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Minor White negatives

  • Org. Lot 52
  • Collection
  • 1938-1940

This collection consists of 210 black-and-white negatives shot by Minor White during his time in Oregon betwen 1938 and 1940. The bulk of the negatives, and of particular note, are White's photographs of numerous buildings and blocks - primarily cast-iron-fronted - near the Portland waterfront, which include, in part: the Miles Building, the Hotel Portland, the New Market Block, the Snow Building, the Opitz Building, and the Starr Block. Many of these buildings are no longer standing.

White, Minor

Wiggins photographs

  • Org. Lot 19
  • Collection
  • 1895-1940

Collection consists of 326 black-and-white photographic prints, 335 nitrate negatives, and 123 glass plate negatives primarily taken around the state of Oregon from approximately 1913 to 1940. Many of the prints in the collection correspond to nitrate negatives and they are believed to have been taken by Donegan Reeder Wiggins and his family during travels around the state, particularly the Oregon coast and central Willamette Valley area around Salem. Several of the prints and negatives have captions believed to be written by the original photographer. The subjects depicted in the photographs from the Oregon coast include vacation cottages and towns, coastal rocks and landscapes, people on beaches, shipwrecks, and bridges on Highway 101. Photographs taken in the central Willamette Valley region depict acquaintances and members of the Wiggins family, agricultural landscapes, abandoned homesteads, and interior and exterior views of the Salem Heights Grocery, which was owned by the Wiggins family. The collection also includes family portraits that date from approximately 1895 to 1940.

The connection of the glass plate negatives to the rest of the collection is unclear. 114 of the glass plate negatives in the collection were taken by staff photographers for the Oregon Journal, some of which are directly attributed to Le Roy Norr. Many of the photographs correspond with news articles that were published in the Journal between approximately 1910 and 1925. Subjects depicted in these photographs include Prohibition-era police raids, politicians, medical practitioners, food safety officers, boxers and wrestlers, and other several portraits of unidentified people. There are also 9 glass plate negatives that depict Washington Park and the construction of the Lewis and Clark Exposition. These photographs were taken in approximately 1904 or 1905 and are not believed to be associated with the Oregon Journal negatives.

Portland Garden Club lantern slides

  • Org. Lot 1353
  • Collection
  • 1930-1940

Collection consists of 99 glass lantern slides depicting garden and nature scenes. The majority of the slides were created by George Stephenson for the Portland Garden Club in the 1930s. Subjects depicted include the Kerr Gardens, the Frank and Meier estates, urban gardens, suburban gardens, and country gardens. This collection may be of interest to individuals researching gardening in Portland.

Stephenson, George C., 1866-1940

William L. Finley photographs, 1901-1940

  • Org. Lot 369
  • Collection
  • 1901 - 1940

Images of wildlife, primarily birds of the western United States, c.1900-1940s, photographed by William Lovell Finley and his associate Herman T. Bohlman, with the help of his wife, Nellie Irene Barnhart Finley and others. The collection includes fine images of adult and immature birds, chicks, eggs, and nests. Many show habitat. Others document the camera equipment and techniques used to make the photographs.

Finley, William L. (William Lovell), 1876-1953

Broadside of Western Defense Command instructions to all persons of Japanese ancestry

  • Coll 619
  • Collection
  • 1942-05

The collection consists of a broadside detailing the provisions of Civilian Exclusion Order No. 46 issued by General J. L. Dewitt on May 6, 1942. The order directs all Japanese and Japanese Americans living in Clackamas and eastern Multnomah counties to be evacuated to Civil Control Stations for forced incarceration during World War II.

United States. Army. Western Defense Command

Photo Art Commercial Studio photographs

  • Org. Lot 791 - 1944
  • Collection
  • 1944

The Photo Art Commercial Studio Collection represents the work of one of Portland’s premiere commercial photography firms. The collection consists of hundreds of thousands of negatives, plus prints, slides, and film footage, from 1936 to 1998. This exceptional collection is rich in Northwest scenic views, portraits, photographs of community events and organizations, and business products and operations. Prominent Northwest photographers, such as Ray Atkeson, photographed for the studio.

Photo Art Studios was opened in 1925 by Claude F. Palmer who had operated a small photo studio as a teenager. Photo Art began as a photofinishing operation, expanding in later years to commercial and advertising photography, motion pictures, and photo murals. In 1959, John Patterson, an Oregonian who was studying photography, joined the staff of Photo Art. In 1965, Patterson became a partner in the business with Claude Palmer; Patterson assumed full ownership in 1978 after Palmer’s retirement.

Palmer, Claude F., 1899-1991

Dixon family photographs

  • Org. Lot 1421
  • Collection
  • 1870-1945

Collection consists of six portraits of members of the Dixon family of Astoria, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, dated from approximately 1870 to 1945. Roscoe Dixon and his wife, Theresa Dixon, were early Black residents of Astoria. Roscoe Dixon owned Roscoe’s First Class Oyster Saloon in Astoria in the 1880s.

