This collection consists primarily of glass plate slides taken by Ricalton during his travels around the world from 1891-1915. Also included are 22 typescripts to accompany the slides as well as photographic prints in narrow dimensions. Also included is a slide projector.
Photograph of a religious shrine in India by James Ricalton.
Collection Overview
James Ricalton was born about 1844, in Waddington, NY, and died in Waddington in 1929. He was a school teacher, traveler, inventor, and photographer. After briefly attending St. Lawrence University (class of 1871) Ricalton left before taking a degree and moved to Maplewood, New Jersey in 1871 where he worked as a school teacher. By all accounts, he was an extraordinary teacher, and his legacy is celebrated in the South Orange-Maplewood School District.
In addition to his teaching, Ricalton travelled the world during summer vacations as a photographer, amassing a collection of tens of thousands of images from all over the world, including stereoscopic images popular during the day. In addition many of his photographs, from such places as China, Africa, Greece, Europe, India and Russia, were used in geography books.