Story perspectives

South Carolina releases free archive of 6,000 Roberts photos

8/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

University of South Carolina released an archive of 6,000 photos by Richard Samuel Roberts, free to all.
Tom Johnson and instructor Philip Dunn retrieved Roberts’s negatives in the 1970s, prompting the university to buy the collection in 2020 after South Carolina Society raised funds.
Students digitized the images in 2024, creating an archive that lets users add identifications and features portraits of Modjeska Simkins and embalmer Anna Mae Manigault-Hurley.

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Story summary

University of South Carolina released an archive of 6,000 photos by Richard Samuel Roberts, free to all.
Tom Johnson and instructor Philip Dunn retrieved Roberts’s negatives in the 1970s, prompting the university to buy the collection in 2020 after South Carolina Society raised funds.
Students digitized the images in 2024, creating an archive that lets users add identifications and features portraits of Modjeska Simkins and embalmer Anna Mae Manigault-Hurley.