Harry A. Franck (1881-1962) was a University of Michigan graduate (1903), avid traveler, and veteran of both world wars. He wrote thirty-three travel books describing Europe, South and Central America, China, Japan, and many other places. His most popular books include A Vagabond Journey Around the World (1910) and Zone Policeman 88 (1913). His books routinely featured photographs he took during his journeys: landscapes, street scenes, working people with the tools of their trade, portraits, and snapshots.
The 9,056 black and white images in this collection were digitally photographed from original negatives on nitrate or acetate film and reversed into positives. The 1,001 color images are from hand-colored lantern slides (on glass) that Franck had prepared to illustrate his lectures; most of the color images therefore have a black and white counterpart in the negative series. Some of the nitrate film stock had deteriorated and fused. About three hundred images from the China series were too badly damaged to photograph. Another thousand images or so, mostly from the China series, were partially fused; these were photographed but show evidence of the damage and partial losses to the image.
Additional material (correspondence, manuscripts, drafts, lectures, journals, scrapbooks, and other formats) may be found in the Harry Alverson Franck Papers at the Special Collections Research Center of the University of Michigan Library.
