Turn-Of-The-Century Photograph Library
The end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the early twentieth century marked the start of the modern age of boxing. The greatest fighters of this era were the subjects of a spectacular collection of photographs by Percy Dana, often described as the "Rembrandt of Photographers."
Best known for his magnificent museum-quality photographs of the urban landscapes of the period, Percy Dana was an avid boxing enthusiast who traveled throughout the country photographing fighters, boxing figures, and boxing matches.
While many of the boxers he photographed are now legendary — John L. Sullivan, Jim Corbett, Stanley Ketchel, Joe Gans, Battling Nelson and many others — a number of the fighters Dana photographed would now otherwise be lost to history. These were among the last of a dying breed, men banished from Eastern cities by progressive reforms and practicing their trade in the mining towns and desert communities of the American west.
Dana Glass Plate Negative Collection
The original glass negative plates of his photographs — nearly 1,200 — were discovered and acquired by Bill Cayton nearly thirty years ago. Many of these were once believed to have been lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
The extraordinary beauty and quality of these photographs of the fighters, dramatic fight action, and of the top-hatted personalities who followed these fighters around the country has to be seen to be believed. This unique collection, in fact, was the subject of an entire chapter in the book "Boxing Memorabilia."
Responding to many requests, five hundred of the most interesting and historical plates have now been digitized as high resolution TIF format files for licensed use. Additional photographs will be added to the catalog as they are scanned.
Among the historical fighters in the collection are:
- Joe Gans
- The "Original" Joe Walcott
- Sam Langford
- Jimmy Britt
- "Battling" Nelson
- Stanley Ketchel
- John L. Sullivan
- Jim Corbett
- George Carpentier