Biography

Charles William Carter was born on August 4, 1832, in London, England. He enlisted in the British Royal Artillery at 17, serving for 12 years before being discharged and eventually taking up photography.

In May 1864, Carter joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and immigrated with his wife to the United States a few weeks later. After arriving in Salt Lake City, he briefly worked at the Savage and Ottinger photography studio before venturing out on his own.

Carter eventually expanded into publishing as well, producing books such as The Exodus of 1847, The Life and History of the Late Pres. Brigham Young, and The Organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Their Belief.

In 1906, he sold his negative collection to the Bureau of Information on Temple Square. Carter continued to work as a photographer until his death in Union, Utah, in 1918.

Collections

The following is a list of the largest library collections of Carter photographs. Additional photographs can be found by searching the Church History Catalog for “Charles William Carter” and limiting your search results to “Photographs.”

Charles W. Carter glass negative collection, circa 1860-1900 (PH 1300)

Contains portraits of prominent individuals and other Salt Lake City and Utah residents; photographs of activities, buildings, and homes in Salt Lake City; and photographs of Temple Square, the Great Salt Lake and its resorts, Fort Douglas, several Utah communities, and railroads. Also includes portraits of American Indians and Chinese and photographs of drawings, paintings, lithographs, cartoons, and photographs taken by photographers other than Carter.

Keith Finlayson restored images, 2014-2019 (PH 10027)

This is a collection of digitally restored images by Finlayson, including Carter’s original glass negatives from PH 1300.

Charles W. Carter glass plate negative collection, circa 1890-1900 (PH 10368)

Contains portraits of various American Indians and soldiers as well as photographs of Salt Lake City, Utah, including the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Temple, and C.W. Carter's photography studio.

Views of Salt Lake City and Utah, circa 1885-1900 (PH 4290)

This collection contains photographs of locations in Utah, people’s daily lives, Carter’s family, and Utah landmarks.

First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles, undated (PH 3110)

Individual portraits of Brigham Young, his counselors, and members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. These portraits were removed from a broken composite picture in which the First Presidency portraits were in the center and the Twelve surrounded them. George Q. Cannon's portrait is missing. The portrait of Orson Hyde is by C.R. Savage, not Carter.