The Early Photography Curated Collection houses materials gathered for student educational purposes. The collection contains examples of early photographic processes: daguerreotype; celluloid film; stereographic postcards; ambrotypes; tintypes; cabinet cards; and photographic albums.

Collected through purchase and donation by the Columbia College Chicago Library in the 1970s and 1980s, the material was selected in consultation with faculty from the Columbia College Chicago Photography Department for classroom instruction.

Curated collections are materials, generally physical objects, that have been intentionally gathered to form a collection focused on specific topics and which have been selected by Columbia College Chicago faculty or staff members in support of curricular, informative, or educational purposes.

The materials below represent sample images from the various types of photographic processes held within the collection. The number in the description is the series and item number of the piece, found within the collection guide.

The Guide to the Early Photography Curated Collection lists its contents.