Photographs from National Archives

I think I have this citation finally figured out, but would like a second opinion, please. I was searching for images of pin boys for a story that I am writing about my dad's first job. After opening many different links, I stumbled across this image. (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/540708) At first I was tempted to just download the photograph, but a little voice kept saying cite the source. So, I began making an attempt to understand what I found.

Looking over the page, I believe I am looking at a photograph titled, "Bowling alleys in recreation hall. Jewell Ridge Coal Company, Jewell Ridge Mine, Jewell Ridge, Tazewell County, Virginia", which is found in the National Archive's collection of Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War, 1937-1948. It is a group of photographs taken in 1946 when the Dept. of Interior and the United Mine Workers joined forces to survey the medical, health and housing conditions in coal communities. Anyway, here is the citation that I created based off what I understand from Quick Lesson 4 and Evidence Explained 11.11. I have no idea how to even find this photograph again so the link to the exact image is in the citation. Even though my reading did not indicate including the photographer, I felt like that information needed to be included. Any thoughts on this citation would be much appreciated.

"Bowling alleys in recreation hall. Jewell Ridge Coal Company, Jewell Ridge Mine, Jewell Ridge, Tazewell County, Virginia", 8 August 1946; Lee, Russell (1903-1986), photographer; Photographs of the Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry, 1946-1947 Series; Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War, 1937-1948 (Record Group 245); National Archives - College Park (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/540708 : downloaded 9 January 2022)

Submitted byEEon Mon, 01/10/2022 - 09:26

Tami, have you seen EE 11.52, "Photographic Files," in the National Archives chapter? It specifically covers images found at the NA database called "National Archives Catalog"?

Backing up to a broader issue, may I ask why you put the title of the photograph in italics as well as quotation marks? (EE 2.22)

Yes, I saw 11.52, but I thought it was referring me back to 11.11 for online images. As for the quotation marks and the title in italics, that was simply poor proofreading and a combination of two citation attempts combined into one

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Submitted byEEon Tue, 01/11/2022 - 09:02

Tami, for others who may not have access to 11.52 to follow our discussion, the introductory paragraph reads as follows:

11.52  Photographic Files
Photographic files at NARA are cited with either the Basic Format for National Archives manuscripts (11.7) or for online images (11.11), depending upon how you accessed the material. Again, Evidence Style recommends that you cite the original files in your Source List only if you have actually researched the original files. If you have extracted only random images from the database, your Source List should credit that database. The following examples demonstrate citing the original files versus the online images.

The reference to the basic formats is there to underscore the point that everything at NARA, even when we venture into photographs rather than manuscripts, follows the same basic formula. The text then points out the importance of not trying to cite the original files if we've only used the online version (something that many researchers assume they have to do). Then examples demonstrate the differences between citing the originals versus citing online images.