The Wake County Historical Society (WCHS) invites you to an open house at St. Paul AME Church on Sunday, February 19, at 2:00 PM. This historic downtown church is in the process of restoring its 75 stunning European art glass windows. WCHS is adopting a window and hopes to encourage other organizations and individuals to do the same.

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State Archives of North Carolina photo

This Monday, August 31, 2015, marks the 100th anniversary of this now-famous photo of Raleigh Times newsboys. The top story of the day was the appointment of Robert L. Gray, a Raleigh native who had started his career with The News & Observer, as the new editor of The Times.

The newsboys photograph was taken on the Hargett Street sidewalk in front of the Raleigh Times Building by long-time Raleigh photographer Albert Barden, whose entire collection of more than 20,000 negatives is housed in the State Archives of North Carolina.

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PhC.19.58
Dallas T. Ward c. 1885
From the R. Beverly R. Webb Collection; State Archives, Raleigh.

It’s been said that every few minutes we take as many photos as all of humanity took in the 1880’s. In the mid 1800’s a photographic representation of reality was considered technological marvel. Needless to say, photography has changed a great deal over the past 150 years. Before camera phones, digital cameras, disposable film cameras or Kodak Brownies, there was the carte de visite — a small albumen print mounted on card stock measuring about 2″x3.5″. These small portraits about the size of a modern business card were traded among friends and family. Many times these small portraits ended up being pasted into blank books – the debut of the photo album.  Read more »