Tracy Mathewson letters

Collection

Collection number: ahc.MSS608f

Scope and Content

This collection contains eleven letters from Tracy Mathewson to Sam Saltzman regarding various photos taken by Mathewson and other photographers. Mathewson sent photographs to Saltzman and described them in these letters. Mentioned are photos of Ty Cobb, Bobby Jones, the first Officers' Training Camp at Fort McPherson, German prisoners at Fort McPherson, and the 1917 graduating class of Georgia Tech. Mathewson also worked with Tracy O'Neal, an Atlanta photographer.

Dates

1956-1957

Creator

Mathewson, Tracy (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Administrative/Biographical History

Tracy Burum Mathewson (1876-1957), a professional photographer and newsreel cameraman, was born in Augusta, Georgia. His parents were Joseph Oscar Mathewson (1836-1894), and his mother was Susannah Luther Mathewson (1840-1880). He worked for the Atlanta Georgian beginning in 1905, and was also a photographer for theAtlanta Constitution. In 1898 he married Clara Eugenia Rountree (1877-1957) and they had one child, Tracy Buram Mathewson Jr. (1898-1990). Known as the Dean of Southern press photographers, he covered many notable news events, including Mexicon General Francisco Villa's raid of New Mexico in 1916, as well as Georgia sporting events and sports personalities such as Ty Cobb. In 1955, he won the Burt Williams Award for news photography. Mathewson retired in 1954 and died in Jasper, Georgia.