Recent Acquisition

Arthur Scott scrapbooks.
Barbara Thaler’s recent donation of nine Arthur Scott photography scrapbooks is a rich addition to SC&A’s Arthur Scott Collection. Arthur E. Scott (1913-1977), widely known as "Scotty" on Capitol Hill, first covered the United States Congress in 1935 as a photographer for the Washington Times. Later, he worked for International News Service and United Press International. In 1955, he became the photographer for the Republican Senatorial Committee where he served for the next twenty years. During his last year with the U.S. Senate, he was the official photo-historian for the Senate Historical Office. There he set to work on a project he had advocated for many years - collecting a likeness of every person who had served as a United States senator. The scrapbooks reflect Scott’s career as a Washington photographer, capturing a variety of images such as capital monuments, U.S. Presidents, and military drills. After proper conservation, the scrapbooks will be available for examination in Special Collections & Archives. This recent addition to the Scott Collection is thanks to Dr. Theodore McCord, Associate Professor of History, who has worked as a liaison between the Scott family and University Libraries.