GLOUCESTER, MASS. (June 2021) – The Cape Ann Museum is pleased to announce the generous donation of over one million photos from the vast and historically significant archive of the Gloucester Daily Times by North of Boston Media Group. This important local photo collection of Cape Ann events, people, and historic moments dates from 1980 to 2005 and will be housed at the Museum’s Library & Archives collections.

“This is an extraordinary repository of photography capturing Cape Ann’s illustrious history, and it shows how irreplaceable local journalism is in chronicling our communities,” said Oliver Barker, the Museum’s Director. “We cannot thank the Gloucester Daily Times and North of Boston Media Group enough for recognizing the historic value of their photography over the years and understanding why it is so vital to protect and preserve these images in perpetuity.”

The Gloucester Daily Times was founded in 1888 and has been documenting the region’s activities ever since. An award-winning newspaper, the photographers who captured these images are well known and produced exceptional work including Amy Sweeney, Cristin Gisler Bradley, Paul Bilodeau, Josh Reynolds, Mike Dean, and Bart Piscitello.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to permanently archive our photo collection from the Gloucester Daily Times at the Cape Ann Museum,” said Times Editor David Olson. “Local journalism captures the important moments of communities, and we’re glad to ensure access to these images – some award-winning, some historic, some simply relatable – for future generations on Cape Ann. It’s also important for Times journalists to know their work matters as a chronicle of history. Everyone benefits from this arrangement – the Times, the Museum, and our community.”

The collection is primarily centered around photographic negatives on 35mm film and digital images on compact disks and memory cards. Also included are photographic prints from earlier decades as well as the vast newspaper clipping “morgue” which gives unique insight into 20^th century newspaper journalism. As is the case with all photograph collections in the CAM Library & Archives’ care, it will be fully accessible and available to researchers. The Times retains its rights to the images.

Digitizing select images has already begun, and the Museum will be integrating many of these into upcoming exhibits, through future issues of its online periodical, CAM Connects, and in 2023 will be hosting a large scale exhibition at the Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green looking at over three decades of Gloucester Daily Times photojournalism. For now, the collection is being stored, preserved, and categorized at the climate-controlled James Center.

The collection holds many familiar images from full front-page photos of historic times on Cape Ann to picturesque feature photos to game-winning moments by young athletes. Trenton Carls, the Museum’s Librarian & Archivist, cites the incredible reach of the collection as its most exciting aspect: “Many photograph collections that come to the Museum are usually very specific in scope, covering a certain event, by a specific photographer, or a certain time period. With this expansive collection, the Museum will be able to share the stories of an entire generation of people and almost three decades worth of events and moments from our community.”

The Cape Ann Museum, founded in 1875, exists to preserve and celebrate the history and culture of the area and to keep it relevant to today’s audiences. Spanning 44,000 square feet, the Museum is one of the major cultural institutions on Boston’s North Shore welcoming more than 25,000 local, national and international visitors each year to its exhibitions and programs. In addition to fine art, the Museum’s collections include decorative art, textiles, artifacts from the maritime and granite industries, three historic homes, a Library & Archives and a sculpture park in the heart of downtown Gloucester. In Summer 2021, the Museum will officially open the 12,000 square foot Janet & William Ellery James Center at the Cape Ann Museum Green. The campus also includes three historic buildings – the White Ellery House (1710), the recently acquired Babson-Alling House (c.1740), an adjacent Barn (c. 1740), all located on the site at the intersection of Washington and Poplar Streets in Gloucester.   Starting on June 18, 2021, the CAM Green will be open Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 pm.

The Cape Ann Museum is located at 27 Pleasant Street in Gloucester and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m and Sunday,  1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Timed tickets are recommended for all visitors at this time and can be reserved online at www.camuseum.eventbrite.com. Admission is $12.00 adults, $10.00 Cape Ann residents, seniors and students. Youth (under 18) and Museum members are free. Cape Ann residents can visit for free on the second Saturday of each month. For more information please call (978)283-0455 x110 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.