Walter Corbin

Corbin photographed the Hockanum Ferry crossing the Connecticut River. 

Born in Brimfield, Walter Everett Corbin spent a large portion of his time both investigating and photographing life in twentieth-century Western Massachusetts. In 1910, Corbin married Lottie Adelaide Squier of Monson and shortly after moved to Florence, MA. From this small town Corbin set out on numerous expeditions, touring the local countryside and preparing a vast collection of images that are available for public investigation at Forbes Library. The plethora of images document a diverse spectrum of subjects ranging from the geology of Western Massachusetts' mountain ranges, riverbeds and dinosaur tracks to portfolio of regional gravestones, from images of early twentieth century Ivy day celebrations  at Smith College to portraits of the Cabinet of Curiosities at Amherst College's natural history Museum, from local churches and houses to vivid close-ups of insects and surrounding towns. The Walter E. Corbin Collection is made up of different media, including traditional photographic prints and glass latern slides. There is also an extensive collection of Corbin's postcards, which sport many of the images taken by Corbin over the course of his career.