The James S. Murray Gallery opens the spring semester Jan. 12 by hosting “The Glass Plate Collection: Images from The Illinois State Journal 1929–1936” curated by Rich Saal, photo editor at The State Journal-Register. The exhibit is open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Jan. 29 in the Menard Hall second floor gallery.

This collection of photographs hearkens back to the days when photojournalists shot images on glass plates. Saal discovered the plates while working on his master’s project in history. He spent more than a year scanning some 1,300 glass plates and matching them with their captions from the microfiched copies of their original printing.

Images from The Illinois State Journal create a portrait of Springfield during the 1930s: its cultural and built environment, people walking its streets and in their daily routines, the lively public square in its role as the heart of Springfield, and the grittiness and personality of a growing urban center.