About the Gleason Waite Romer Collection

This collection of approximately 17,000 photographs is housed in the Miami-Dade Public Library System's Main Library Florida Collection. Gleason Waite Romer (1887-1971) photographed South Florida from 1925 until the early 1950's, documenting events and places of the time. Upon arrival in South Florida, Mr. Romer took a job as a photojournalist for the Illustrated Daily Tab, an early Miami newspaper. Later, when the Tab closed he became a commercial photographer and opened his own photography lab. Because of these different occupations and his wonderful eye for capturing a moment of time we have beautiful and enduring snapshots of life in early South Florida. Recognizing the significance of this one of a kind collection, Merrett Stierheim, purchased the collection for the City of Miami from Mrs. Romer. Mr. Romer wanted the collection to be placed in an institution where the public would have access to his photographs. Many homes and street shots are available that are often useful for historic restoration.

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The Romer Collection is maintained by the Miami-Dade Public Library to provide public access to these photographs of South Florida life for informational, educational, and recreational purposes.

Black and White photographic prints with negatives.  Some of the negatives are glass and some are in various sizes.   Some original negatives are in poor shape.  Some postcards are reprints of negatives that have been colorized.  About 5000 postcards are sepia toned and contain original typed descriptions created by Mr. Romer.

Approximately 17,000 prints, 17,000 original negatives, 17,000 copy negatives, 5,000 sepia toned postcards, and nearly 1,000 colorized postcards.

The Main Library and the Helen Muir Florida Collection is open 9:00-6:00 PM Monday thru Saturday.   On Thursday, the hours are 9:00-9:00 PM.  The Department and the Main Library are open on Sundays from 1-5:00 PM (Mid-September thru June).  However, the Romer Collection and other special collections are not available on Sundays. 

Parts of this collection can be viewed and printed online via our catalog.   The majority of the collection is not yet digitized and it must be manually accessed in person here in the Helen Muir Florida Collection at the Main Library.  It is in a closed stack area and all photographs must be pulled by hand by library personnel.   Photocopies are permitted.  Scanning is not permitted.   If desired, we can send out the negatives to a local photography lab for print making for a fee.

Handicapped access is available.  An appointment is not required, but is encouraged.

Photograph collections -- Miami-Dade County (Fla.) Gleason Waite Romer Photograph Collection Romer, Gleason Waite, 1887-1971

Aproximately 1925 thru 1950's

Cataloging Record Format: MARC
Collection Title as Cataloged: Romer Collection

Digitization Status:
Over 1000 images have been scanned and cataloged. A search of our catalog for the general keywords "romer collection" will show what we have already scanned.

Preservation Status:
The entire collection had copy negatives and contact prints made from the originals. All are in Hollinger photographic jackets. Temperature is controlled.

Parent institution Web site

Collection Supervisor:
John Shipley ([email protected])

Phone:
(305) 375-5023

Fax:
(305) 375-3048