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Milner Library

Audio, Film, and Photos

Two people riding a bicycle on a high wire

The technological discoveries of the 19th century yielded groundbreaking innovations in the fields of photography, filmmaking, and sound recording which transformed the way people recorded and shared moments in time. Through these artifacts, we can now access remarkably lifelike and immediate captures of a world gone by, from footage of ephemeral circus performances to snapshots of everyday life in Central Illinois.

Explore Digitized Collections

  • black and white photo of a circus performer in costume

    Charles Clarke Circus Photos

    The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus of the 1920s comes alive through these hundreds of photos documenting the spectacle and mundanity of life for circus folks.

  • black and white photo of a circus performer sitting on a trapeze swing

    Circus Films

    Witness the tremendous movement of the circus and experience intimate, unscripted moments with some of the sawdust circle’s brightest stars in this unique historical footage.

  • abstract imagery from an Image of Research entry

    Image of Research Competition

    These digital exhibits showcase winning and finalist entries from the Office of Student Research’s annual Image of Research competition, which invites students to create one static image of their research or creative expression accompanied by a short abstract.

  • photo of a person using a typewriter

    ISU Photo Archives

    Drawn primarily from the archives of former ISNU Photographic Services Director Nelson Smith (1921-1998), these images capture moments from the university’s history and happenings with an emphasis on the latter half of the 20th century.

  • black and white photo of people posing in a classic convertible

    Ken-Way Studio Collection

    University High School alum Kenneth Berglund (1917-2003) founded Ken-Way Studio with his brother Robert at the end of World War II. For the next 56 years his photography business documented the minutia of life and work in Central Illinois.

  • black and white photo of two circus performers in costume

    Musselman Family
    Photographs

    During the 1920s and 30s the Musselman family of Bloomington, Illinois traveled the world together as the stars of Bob Fisher’s Fearless Flyers, a headlining flying return trapeze troupe. Robert Musselman (stage name: Bob Fisher), his wife Frances, and their daughter Maxine memorialized their unusual career through hundreds of snapshots capturing life on the road, above the stage, and in the muddy backyards of circuses near and far.

  • circus performer in costume wardrobe flanked by two clowns

    Passion for Circus:
    The Photography of Sverre Braathen

    Circus superfan Sverre Braathen (1895-1974) spent much of his leisure time with camera in hand, capturing candid photos of shows large and small across America. Today, the saturated colors of the thousands of Kodachrome slides he created speak to the exuberance and spectacle of the circus industry during its waning years in the middle of the 20th century.

  • interior of a radio studio with performers and technicians

    WGLT Radio Programs

    Discover hundreds of digitized audio recordings broadcast by ISU’s campus radio station between 1972 and 2003. Highlights include the locally produced history program The Past is Prologue and Conversations with Dr. Watkins, an interview-format show hosted by 80s-era university president Lloyd Watkins.

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