C1: 008
1906–1923
approx. 3,000 vintage glass-plate negatives
Harry Cowles Mann (1866–1926) was a vastly prolific commercial photographer based in Norfolk, Virginia, specializing in industrial views, portraits, and landscapes, particularly artful Cape Henry beach scenes. Though he hailed from the large and socially prominent Mann family of Virginia (his uncle was Gov. William Hodges Mann and his father was Edwin Mann, a judge on Petersburg’s Hustings Court), little is known of his personal life other than that he was a confirmed bachelor, of fragile health for the second half of his life, and died—for reasons that remain unclear—at the State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded in Lynchburg. Sometime after being commissioned to photograph the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, Mann rented a studio space at 286 Main Street in downtown Norfolk, where he specialized in commercial photography, including “Buildings, Machinery, Landscapes and All Photographic Work for Half-Tone Reproduction.” Mann’s work was featured in National Geographic and his “nature portraits” of Craney Island and the Dismal Swamp won awards in photo competitions in Paris, London, and New York.
The Library’s collection of more than 3,000 prints and glass-plate negatives—more than half of which are available online—show Norfolk during and immediately after World War I. These include images of plantation houses; historic churches; public schools; department store display windows; architectural interiors of every description, including formal parlors, bedrooms, factory work spaces, restaurant dining rooms, and retail spaces; and even some technically innovative underwater shots. An unofficial collection within the collection is a group of more than 500 portraits of anonymous children casually posing with teddy bears and tricycles outside what appear to be their working- and middle-class homes in Norfolk.
Arrangement and access:
1,600 images are available on DigiTool.
Provenance:
Transferred to the Library from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, 1941
C1:008 Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection 
C1:008 Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection 
C1:008 Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection 
C1:008 Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection 
C1:008 Harry C. Mann Photograph Collection
References:
“Mann’s Children.” Virginia Cavalcade, vol. 27, no. 4 (1978)
“Virginians at Play: A Galley of Photographs by Harry C. Mann.” Virginia Cavalcade, vol. 38, no. 4 (1989) Walker, Carroll H.
“A Look Back at Harry C. Mann, Photographer.” The Downtowner, vol. 2, no. 10 (March 1990)
Yarsinske, Amy Waters. Virginia Beach: Jewel Resort of the Atlantic (1998)
Related resources and collections:
Harry C. Mann Photographic Panorama Collection, C1: 159
The Harry C. Mann collection is one of my favorites at the Library of Virginia. Thanks for sharing this.
Mann is one of my favorite LVA photo collections too!
We are currently cataloging a large group of the Mann negatives that were never available online, and we are finding GREAT new images. Stay tuned – hopefully within the next year (or so) there will be an additional thousand Harry C. Mann photos available through DigiTool.
I would love to see a blog post with some of the Mann finds when they go online.
I am truly anxious to see any Ocean View Virginia photos you might have
The success of Harry Mann was in part due to the love and support of his brother James. Harry had been involved with photography as a serious amatuer for a few years before James and partners opened a concession at the Jamestown Expo and Harry was brought in as the photographer. Harry moved into the home of James in 1907 and the letters that shed some light on Harry ended. I look forward to seeing the new photos as well.
Also, prints of the plates that document Norfolk are held in the Sargent Memorial Room of the Norfolk Public Library. They are wonderfully annotated and that information should become part of the metadata of the Mann Collection.