Search a family name to see if a relative left an envelope of photos at Sherrill’s
The story
The envelopes nobody picked up
1902 – 1975
Sherrill’s Studio served Waynesville, NC from 1902 to 1975 and developed thousands of rolls of film dropped off by locals and visitors. Sometimes, the person who dropped off the film didn’t return to pick up their photographs! Sherrill’s Studio dutifully kept the envelopes of developed photos hoping to eventually reunite them with their photographer.
Today
Today, thanks to the Haywood County Historical Society, Hunter Library’s Special and Digital Collections at Western Carolina University has these envelopes of prints and negatives. We hope that you will be able to help us solve the mysteries of the people, places, and events depicted. We also look forward to reuniting families with digitized versions of their relative’s long-lost images.
Getting started
How to search
-
Search for a relative’s name
Type the name of a relative in the search bar. If there are multiple results for the name, they will be displayed below the search bar. You can search the database using a first name or full name, but because the names are listed as they were written, search results may not be accurate (for example, Barb vs. Barbara, Rob vs. Robert). Each name may have multiple digital images available, but we recommend you contact us in case there are photos in the unclaimed envelopes that we have not yet digitized.
-
Learn what the envelopes hold
This website is dedicated to the film that was brought to Sherrill’s Studio for developing, and that includes a customer name, but were never picked up. We hope that you will be able to help us solve the mysteries of the prints and negatives inside these envelopes and we also look forward to reuniting families with digitized versions of their relative’s long-lost images.
-
Tell us what you know
If you have any information about the locations or people in these images, please either fill out our photo information form (opens in a new tab) or email us at specialcollections@wcu.edu. If you are interested, we will provide you with digital copies of the images and any others in the envelope that may not have been scanned.