Norma Collmar Glass Plate Negatives

Norma McFall was born July 23, 1863, in Martin's Creek, Pennsylvania.  In her youth, she and her parents moved to the Borough of South Easton. She was the only child of Isaac and Louisa Young McFall. Norma graduated from South Easton High School in 1881 at age 16.  After high school, she taught in South Easton schools for six years. Around 1888, she continued her education and graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music. Upon her return to Easton, she became the first Supervisor of Music in Easton Public Schools. For 8 years, Miss McFall was the organist and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church on Spring Garden Street. She also started the New Century Club of Easton and served as its president. Norma McFall was a member of the George Taylor Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

On June 16, 1894, Norma McFall married Dr. Charles Collmar, an Easton physician. Mrs. Collmar, an amateur photographer and instructor, took many pictures of Easton and vicinity in the 1890s and 1900s. For many years she provided a photography magazine with its cover. After her death on February 17, 1925, all the negatives of her photographs, which were in the form of large glass plates, were donated to the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society by her daughter. Many prints have been made from these glass plates.  

A portion of this collection can be viewed in the Decorative Arts Gallery at the Sigal Museum in Historic Downtown Easton. Please visit www.sigalmuseum.org for information.