Burgert Brothers

[1] They depict times of war, natural disasters such as the 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane, economic booms, economic busts, transportation, building projects, bungalows, African American life, cigar factories, sponge docks, strawberry fields, mercantile businesses, banks, and service stations.

Thanks to the prolific Burgert Brothers local events and traditions like the Gasparilla Pirate Festival and Florida State Fair have been well-documented.

Allen Morris, the curator of the state photographic archives, was in Tampa for a legislative caucus when he heard about the collection and sought out Trimble.

[4] After a 1967 conviction for producing and distributing pornography, Trimble sold his collection to Henry Cox, president of Tampa Photo Supply.

By chance, Cox met local historian Hampton Dunn, who recognized the priceless value of the archive as a record of Tampa history.

Dunn and Raymond E. Bunch, the owner of a local photography store, used community pride and the possibility of a tax write-off to convince Cox to part with the collection for $2,000.