More than 1,570 negatives taken by local photographer Carl Eugene Brown are now available online through the Mississippi Digital Library (MDL). The images represent Brown’s early work and are only a small portion of the roughly 5,980 negatives currently available to the public in the Local History Department (LHD) at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library.
Images chosen for digitization are considered within the public sphere. For example, state fairs, parades, camps, buildings, houses, businesses and more. To view the archives collections on the MDL visit msdiglib.org/about/partners/columbus.
The LHD is now working on organizing Brown’s negatives from the 1960s. It is estimated this may include roughly 14,000 negatives. Donations to purchase supplies for this project are welcome. Checks should be made out to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System and mailed to 314 Seventh St. N., Columbus, MS 39701. Specify “Carl Brown Collection” on the memo line.
To find out more about Carl Brown and his photographs visit https://carlbrownphotos40s50s.wordpress.com.
Brown, born in Bentonia, Mississippi in 1918, moved to Columbus in 1929. It was during his service in World War II that he developed his interest and skills in photography. After the war, he opened a local studio and for four decades he was one of the preeminent photographers in the Lowndes County area.
The collection was donated to the LHD in 2016 by Sam Laffoon, owner of The Grapevine, where the collection was housed for over five years. Sam donated the collection in memory of his late wife, Kittie C. Laffoon.
This project was made possible through a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council along with assistance from the Stephen D. Lee High School Foundation and local donations.
For more information call 662-329-5304 or email [email protected].
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