This collection consists of 106 images which, from the numbering given on the items themselves, appear to be only a small portion of some 600+ items that may have been originally created. If this presumption is correct, and these numbers are from Johnston, then perhaps the Library or an unknown donor only selected certain items of Johnston’s total works. The existence of other sets of Johnston photos is unknown.

However, another explanation is that the photo numbers were assigned by the Library and for some reason the numbering sequence was interrupted after #95, with only irregular numbers available from 575-645.

The photo numbers listed in the box/folder summary are those items that existed at the time of the 1988 processing. If the other items for the missing numbers actually ever existed at the Library in the past, they seem to have disappeared over the years.

Duplications of the images in the first two folders were made at some point in the past, and patrons are encouraged to use those duplicates first, to protect the earlier photos.

The images of Grand Rapids that are depicted in the collection can be divided into the following time periods: pre-1860s, 1880s, 1890s, 1904 and circa 1926, with reference to earlier views.

Some of the most widely duplicated views of the 1904 flood are in this collection. The photos also provide a series of panoramic views of the city from several vantage points. It appears that many of the other photo collections, such as Hooper, Fitch, and Anderson copied some of their historic Grand Rapids views from Johnston, or from the same source as Johnston. However, some of the more distinct early views of the city are in the Johnston collection, suggesting that Johnson’s images may be a generation or more closer to the original and/or that the quality of his photography was superior.