local assistants to museum professionals, and the museum professionals themselves as agents of the legislative requirement of the museum collection. This arrangement will describe three levels of community involvement in the museum exhibit process. From the curator's requirement to seek out specific specimens in order to continue receiving funding from the state to the community that assisted in the collection process, to the community that enjoyed the finished product in the museum. These three categories of community are not the only people who would have engaged with the museum's exhibits, but they are all easily identifiable, and distinct from one another, in photographs. The curators and other museum professionals are named individuals who are in the photos or were the ones who took the photos. The community members who assisted in the collection of specimens in the field are often unnamed alongside the museum professional or unnamed alongside the specimen or both. The community of museum visitors are easily identifiable by the photos taken from inside the museum and always include at least one museum exhibit in the photograph.
Contributor: Jennifer Larsen
Rights: The materials included in the North Carolina Digital Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Each item in the collections has a rights statement included in its description, which identifies any restrictions on use. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

We try to properly assess the copyright status of items in our collections. However, if you are a copyright holder who is not properly identified or who would prefer not to have your materials included in our collections, please contact us at digital.info@dncr.nc.gov.; https://digital.ncdcr.gov/about
Source: The Brimley Collection is named for Herbert Hutchinson Brimley, the first curator (and later, first director) of the North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. During his years of service with the State Museum, Brimley assembled North Carolina displays at various national and international expositions. In preparation of his exhibits for the various shows, Brimley did his own photographic work and traveled throughout North Carolina to capture scenes for display in his exhibits.

This collection (PhC.42) documents many aspects of life in the state in the late 19th and early 20th century. Most of the collection is black and white, with a few oversized prints that are hand colored.

We strive to make North Carolina Digital Collections as accurate as possible. If you find any errors, please contact us at archives.webedit@dncr.nc.gov.; https://digital.ncdcr.gov/collections/brimley-photograph-collection
Type: The Brimley Photograph Collection
Local URL: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/collections/brimley-photograph-collection; https://digital.ncdcr.gov/collections/brimley-photograph-collection

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Museum Director Harry Davis with sperm whale "Trouble" display 1951
H. H. Brimley working on a model of True's Beaked Whale, 1944
These photographs are grouped together into the Brimley, H. H. subject. Curator, and later Director, of the North Carolina State Museum, Herbert Hutchinson Brimley is seen engaged in various activities connected to the museum. The photographs range from the early days of the museum when the Department of Agriculture set aside two rooms in its office building for Brimley's collection to the last years of Brimley's life when the museum was one of the best-known museums in the country. Brimley is seen in various pictures with his wife, his brother Samuel Clement Brimley and Harry T. Davis. Also includes pictures of Brimley's residence in Raleigh c. 1910. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
H. H. Brimley working on a basking shark, ca. 1940.
These photographs are grouped together into the Brimley, H. H. subject. Curator, and later Director, of the North Carolina State Museum, Herbert Hutchinson Brimley is seen engaged in various activities connected to the museum. The photographs range from the early days of the museum when the Department of Agriculture set aside two rooms in its office building for Brimley's collection to the last years of Brimley's life when the museum was one of the best-known museums in the country. Brimley is seen in various pictures with his wife, his brother Samuel Clement Brimley and Harry T. Davis. Also includes pictures of Brimley's residence in Raleigh c. 1910. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
Examining sperm whale skeleton
Mary Kay Clark, curator of mammals, examines sperm whale skeleton
Children touching Trouble's teeth
Children touching Trouble's teeth, ca. 1970s.
Excavating whale bones
Harry T. Davis and a group of local fishermen on Topsail Island digging up the sperm whale bones.
Whale Shark Tail and Claspers, Cape Fear River, Brunswick County, NC, 1934
These photographs are grouped together into the Sharks and Rays subject. Photographs depict captured sharks and rays of various species. Species seen include, Whale Shark, Nurse Shark, Basking Shark, Tiger Shark, Angel Shark, Blue Shark and Bonnet Shark. The specimens are seen in the museum before being cast in plaster and just after being caught. Also includes a number of photographs depicting a group of boys posing with a large ray. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
Basking Shark caught at Beaufort Inlet, 1947
These photographs are grouped together into the Sharks and Rays subject. Photographs depict captured sharks and rays of various species. Species seen include, Whale Shark, Nurse Shark, Basking Shark, Tiger Shark, Angel Shark, Blue Shark and Bonnet Shark. The specimens are seen in the museum before being cast in plaster and just after being caught. Also includes a number of photographs depicting a group of boys posing with a large ray. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
Mineral Exhibit and Whale Skeleton, Museum of Natural History, c. 1900
These photographs are grouped together into the Museum of Natural History subject. Interior and exterior pictures of The North Carolina State Museum of Natural History are seen including many depicting H. H. Brimley, Thomas K. Bruner, Harry T. Davis and others at work inside the museum and posing with exhibits along with various pictures depicting visitors interacting with exhibits. Also seen are Brimley's children on the front porch of his house at 402 East Hargett Street in Raleigh. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
Museum Hall I April 1938 School Groups
These photographs are grouped together into the Museum of Natural History subject. Interior and exterior pictures of The North Carolina State Museum of Natural History are seen including many depicting H. H. Brimley, Thomas K. Bruner, Harry T. Davis and others at work inside the museum and posing with exhibits along with various pictures depicting visitors interacting with exhibits. Also seen are Brimley's children on the front porch of his house at 402 East Hargett Street in Raleigh. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.
Museum Hall I From Stairway Greenwood c 1942
These photographs are grouped together into the Museum of Natural History subject. Interior and exterior pictures of The North Carolina State Museum of Natural History are seen including many depicting H. H. Brimley, Thomas K. Bruner, Harry T. Davis and others at work inside the museum and posing with exhibits along with various pictures depicting visitors interacting with exhibits. Also seen are Brimley's children on the front porch of his house at 402 East Hargett Street in Raleigh. This collection of photographic negatives and prints is made up of the photographs taken and overseen by Herbert Hutchinson Brimley (1861-1946) for the Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Geological Survey and the State Museum. The photographs in this collection are arranged alphabetically by topic, beginning with Agriculture and ending with World War II.