Capricorn Expedition Photographs Collection, 1952-1953 (SAC 23)

The Capricorn Expedition Photographs Collection consists of prints, negatives, and slides documenting the joint University of California and US Navy scientific expedition completed between 1952 and 1953. Images were taken by professional photographers employed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, including John MacFall from the SIO Photographic Laboratory. Subjects include: R/V Spencer F. Baird and R/V Horizon; Pacific Islands and atolls (including the Marshall Islands, Alexa Bank, Palmerston Island, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti, and the Hawaiian Islands); scientists and crew members; oceanographic equipment (including core barrel, temperature probe, ball breaker, and A-frame); diving and underwater images; seascapes; and Pacific Islanders.

Materials have been arranged by format (prints, negatives, and slides). Prints and negatives correspond to an original index number sequence. The prints represent the most complete set of images, with over 510 unique photographs. There are approximately 480 negatives in the collection, and the majority having a matching print. However, there are a few images available only as a negative (index numbers: 12, 41, 95, 166, 178, 204, 1396, and 1721). In addition to the prints and negatives, the collection contains 96 slides. Although the slides are sequentially numbered, the slide numbers do not correlate to the main index, which is exclusive to the prints and negatives.

The index is available for keyword searching as the first object in the collection; additionally, approximately two thirds of the images have been digitized.