Missouri History Museum

The Archives and Photographs and Prints collections cover a broad range of topics regarding the history of St. Louis, the state of Missouri, and the 19th-century American West.

Archives

The Archives contains manuscript material including papers of individuals and families such as letters, diaries, and reminiscences; records of clubs, societies, businesses, and institutions, including minute books, account books, and correspondence; and records of some local government agencies, including court records, tax records, licenses, and voter registrations. The following are among the highlights of the archives:

• William Clark Papers and Meriwether Lewis Collection
• Thomas Jefferson Collection
• Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company Records (1904 St. Louis World's Fair)
• Charles Lindbergh Papers
• James W. Fitzgibbon Papers
• William McChesney Martin, Jr., Papers

Searching the archives

• The Archives Collection Guides page includes the Guide to the Archival Collections, which contains descriptions of the size and content of the catalogued archival collections; the Civil War manuscripts guide; and more than 100 collection finding aids.
• The Archives Card Catalog provides extensive indexing of the archival collections.
• Search and view digital images of selected documents from the archives.

Contact the archives: archives [at] mohistory [dot] org, 314-746-4510 (during open hours)

Photographs and Prints

The Photographs and Prints collection contains more than 800 collections that document the physical growth of St. Louis and surrounding communities, prominent citizens, industries and institutions, important community events, and the everyday life of the region's diverse inhabitants. The following are some of the highlights of the photographs and prints collection:

• More than 500 daguerreotypes taken by Thomas Easterly from 1847 to 1872 including the earliest known photographs of St. Louis
• 1904 St. Louis World's Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition) from construction to demolition
• Swekosky-Notre Dame College Collection documenting the history of St. Louis' historic homes and buildings during the 1930s-1950s

Searching the Photographs and Prints collections

• Search descriptions of the Photographs and Prints collections.
• The Cross-Collection Search (beta) contains descriptions of individual photographs and prints, many of which are accompanied by a digital image of the item.
• The Portrait Binders index most of the identified portraits in the Photographs and Prints collections.