The Thompson collection consists of 1,866 glass plate negatives and three lantern slides. There are also 573 contact prints in the collection of which 494 are from the plates. Some of the prints are 8x10 inches and others are 3 ½ inch squares. The prints of the 3 ½ inch images are noted in the finding aid with the notation “(print available) 3 ½.” A list of the 8x10 inch prints can be found at the end of the finding aid. Safety film negatives (4x5) have been made of all the negatives through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

The collection is comprised of images of people, places and events in the greater Lansing, Michigan area, 1898-1913. Included in the collection are hundreds of plates of the companies where Thompson worked and their products. One of the outstanding parts of the collection consists of the 375 plates which record the operation of the Lansing Wheelbarrow Company. There are excellent views of the buildings and grounds, the arrival of raw materials via the railroad, and the various processes (metal casting, machining, woodworking, painting) necessary to produce the wheelbarrows, carts, trucks, and hardware. In addition, there are fine portraits of men working in the wheelbarrow company.

Thompson photographed a variety of other subjects including local buildings, homes, churches, water towers, and firefighting equipment. There are also a group of plates made at the Severance Tank Works (1907), manufacturers of water tanks and hydraulic apparatus, as well as interior scenes of the Oldsmobile Motor Car Co. (1907). There are hundreds of plates of local parades and carnivals for Labor Day, Decoration Day, the 4th of July, Presidents Day and parades and carnivals sponsored by local merchants and organizations. Included are plates of a woman palmist, a monkey circus, a phantoscope tent, and Johnson’s Commercial Band. There are several plates of the Pawnee Bill Wild West Show, which in addition to the standard western scenes, features re-enactments of the Boer-English War and the Cuban and Philippine conflicts. There are also plates of the Thompson family and the public mourning for US President McKinley’s death on the Michigan Capitol lawn. Some of these plates were published in the Lansing State Journal Centennial issue (May 24, 1959). One of the published plates is of Admiral Dewey when he came to Lansing in 1900 for a celebration and parade. The collection also contains an excellent multi-plate panoramic view of Lansing (circa 1900).

The plates were received in their original boxes and appeared to be maintained in some type of chronological order. The collection has been slightly rearranged so that the plates are grouped by subject, place, event, or individual which they document. An item inventory of the collection have been prepared and follow this description. The copy negative rather than the original glass plate will be made available for examination except in those instances where the plate might be able to provide information not discernible from the copy negative. When a print of a negative is available that will be provided unless the negative is specifically requested. The number range preceding the negative description is the negative number range.