AEF Signal Corps photograph questions

[ColWestnedge]

I work at the University of Michigan’s William L. Clements Library. We have a collection of what seem to be official U.S. Signal Corps photographs from the war. Many of the items in my possession have penciled inscriptions written on the back that correspond to photographs within the Catalogue of Official A.E.F. Photographs. For example, a photograph with the penciled inscription 1349-J8 matches with that same inscription in the official catalog. However, some of these photographs have inscriptions that follow the same cataloging pattern, i.e. 2902-V8 but do not appear in the official catalog. Does anyone have more information on this?

 

In addition, some of the photographs have stamped inscriptions on their back. I am attaching images of the different types of stamped inscriptions, and hope some of you might know more about what each of these stamps means.

 

Thank you for any help you can provide

 

 

 

[world war I nerd]

In the AEF, all images, official photographs, moving pictures, as well as images taken by correspondents and authorized visitors were strictly monitored, first by the intelligence section of GHQ, AEF, and later by the photographic branch of the Signal Corps, AEF. As such, an official photography laboratory was set up in Paris by the Signal Corps. That laboratory became the sole facility in which all AEF related photographs, except for technical photography (which was handled by the Corps of Engineers) and aerial photography (which was handled by the Air Service), was developed, printed, censored, archived and subsequently released for distribution or publication.

 

The first stamp is an AEF censor stamp. The presence of that stamp verifies that the image on which it was stamped was suitable for release to the public, and or, for publication. In other words, the photo contained no information that could be of use to the enemy in regards to military intelligence.

 

The second stamp confirms the location in which the photograph was developed, and or, printed, i.e. the official Signal Corps photo laboratory located in Paris.

 

I am unfamiliar with the third "stolen from" stamp. My guess is that stamp was placed on any photograph as a way to identify it as an image that was to be kept permanently on file and not taken out of the building.

[ColWestnedge]

Thank you very much for your helpful reply, world war I nerd. If you don’t mind, I have a few follow up questions that you might be able to help answer or at least postulate about.

 

Some images in our collection have all three stamped inscriptions on the back. Which means some images are stamped “censored,” but also stamped “stolen from.” Does that mean the photograph was not allowed out of the facility even after being deemed acceptable for public release? Or is there a possibility it could have been stamped ‘censored’ at a later date?

 

Also, many photos in this collection have the signal corps insignia on the bottom left corner of the image. Do you know at what point the insignia was put on the images? Some duplicates have one copy with and one copy without the insignia.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

 

 

[world war I nerd]

In regard to your first question, my guess is that photos stamped with both the "censored" and stolen stamps could go either way. One stamp first and then the second added, or vice-versa … Or possibly both at the same time, i.e. censored to signify that it could be viewed by any visitor to the Signal Corps facility in France, but stamped "stolen" to indicate that it was the only copy on file and that it was not to be removed from the building. If removed, on hand examples of what was available in the current catalog would be incomplete. It's likely that If a visitor wanted a copy of a photograph from the catalog that was stamped "stolen", he or she, likely had to order it.

 

I don't really know why some images might have, or not have the Signal Corps watermark printed on them. According to the book, "Images From Over There" by Major Stephen C. McGeorge, on July 5, 1917, GHQ, AEF assigned the intelligence staff the responsibility of censoring all official photographs and moving pictures. In the same directive, under the heading of "Technical and Administrative Services", the Signal Corps was tasked with the "photography of military operations". Though no mention was made as to who developed the photos. Therefore, the images could have been developed by the intelligence section, by the photographers who too them, by the Signal Corps or by one or more civilian firms. This begs the question, would any photo developer, other than the Signal Corps, incorporate a Signal Corps watermark on the images they developed?

 

It wasn't until August 18, 1918, that GHQ, AEF transferred the responsibility for every facet of AEF photography over to the Signal Corps. That was also the date on which the Signal Corps was directed to establish a facility dedicated to developing, censoring, printing and archiving all images associated with the AEF.

 

This is pure speculation on my part, but it's possible that the images that were produced before the Signal Corps photography facility was up and running were developed and printed without a Signal Corps watermark. The same image, after the Signal Corps was made responsible for it, along with every other AEF image developed and printed at the Signal Corps facility dedicated to AEF photography, likely had the Signal Corps watermark printed on it.