The Archivist’s Joy: Going Down the Rabbit Hole

January 2026

Rare findings occur in Special Collections when librarians and archivists work through backlogs. Backlogs develop because libraries often receive materials faster than they can process them, particularly large donations, historical collections, or items requiring special care. In some cases, materials arrive with little or no provenance or supporting documentation, making research and contextualization an integral part of the processing work itself. Careful processing ensures long-term preservation and meaningful discovery.

This was the case with the Miami Anglers Club album — a complete set of portraits of its members dating to 1924 — which was uncovered within the Florida archival collection. The album was digitized in its entirety and is now available through our Old Florida Digital Collection.

Uncovering the context behind the portraits required digging deeper into local history. The Miami Anglers Club was formed in 1917 and served as a gathering place for local fishing enthusiasts in Miami. The club initially met at the Urmey Hotel until a dedicated clubhouse was constructed in 1923. While the Urmey Hotel appears in the Gleason Waite Romer Photograph Collection, determining its precise location and historical context required research beyond the Library’s own holdings, including consultation of external digital archives and institutional collections.

Using the NewsBank database (available through the Library), we located a notice published in The Miami Herald on January 8, 1923, announcing the inauguration of a new dock for the Miami Anglers Club. The article notes that the club emblem was displayed at the dock for the first time and that 25 members subscribed (or contributed) to the fund that financed its construction.

City directories provided additional confirmation of the club’s permanent address during this period.

Subsequent entries in the city directories, along with photographic evidence from the Gleason Waite Romer Collection, document the club’s relocation to a new facility.

The Miami Anglers Club played a significant role in the local fishing community, participating in numerous tournaments and social events. However, the 1924 album presents a challenge. While it contains portraits of all members, many of the individuals remain unidentified.

Some portraits include names or signatures written in cursive. These will be cross-referenced with a 1923 Miami Herald article listing club members and dock sponsors, as well as with photographs from the Gleason Waite Romer Collection. This ongoing research aims to identify the individuals portrayed in the album, and many names are still open for discovery.

We invite anyone interested in playing detective to help us identify the Miami Anglers Club members of 1924. You can assist by transcribing names from the newspaper article, comparing portraits across collections, and contributing to the historical record of this Miami organization. Contributions and findings may be shared with the Digital Collections team via email at digitalcollections@mdpls.org.

Every discovery brings us closer to preserving the full story of the Miami Anglers Club — join us in uncovering its history, one portrait at a time.