Box 3

The Herbert W. Fay Collection contains 9 boxes of material directly related to and including Fay’s portrait collection.  Box 1, housing material dated between 1864-1945, contains several file folders of general and personal correspondence and portrait loan agency clippings, all reflective of Fay s occupation as an historical portrait collector. Also included in this group are printed materials (broadsides leaflets, etc) related to Fay’s social and political interests and his participation in fraternal organizations. Boxes 2-8 contain Fay s portrait collection. Boxes 2-4 contain old portraits of DeKalb County citizens, Chicagoans and Illinois state officials. Box 4 also contains old photographs of the DeKalb County area. Boxes 5-7 contain portraits of people representing all spheres of life. Box 8 contains portraits which remain to be identified, 4 books and a tin plate of Horace Fay. Glass lantern slides, dating from about 1899 to 1921, make up Box 9. About 30 of the 66 lantern slides deal with DeKalb and the N.I.S.N.S./N.I.S.T.C. [now N.I.U.] campus. The portraits found in boxes 2-8 were assembled by Fay during the period dating approximately 1890 to 1920. The date recorded on the reverse of the photograph is generally the year in which Fay received it. Subject and qualifier indices are available.