Ian Ference Email & Phone Number

New York City Metropolitan Area

Since January 2020, I have been appointed curator of the archive that has now been renamed the Jordan/Ference Collection of Great War Stereography, the largest such publicly available collection in existence. In this role, I have been responsible for the cataloguing of thousands of artifacts from the years 1914-1918 and immediately thereafter. I have built out the image library to nearly 10,000 scans online, and have built an alliance with the Western Front Association to build a searchable keyworded gallery for the items in the Collection. Current projects include the creation of a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation to look after J/F Collection assets, delegation of smaller tasks to ambitious volunteers, and the ambitious task of creating a Catalogue Raisonné for stereoscopic slides created by the Brentano's Collective. Additionally, I am editing the Baldwin Papers (a new trove of personal correspondence from a soldier/lawyer in the First World War) with the aim of publication in 2024. I am responsible for over 20 active projects, many in alliance with various individuals and institutions, and with completion dates ranging from near-term to next-decade. My particular specialization is in pictorial representation of women, Black American soldiers, colonial European troops, and other marginalized communities.

London, England, United Kingdom

Since October 2020, I have worked with WFA colleagues to forge a mutually beneficial alliance between the Jordan/Ference Collection and the Western Front Association. Some of the fruits of this alliance include "Stereoscope", a members-only keyworded gallery displaying nearly 5,000 items of historical import to the WFA community; multiple articles detailing the discipline for laypersons; a joint-purchasing arrangement which splits the cost of new acquisitions between the two institutions; a current project to provide anaglyph versions for the benefit of members unable to free-view images. Most recently, a project to increase accessibility through anaglyph creation has been undertaken. In the process of doing all of this, a sub-section of the JFC has been created to house joint-purchase collections of the WFA and JFC. I handle all archival processes for these joint materials, as well as digitization (or delegation of digitization), conservation, and creation of finding aids.

Houston, Texas Area

As Lead Research Archivist, I worked directly under Doug Jordan in order to process, investigate, and catalogue rare and unique glass plate stereoview - both positive and negative - from a variety of sources from the First World War. My duties include proper cleaning, digitization, and preparation for archival storage of unique and priceless historic documents, as well as the creation of finding aids. My duties also include scanning all physical media to Library of Congress standards, and to recovering overexposed and underexposed negatives to as useable a digital image as possible. My highlight so far in this position is the discovery of, and research into, previously unknown stereographer Alexander Otto Fasser, on whom I'm currently writing a three-part journal article for the National Stereoscopic Association.

Own and operate a photographic business specializing in architectural interiors and still-lifes, but encompassing most areas of traditional photography.• Handled every “business” aspect of running a photography enterprise, including project proposal and contract negotiation, invoicing, expenses, taxes, hiring and sub-contracting• Developed a branding strategy for my business which extended to every element of electronic and physical collateral in order to establish a strong identity• Utilized a wide range of physical marketing strategies for client acquisition, from traditional paper mailings to targeted localized insertions into periodicals likely to be read by prospective clients• Utilized a wide range of digital marketing strategies, including a strong web-presence, targeted email blasts, electronic collateral, and the leveraging of emerging social media technologies• Hired and collaborated with industry professionals including assistants, interns, models, makeup artists, stylists, retouchers, and designers in order to form teams to successfully complete various projects

• Responsible for new client acquisition, as well as expanding relationships with existing client base, for a major New York systems integration firm• Continually researched emerging and improving technologies in order to win contracts that would benefit the company, while adding value to clients’ IT infrastructures• Spearheaded a project that added several new capabilities to our practice in order to strengthen our relationship with a major client• Initiated an entire rebranding of company marketing collateral, including the coordination of the hiring of a new web designer, in order to improve brand identity• Coordinated and participated in meetings, teleconferences, and webinars between vendors and clients in order to drive sales through educating clients and creating need for company’s products & services

• Managed and trained teams of workers at a fundraising and lobbying organization which served numerous national and local nonprofit groups• Implemented demographic analysis and comparative research to increase fundraising yields in territories for which I was responsible to over 200% of their yields in previous years• Developed relationships and lobbied legislators in favor of policy changes supported by a number of organizations who hired us• Chosen by organizations to give public lectures on policy issues due to extensive knowledge of both the legislation being discussed and the political climate surrounding it• Instituted a previously unused initiative to design marketing materials specifically targeted at individual regions in order to promote better support for legislation through appeal to local concerns

Dual Mls / Ma (History), Archives & Conflict History

In furtherance of my goals as curator and archivist, I am completing an MLS with an advanced certificate in Archives and Preservation.

Ba, Philosophy With Concentrations In Writing, English And Psychology

Analytic Philosophy/Linguistics/Metaphysics