The Fess mss. consists of nineteen black and white undated photographs of paintings by artist Theodore Clement Steele, 1847-1926, and one of his studio in Brown County, Indiana. The photographs were made by Frank Michael Hohenberger, 1876-1963, also of Brown County, Indiana.

The photographs, titled in pencil in Hohenberger's hand, are: "Belmont", "The Cloud", "Distant Hills", "Early Spring", "Early Spring - Hunnicutt Valley", "The First Snow", "Forest Interior", "The House of the Singing Winds" (on verso in unidentified hand - "House of Mr. & Mrs. T.C. Steele"), "In Hunnicutt Valley - Late Afternoon", "The Iris Drive, Morning Mists", "The Peafowl" (on verso in unidentified hand - "Mrs. Steele In Their Living Room"), "A Serene Afternoon", "Still Life", "Turn of the Road", "The Wheat Field", "Winter Morning" (on verso in unidentified hand - "Copy of T.C. Steele Painting now owned by Indiana University"), two untitled pieces: one a country scene, the other of two ladies, one seated, one standing (on verso in unidentified hand - "Mrs. Steele Entertaining Herself"), and Corner of the Studio.

In his diary, present in the Hohenberger mss. in Lilly Library, Frank M. Hohenberger noted on June 5, 1919 (p. 90 and 98) that he photographed the living room, the studio, and the painting of Mrs. Steele with peafowl. On September 12, 1921 (p.208), he "made exposures of paintings at Mr. Steele's Studio." On October 9, 1923 (p.281), "Mrs. Steele wanted me to copy some of the old oils in Munich."

Collection size: 20 items