Digital materials in the Panama Canal Museum Collection are available online in the UF Digital Collections and the Digital Library of the Caribbean.
Panama and the Canal : This is the primary digital collection for PCMC. It is a rich collection of resources relating to the Panama Canal, the Canal Zone, and the Republic of Panama. In addition to PCMC materials, the collection also includes materials from the Latin American & Caribbean Collection, Map & Imagery Library, and government documents of the Panama Canal Commission and its predecessor agencies.
The Panama and the Canal digital collection includes a few sub-collections:
Brad Wilde Postcard Collection: Includes digitized postcards of the Panama Canal, the Canal Zone, and Panama from the extensive collection of donor Brad Wilde. The postcards were produced by publishers primarily using lithograph-printing or off-set printing processes. Several postcards were mailed and include correspondence written by Canal employees and their family members, tourists, military personnel, and others. These cards provide firsthand perspectives. For example, many used postcards from the 1904-1914 era of Canal construction include correspondence commenting on the progress of construction and health and environmental conditions in the Canal Zone during its early years. The Brad Wilde Postcard Collection also includes thousands of real photo postcards, which will be available online in 2025. These photos were taken by amateur photographers and printed on postcard stock and often show people, places, and events not depicted by the postcards printed by publishers.
Panama and the Canal Oral Histories: Includes oral history interviews pertaining to the Panama Canal, the former Canal Zone, and the Republic of Panama. The collection started as a joint project of the UF George A. Smathers Libraries, the Panama Canal Museum, and the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.
Náñez-Woodward Collection of Panamanian Popular Art: Includes photographs by Peter Szok donated in honor of Dr. Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr. and Dr. Guillermo Náñez Falcón. This is an enhanced monograph digital scholarship collection, complementing and supplementing the book Wolf Tracks: Popular Art and Re-Africanization in Twentieth-Century Panama from the University Press of Mississippi.
Mola Collection: There are over 1000 molas, including molitas, panels, and full blouses, in the Panama Canal Museum Collection. Selections from the collection have been digitized and are available online.
Digitization Campaign Underway!
We are currently raising funds to support of all of our digitization activities. If you would like to help us digitize our world class treasures, please visit our Digitization Campaign page.