The images that were selected for use in “The Faces of Detroit” originate from the Detroit News Photonegative Collection. The collection consists of over 800,000 vintage glass plate and film based negatives that document the historical, political and cultural growth of the Detroit area from 1873 through 1984. Commonly referred to as a “photo morgue”, the collection is composed of original negatives that local newspaper photographers took to illustrate the stories that appeared in the newspaper. Also included within the collection are images from the Detroit Times, a daily newspaper that was absorbed by the Detroit News in the 1960s.
The Detroit News Collection, along with its copyright, was donated to the Walter P. Reuther Library in 1997by Robert Giles, an outgoing editor of the Detroit News. It is one of the largest non-commercial photographic resources in the country and offers a unique opportunity for researchers to view history through the photojournalistic tradition.
