The Personal Photographs of Theodore C. Wohlbrück

In 2014, a descendent of Theodore Wohlbrück donated to the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) a collection of glass plate negatives with personal photographs of family and friends taken T.C. Wohlbrück during his time in Worcester. Included are portraits of Wohlbrück's first wife, Mabel Brown Wohlbrück Penneton (1879–1960), and their three young children, Virginia Wohlbrück Willard (1903–1994), Gretchen Wohlbrück Bath (1904–1995), and Theodore C. Wohlbrück Jr. (1906–1985). Wohlbrück also took photographs documenting the construction of the family's home in North Worcester and recorded a family trip to Virginia, with views of the University of Virginia in Richmond and Natural Bridge. Views of exhibitions buildings from the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, taken after the fair had closed, are also included in the collection.

One hundred sixty four negatives from the 2014 donation are displayed in this online collection. Some had been damaged in a house flood, causing the emulsion to release from the glass plates—an additional 26 negatives were a complete loss. Examined as a group, they show the work of a young photographer finding his way technically (some are out of focus, poorly framed, or double exposed) and can be considered a prelude to the over one thousand professionally produced glass negatives and photographic prints by T.C. Wohlbrück already preserved at AAS.

Wohlbruck Family Collection, Gift of Russell Bath, 2014.