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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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Address:

1150 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113, USA
bentley.ref@umich.edu

Peter Yates photograph collection, 1978-1990

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Restrictions:
The collection is open to research.

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Summary

Creator:
Yates, Peter, 1941-
Abstract:
Ann Arbor, Michigan photographer. Photographic images taken to accompany articles in the Ann Arbor Observer. Images include Ann Arbor businesses, buildings, neighborhoods, parks, landmarks; also photos of local personalities, politicians, business people, and University of Michigan faculty and staff members.
Extent:
5200 35mm negative strips (in 3 boxes; approximate)
Language:
English
Call Number:
9523 Aa 2
Authors:
Finding aid created by Lisa B. Hum, 1995

Background

Scope and Content:

The Peter Yates collection is made up of approximately 5200 negative strips, or 26,000 images, of photographs taken for the Ann Arbor Observer between 1978 and 1990. The collection documents both the ordinary and the eccentric in Ann Arbor, as photographs of politicians, professors and business people are interspersed with images of local "characters" and unusual events. Neighborhoods, parks and buildings are also represented in the collection. The negatives are stored in chronological order, according to the date of the issue in which they appeared.

The index is arranged in alphabetical order by subject, and each entry includes the date of the Observer issue in which the photograph was published. The index is not comprehensive, but provides access to photographs of notable people, institutions and trends in Ann Arbor. For example, not every restaurant review photograph has been indexed, but "institutions" such as the Fleetwood Diner and the Gandy Dancer do appear on the list.

For further subject access to the Ann Arbor Observer, please consult the Index to the Michigan Alumnus, LSA Magazine and Ann Arbor Observer in the Bentley Library reading room.

Biographical / Historical:

Peter Yates has worked as a free-lance photographer in the Ann Arbor area since 1977, when he quit his job as the manager of a bar to take photographs for the Ann Arbor Observer. At the time, the Observer had been in production for less than a year and was a struggling enterprise. The newspaper's distinctive visual style is very much a reflection of Yates' artistic sensibility.

Born in England in 1941, Yates attended an elite boys' school in Sussex, and then the University of Liverpool, from which he received a degree in history in 1964. He travelled around Europe after graduation, worked briefly as a market researcher, and moved to Montreal in 1965. From there he moved to New York City, where he took his first photographs and was a student of Lisette Model. Yates moved to Ann Arbor in 1971 and worked a variety of jobs before taking the risk of supporting himself as a photographer. His clients since then have included the University of Michigan Newsweek, the New York Times, Business Week and the Star.

Acquisition Information:
The collection was donated by Peter Yates (Donor No. 8300 ) in October 1994.

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open to research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Donor has transferred any applicable copyright to the Regents of the University of Michigan. but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

Attribution should be made to Peter Yates.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[item], folder, box, Peter Yates Photograph Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

Peter Yates photograph collection, 1978-1990
Call Number 9523 Aa 2
Total components 4
Last indexed 2023-08-08