Bill Lamb Photography
every weekend in April, 1:00-4:00 pm
The Bill Lamb Collection
The Bureau County Historical Society received a monumental donation of photos, films, and personal artifacts from the estate of renowned Princeton journalist and historian Bill Lamb in 2015. Following months of organizing and inventory efforts by Historical Society staff and volunteers, selected photographs from the collection are being prepared for exhibition in Spring and Summer 2017. The Collection includes original photos from around Princeton and around the United States taken by Lamb throughout the 20th Century. Photo buffs, historians and everyone else in the community will be able to view the breadth of Lambs body of work featured in the permanent collection of Bureau County Historical Society Museum in Princeton.
For more information about the Bill Lamb collection or questions about the upcoming exhibits visit bureaucountyhistoricalsociety.com (815) 875-2184
Biography of a Photographer
Lamb was born in Princeton and spent most of his life in the community with the exception of a few years in Eureka, IL and service in the military. Throughout his lifetime Lamb collected photos of town events, parades, trains, street scenes and many other subjects.
Lamb started taking photos in 1937 when a Princeton High School teacher gave him the school camera and asked him to take some pictures for the yearbook. His photo and motion projection skills developed throughout the 1940’s and 50’s and eventually lead him into the movie theater business. Bill lamb worked on the Princeton High School yearbook for decades and was the School’s principle photographer from 1974-2001.
Bureau County Republican “Out of the Past”
The Bill Lamb Collection includes Lambs “Out of the Past” articles and historical photographs published in the Bureau County Republican during the 1990s and early 2000s. Lamb carefully researched for each article and accumulated dozens of files on local history. Correspondence and source information for these articles is an excellent source for local history information. “Out of the Past” Archive is supported by Bureau County Republican
Support the Bill Lamb Archive
Donations to the Bill Lamb Collection Fund support the process of documentation, archiving, and scanning over 100,000 photographs, negatives, motion pictures and other material. As the collection is developed, photos will be made available in the BCHS Research Library for community access.