The John and Jane Adams Photograph Collection documents the history of photography, including various photographic processes and formats, such as albumen prints, cyanotypes, platinotypes, ambrotypes, gelatin silver prints, glass negatives, carte de visites, tin types, cabinet cards, and more.  In addition, the collection also illustrates the evolution of photographic subject matter and studio advertising.  Highlights include early daguerreotypes, an assortment of unique photo albums, and a wealth of studio advertisements from all over the world dating from the mid nineteenth to early twentieth centuries.  In some cases, this finding aid uses technical terminology to describe the photographic processes and formats, but every effort was made to include laymen's terms as well.  The collection consists of portraits, landscapes, and travel photography, and is divided into four series based on format: Paper Prints (1850s-1946), Metal and Glass Plate Processes (c. 1840s-1890s), Glass Plate Negatives (1898), and Albums (1886-1946).

The Paper Prints (1850s-1945) series documents the various formats and photographic processes requiring paper supports, or bases. The majority of photographs in this series are black and white, unless they are cyanotypes or are hand painted.  This series is divided into two sub-series:  Mounted Prints (c. 1854-1920s) and Unmounted Prints (c. 1880s-1946). The Mounted Prints (1870s-1946) consist of paper prints mounted onto board and primarily document popular studio portraiture from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century.  This series is divided into five sub-series: Carte de Visites (1854-1870s), Cabinet Cards (1860s-1910s), Non-standard Size Studio Portraits (c. 1880s-1910s), Non-Studio Prints (1880s-1920s), and Stereo Cards (c. 1876-1880s). Filed alphabetically by geographic location and arranged alphabetically at the item level by studio name, the Carte de Visites (1854-1870s) primarily consist of portraits from the mid nineteenth century.  Of particular interest are the portraits taken at Matthew Brady's New York studio, a postmortem death portrait of a child (box 3, folder 3), portraits of several little people, and several minoritized groups and individuals. The Cabinet Cards (1860s-1910s) are also arranged alphabetically by geographic location and studio. This sub-series includes full-length and head portraits of men, women, children, and small groups. The advertisements document changes in photographic technology, such as the introduction of enlarged prints, electric light, multiple prints, and coloring techniques. This is the largest of the sub-series.  Also filed alphabetically by geographic location and maker, the Non-Standard Size Studio Prints (c. 1880s-1910s) document studio portraiture as well, though these portraits are not in standardized sizes.  These prints date from around the 1880s to the 1910s. In addition, the Non-Studio Prints (1880s-1920s) contain mounted landscapes, and outdoor portraits of large groups and individuals. Of particular interest is a striking photograph of a girl standing next to her bicycle, exotic Egyptian landscapes taken by Henri Arnoux, and a photograph of a group of African-American workers outside of the Green River House in Louisville, Kentucky.  The Stereo Cards (c. 1876-1880s) make up the smallest sub-series and include several memorial images, including one for Presidents Lincoln and Garfield. The Unmounted Prints (1870s-1946) series contains a variety of paper prints in various sizes including albumen prints, cyanotypes, gelatin silver prints, and platinotypes.  This sub-series documents various photographic processes and subject matter such as early twentieth century photographs of California, the old West, National Parks, California missions, and more.  Highlights include set of photographs of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve during the Second World War. This sub-series includes various sizes of prints.

The Metal and Glass Plate Processes (1840s-1890s) document photographic processes which use metal or glass materials, such as iron, copper, or glass plates for the photographic support or base of a photograph. The series includes mid-nineteenth century portraits, and is divided into three sub-series: Daguerreotypes (1840s-1860s), Ambrotypes (1850s-1860s), and Tintypes (1860s-1890s). The majority of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes are encapsulated in small cases, but these cases are often in poor condition, and many of the images contain oxidation. The Daguerreotypes date from the 1840s to 1860s, and document early studio portraiture using a copper base. This sub-series consists primarily of head portraits of men, women, and children. Of particular interest is a rare large size portrait of a family of eight people. The Ambrotypes (1850s-1860s) document the next phase in studio portraiture, using glass as the photographic support. Highlights include a portrait of a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. The Tintypes (1860s-1890s) also document the evolution of studio portraiture from copper and glass to iron supports in the mid to late nineteenth century, and include portraits of men, women, children, and small groups, including several rare larger tintypes and two albums of early tintype head portraits dating from around the 1860s. Many of the tintypes still have their original paper mat.

The Glass Plate Negatives (1898) document the glass plate negative process, and the International Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. The series includes photographs of various scenes and buildings from the 1898 Exposition.

The Albums (1886-1946) series document various people, places, and events, and includes paper-support prints, such as cyanotypes and gelatin silver prints bound in albums. Several albums, including the albums in boxes 20-22, and box 32 were disassembled and no longer have their original binding. The majority of photographs in this series are black and white, with the exception of a small number of hand-colored images and several albums that include cyanotypes. This series dates from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Highlights include an album documenting the mining town of Flint, Idaho during 1886 and 1887, and an album which features places in San Diego in 1900, such as the Hotel del Coronado, Mission Valley, and downtown San Diego, as well as a parade in Los Angeles with several photographs President William McKinley in a parade carriage. Also included are two remarkable albums documenting the evolution of photography, including an album belonging to a photographer in the Bay Area of California. In his album he writes what type of lens he used, the hour of day, and the exposure time. In addition, this series also consists of a product album from the Gavaert Company of America, which includes photographs taken and printed on different types of plates and paper. The customer could then look through the album and decide which papers and plates to order based on the final product displayed in the album.