Charlie Cox Collection
The glass plate images in this collection depict life within the small town of Ashland, Mississippi and the surrounding Benton County roughly thirty years after Ashland was incorporated as a town in 1871.
Born in Ashland in 1881, Charlie Whitfield Cox may have brought the first photography to this agricultural area. Cox did not have a studio and would travel to his subjects on horseback and, later, on a Sears motorcycle. He used only natural light, often bringing a painted canvas background. Cox’s glass plate photography depicts a wide variety of subjects from portraits to farm animals to images of labor and landmarks. As most photography from the period would focus on the affluent, these images are rare for featuring the community as a whole.
These glass plate negatives were donated to Special Collections at the University of Mississippi by the artist’s granddaughter, Judy Cox Andrews. We are very appreciative of her providing not only the images but also the information here provided.
Image: Three men with snake and guns (MUM00827_b15_709), Charlie Cox Collection
