Charles Baptie, photographer, printer, and
publisher, was born in Munhall, PA on March 13, 1914. Early in life
Baptie became interested in photography and airplanes, and it was
these interests that led him to become photographer and public relations
person for Capital Airlines. His camera recorded the life of the airline
for many years. When Capital Airlines merged with United Airlines,
Baptie left the company and formed his own business, Charles Baptie
Studios, Inc. Since that time Baptie photographically illustrated
more than fifty books and other publications, such as Capital Airlines:
A Nostalgic Flight Into the Past, Great Houses of Washington,
Camera on Assignment (with Ollie Atkins
), a sixteen volume Encyclopedia of United States History,
Guest House of the Presidents, a story on the Blair Lee House,
and Mid the Hills of Pennsylvania. As a photo-journalist
he covered feature stories for leading magazines and Sunday supplements.
This portion of his career led him to meet and photograph many of
the world's leaders and notables.
Research materials in the Baptie Collection include:
- Color prints and negatives of Gunston Hall,
the home of George Mason
- Color transparencies from the Encyclopedia of
United States History
- Color transparencies and prints from the Great
Houses of Washington, D.C.
- Black & white negatives of the Washington
metropolitan area taken in the 1950s and 1960s
- Photographs of George Mason University
Special Collections
& Archives (SC&A) preserves and makes available to all
students, faculty, and researchers many kinds of original and scholarly
materials. Subject areas in SC&A include Northern Virginiana,
Planned Communities, Congressional Papers, Performing Arts, Maps,
the Civil War, and George Mason University. Formats in SC&A
include manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical scores, audio
and videotapes, architectural drawings, photographs, and slides.
E-Mail SC&A
Search
the Charles Baptie Photograph Collection Finding Aid
Other Object
and Image Holdings in Special Collections & Archives
