From the Great Falls to the Hilltops
The Mabel Hallaway Collection of Early 20th Century Photographs
from the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society 

In March and April, the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village (CT) will host an exhibition of local vintage photography from the early twentieth century, “From the Great Falls to the Hilltops.”  A joint project of the library and the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society, the show focuses on portraits, including many in recognizable places, most spectacularly at the Great Falls.  

The source of the photographs are glass slide and silver nitrate film negatives from the historical society’s Mabel Hallaway Collection. Mabel Dean Hallaway (1893-1991) was a native villager and a member of the Dean family.  In a Lakeville Journal profile of Mabel in the July 4, 1990 edition, Andrew Shaffer wrote, “Mrs. Hallaway has recorded family events, local happenings, and people in a personal collection of journals and photo albums that date from the first decade of this century to the present.  One of her favorite pasttimes (sic) is taking photographs.”   

Due to a lack of provenance and dating, It is likely that the exhibition includes images of her own mixed with photographs of others she collected.

Exhibition team — Sergei and Zoe Fedorjaczenko, Garth Kobal, Rika Laser, Sara Laser and Megan Sher

All slides scanned and printed on archival luster photography paper by Rika Laser
Contact hello@rikalaser.com for a custom print size