Found 2 collections related to Kelty, Edward J., 1888-1967

After World War I, Edward J. Kelty made his main living taking traditional banquet and party photographs for his Century Flashlight Photographers Company, based in New York City. During the summer months, Kelty used a custom-made large-format camera and portable darkroom and followed circus troupes around the East Coast and Midwest, taking some of the most vivid photographs known to circus historians. However, lingering injuries from his Navy service in World War I, other personal struggles, and the hardships of the Depression led to Kelty closing his business and selling his camera and negatives by the early 1940s. Kelty died in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. Large-format black and white photographs primarily by the Edward Kelty's Century Flashlight Photographers company document 22 circus troupes and one rodeo performing in the Midwest, East Coast, and Montreal, Canada. Images depict group portraits and exterior and interior tent views. Manuscript annotations, likely by collector and donor Harold Dunn, are present on the verso of a few images. Some photographs may be later reprints by Dunn from Kelty's original negatives. All photographs are credited to Kelty, except for a photograph of the Sparks Circus and a photograph of the Worldwide Rodeo Championship, both by Knickerbocker Photographers. less

Large-format black and white photographs, primarily group portraits, by Edward Kelty's Century Flashlight Photographers company document twenty circus troupes performing in the Midwest, East Coast, and Montreal, Canada. Also included in this collection are two photographs of circus troupes taken by other photographers. less