Photography Collections Database

University of Texas at Austin

Photography Collections Database

Record Detail

Call Number:

PH-01010

Collection Name:

Harold Eugene Edgerton Photography Collection

Creator:

Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990)

No. of Items:

35 items

Span Dates:

1930s-1970 (bulk 1930s)

Description:

Harold Eugene Edgerton (American, 1903-1990) was an electrical engineer and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose photographic images and inventions have contributed greatly to the development of photography in the twentieth century. His work reflects a particular interest in “stopping motion” in order to study it. To this end he and his partners Kenneth Germeshausen and Hebert E. Grier invented a variety of strobe systems which allow for exposures so brief as to capture on film events which occur too quickly to be perceived by the unaided eye. Their achievements led ultimately to the development of the electronic speed flash system now in common use.

This collection of 33 black-and-white and 2 color prints by Edgerton contains a representative sampling of his work in terms of both period and subject matter. The images date from the 1930s to circa 1970, and the subjects range from the splash of a milk drop to the explosion of an atomic bomb. There are a number of studies of people in motion, including athletes from a variety of sports such as archery, diving, fencing, football, golf, pole vaulting, and tennis. Among the other subjects represented, both animate and inanimate, are birds, bullets, and broken glass.

About a third of the prints in the collection are multiple exposures showing successive phases of motion. The rest have been made from single exposures of as little as 1/100,000,000 of a second. Among these images are three silhouettes. There is also a print produced from a segment of high-speed motion picture film.

Among the loose prints are the following six photographs:

964:3352:0001 -- Fencing Salute, 1938. Gelatin silver print;
964:3352:0002 -- Baton in Action, 1953?. Gelatin silver print;
964:3352:0003 -- Tennis Serve, 1949?. Gelatin silver print;
964:3352:0004 -- Diver, 5 splashes, 1940?. Gelatin silver print;
964:3352:0005 -- Densmore Shute bending the shaft, 1938. Gelatin silver print;
964:3352:0006 -- Splash of a Milk Drop, 1936?. Gelatin silver print.

Location(s):

Edgerton, H.E., Boxes 1-2 (997:0015:0001-0029)
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E Box, Medium (964:3352:0001-0005)
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E Box, Large (964:3352:0006)
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Item(s):

964:3351:0001 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Fencing salute], 1938. Gelatin silver print, 20.7 x 25.3 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 in .

964:3351:0002 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Tennis serve], 1953?. Gelatin silver print, 20.7 x 25.3 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 in .

964:3351:0003 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Tennis Serve], 1949?. Gelatin silver print, 20.8 x 25.9 cm ; 8 1/5 x 10 1/5 in .

964:3351:0004 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Diver], 1940?. Gelatin silver print, 20.7 x 25.4 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 in .

964:3351:0005 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Densmore Shute bending the shaft, 1938. Gelatin silver print, 22.7 x 20.6 cm ; 8 9/10 x 8 1/10 in .

964:3351:0006 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Splash of a milk drop], 1936. Gelatin silver print, 20.5 x 25.8 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 1/5 in .

997:0015:0001 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Tumblers, 1942. Gelatin silver print, 21.8 x 28 cm ; 8 3/5 x 11 in .

997:0015:0002 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). New England bat, 1939. Gelatin silver print, 20.7 x 25.4 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 in .

997:0015:0003 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Mosquito bite, undated. Gelatin silver print, 25.4 x 20.6 cm ; 10 x 8 1/10 in .

997:0015:0004 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Pete Desjardin diving, 1940. Gelatin silver print, 28.5 x 35.5 cm ; 11 1/5 x 14 in .

997:0015:0005 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Arrow being shot], 1934?. Gelatin silver print, 10.4 x 25.4 cm ; 4 1/10 x 10 in .

997:0015:0006 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Bullet in flight with shock waves], 1970?. Gelatin silver print, 20.7 x 25.4 cm ; 8 1/10 x 10 in .

997:0015:0007 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Dynamite cap], 1956?. Gelatin silver print, 23.3 x 21.5 cm ; 9 1/5 x 8 1/2 in .

997:0015:0008 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Bullet in flight with sound waves], 1970?. Gelatin silver print, 26 x 21.8 cm ; 10 1/5 x 8 3/5 in .

997:0015:0009 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [King of Hearts], 1960?. Gelatin silver print, 27.9 x 21.9 cm ; 11 x 8 3/5 in .

997:0015:0010 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Firing of an old revolver, first stage, 1936?. Gelatin silver print, 25.4 x 20.6 cm ; 10 x 8 1/10 in .

997:0015:0011 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Golf club striking golf ball], 1930s. Gelatin silver print, 27.9 x 21.9 cm ; 11 x 8 3/5 in .

997:0015:0012 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Man pole-vaulting], 1964?. Gelatin silver print, 18.8 x 19.5 cm ; 7 2/5 x 7 7/10 in .

997:0015:0013 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Wes Fesler kicking a football, 1934. Gelatin silver print, 27.9 x 35.9 cm ; 11 x 14 1/10 in .

997:0015:0014 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Child running, 1939. Gelatin silver print, 35.5 x 27.7 cm ; 14 x 10 9/10 in .

997:0015:0015 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [Marching girls in Scottish style uniforms], 1940. Photographic print, 35.5 x 27.8 cm ; 14 x 10 9/10 in .

997:0015:0016 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Moving skip rope, 1952. Gelatin silver print, 27.7 x 22.9 cm ; 10 9/10 x 9 in .

997:0015:0017 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). [King of Diamonds], 1960?. Photographic print, 27.8 x 22.8 cm ; 10 9/10 x 9 in .

997:0015:0018 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Hammer breaks glass plate, 1933. Gelatin silver print, 50.6 x 40.7 cm ; 19 9/10 x 16 in .

997:0015:0019 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Rising dove, 1934. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.5 cm ; 16 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0020 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Fan and smoke, 1934. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.6 cm ; 16 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0021 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Ouch! (Archer), 1934. Gelatin silver print, 50.5 x 40.6 cm ; 19 9/10 x 16 in .

997:0015:0022 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Fighting finches, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.4 cm ; 16 x 19 4/5 in .

997:0015:0023 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Coronet, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 40.8 x 50.6 cm ; 16 1/10 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0024 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Death of a light bulb, 1936. Gelatin silver print, 50.4 x 40.5 cm ; 19 4/5 x 15 9/10 in .

997:0015:0025 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Firing of an old revolver, 2nd stage, 1936?. Gelatin silver print, 50.5 x 40.7 cm ; 19 9/10 x 16 in .

997:0015:0026 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Tumblers, 1942. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.6 cm ; 16 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0027 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Atomic bomb explosion, 1952?. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.6 cm ; 16 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0028 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Gus Solomons dancing, 1960. Gelatin silver print, 40.7 x 50.5 cm ; 16 x 19 9/10 in .

997:0015:0029 -- Edgerton, Harold Eugene, 1903-1990 (1903 - 1990). Jack of Hearts, 1960. Gelatin silver print, 50.6 x 40.7 cm ; 19 9/10 x 16 in .

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