Image archive depicts African American experience

The Philadelphia Tribune is digitally archiving its entire photographic collection so it will be available online to the public. The archive will be among the largest photography collections telling the visual story of the African American experience, depicting events, people and places over the past 125 years.

The newspaper is using Advanced Image Archiving (AIA), a digital archiving and monetization service created between Image Fortress and Masterpiece Marketing Group, to preserve and archive its library of more than 250,000 photos, according to a recent press release. The AIA integrates digital archiving with the marketing of first-edition prints and reproductions to collectors, members of the greater Philadelphia community and the global community. The collection contains photos from events dating back to the newspaper’s founding in 1884. It includes photos of historical events of African American significance such as images from World War I and other key national and region events covered by The Philadephia Tribune since its founding.

Robert Bogle, Philadelphia Tribune president and CEO, says, “This is an exciting time ... to archive this unique photographic collection and make it accessible to the public for the first time. These photos reflect the life and experiences of the African American community in both America and in the Philadelphia region.”