The appeal to unpublished materials of museum collections in modern conditions is distinguished by a high degree of relevance. Museum photo archives have significant information potential, the study of which is capable of eliminating the gaps that exist to date in the history of both individual cities and Russia as a whole. The photo archive of the Novokuznetsk local historian V. P. Devyatiyarov, formed in the 1960–1980s, is considered a competent source that contributes to the disclosure of the historical and cultural heritage of a large Siberian city. It is a complex of memoir sources, including the recollections of more than three hundred people. The significance of the photo archive, each element of which is actually been attributed directly by city residents over a period of twenty years, is emphasized by its demand in the exhibition and excursion activities of the Novokuznetsk Museum of Local History. The article highlights unknown pages of the biography of V. P. Devyatiyarov, systematizes the photo archive, consisting of eight hundred photographs, thematically grouped in the process of research into four blocks: family photos; employees and officials of state institutions and private enterprises; views of the city of Kuznetsk in the early 20th century; buildings and panoramas of the Kuznetsk district of the city of Novokuznetsk in Soviet times. The theoretical substantiation of the possibilities of representing the photo archive is focused on the applied use of the results of its analysis for the creation of museum exhibitions, preparation of author’s excursions and other types of museum activities.