Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16422, Otto Herman Weiss photographs, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Biographical Note

Otto Herman Weiss (1887-1975) was born in Deep Creek, Norfolk County (now the City of Chesapeake), Virginia and died in Hampton, Virginia. He was a 1909 graduate of VPI with a degree in Civil Engineering. He taught school for most of his life and retired from the Newport News public schools in 1952. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Weiss also worked as a professional photographer, doing work for the Rockefeller Foundation and also teaching photography to members of the US Army Air service, which was the predecessor to the Army Air Corps (later the US Air Force).

Source: Materials within collection.

Scope and Contents Note

The Otto Herman Weiss photographs (circa 1900-circa 1950; 0.4 cubic feet) document Virginian buildings, streetscapes, and landscapes in the early to middle twentieth century. The collection contains approximately 150 gelatin silver print photographs by Weiss. Subjects include extensive images of Norfolk, Fredricksburg, and Williamsburg, along with aerial photographs of Richmond, Norfolk, and Washington, D.C.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Black-and-white photographs
• Historic buildings -- Virginia.