During the summers of 1926–1939, the State of New York Conservation Department conducted a statewide watershed survey. This survey produced, among other things, a series of fish portraits of especially fine quality. The illustrations, largely the work of two artists, Ellen Edmonson and Hugh P. Chrisp, were recently rediscovered after having been misplaced for many years. The history of this archive mirrors that of archives in general. This material is a legacy and resource important to fisheries biologists, other natural historians, and natural history illustrators. Long-term protection of this material is now assured; protection and cataloguing of similar historically important material are among the greatest problems currently facing fisheries managers and researchers.