Dixon family

Masuo Yasui letter to Sagoro Asai, 1946 January 18

  • Coll 956
  • Collection
  • 1946-01-18

The collection consists of a three-page letter, in Japanese, from Masuo Yasui to Sagoro Asai, written shortly after Yasui was released from incarceration in January 1946. In the letter, Yasui thanks Asai for his friendship, and describes his sadness over the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. He makes reference to an incident in which the American Legion post in Hood River, Oregon, removed the names of Japanese American soldiers from a local monument. He praises Asai's son Masami for having served in the U.S. military and for returning to Hood River despite white residents' opposition to the return of any Japanese Americans. He also shares his own hope to return to Hood River.

In addition to the original letter and its envelope, the collection includes transcripts in the pre-World War II Japanese writing system and modern Japanese characters, and a translation to English, all of which were made by Yoko Gulde in 2022.

William L. Finley Papers, 1899-1946

  • MSS Finley
  • Collection
  • 1899 - 1946

William L. Finley's papers primarily document his work as a wildlife conservationist, author, lecturer, photographer, and filmmaker from about 1900 to 1940. The collection also documents the work his wife Irene Finley and photography partner Herman Bohlman. The collection consists of published and unpublished manuscripts, lecture and field notes, reports, correspondence, photographs and motion picture films.

An addition to the collection (Accession 2014:062) is made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings documenting the wildlife conservation work of William and Irene Finley. Among the topics addressed in the correspondence include: song bird protection laws in Oregon, requests to Finley for use of his photographs, the forming of an Oregon Fish and Game Commission, biological surveys conducted by Finley, legislation in California repealing meadowlark protection, and letters by Finley to various organizations regarding the presentation of one of his lectures. A highlight among the correspondence is a thank you letter from Finley to President Theodore Roosevelt for his establishment of wild bird reservations. The clippings are newspaper articles written by Irene and William Finley about encounters with wildlife, nocturnal bird sounds, and their filming of wildlife at Paulina Lake. The four articles all appeared in editions of the "Oregon Sunday Journal."

Finley, William L. (William Lovell), 1876-1953

The Bo's'n's Whistle

  • BW-OSC
  • Collection
  • 1941 - 1946

The Bo's'n's Whistle was a publication distributed to the employees of the Kaiser Shipyards in Oregon and Washington between 1941 and 1946. The first publication was released on July 18, 1941 under the editorial direction of Chick Johnson, and was given its distinctive name by Edgar Kaiser the General Manager of the shipyard. Subsequent issues released bi-weekly, along with a special issue on September 27, 1941 commemorating the launch of the "Star of Oregon". Distribution expanded to the Vancouver and Swan Island Shipyards in April 1942, with Hal Babbit, director of public relations for Kaiser Company serving as editorial supervisor.

The format of the Bo's'n's Whistle changed from a magazine to a weekly newspaper beginning March 10, 1944, with separate editions for each of the three shipyards - Oregon Shipyard, Swan Island, and Vancouver. On September 7, 1945 The Bo's'n's Whistle was again consolidated into one edition for all three shipyards, and on January 1, 1946 it was moved to a twice-monthly publication schedule. The final issue of The Bo's'n's Whistle was published on May 24, 1946. At its peak, The Bo's'n's Whistle was circulated to 90,000 employees, with over 4,000,000 copies distributed over its lifespan.

Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation

Photograph albums of Umpqua River Jetty construction and Brubaker aerial survey of Northwest coast

  • Org Lot 1424
  • Collection
  • 1926 - 1947

Collection consists of two albums containing photographs of the Pacific coastline taken between 1926 and 1947. The albums were designated Albums 452 and 453 by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Album 452 was created between 1926 and 1939 and contains aerial photographs of the Oregon and Washington coasts taken by Brubaker Aerial Surveys. The photographs begin at Willapa Bay and continue south to the mouth of the Chetco River. Album 453 was created between 1933 and 1947 and contains photographs of the construction of the Umpqua River jetties in Reedsport, Oregon. The north jetty was constructed in 1919 and reconstructed in 1947. The south jetty was constructed in 1934 and 1935. Album 453 includes at least one aerial photograph by Brubaker Aerial Surveys and at least two photographs taken by John Stilanos. This collection may be of interest to individuals researching aerial photography and surveys, the Oregon and Washington coasts, and the construction of the Umpqua River jetties.

Marcus and Narcissa Whitman collection, 1834-1947

  • Mss 1203
  • Collection
  • 1834-1947 (inclusive)

The collection consists of papers of and relating to missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. A substantial portion of the collection consists of letters that they wrote to Narcissa Whitman's family. These letters describe the Whitmans' overland journey to the Pacific Northwest in 1836, and their lives as missionaries in the following decade. The letters also frequently express frustration with Native peoples' cultural norms and their reluctance to convert to Calvinist Christianity, often using patronizing and derogatory language. The letters also include pejorative terms for Roman Catholics and for biracial people of Native and European or Euro-American descent.

Other writings by the Whitmans include typescript copies of their correspondence with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and a typescript of Marcus Whitman's proposed legislation to establish outposts to assist Euro-American emigrants traveling westward. Other materials in the collection include original and reproduced materials regarding the Whitman killings and their aftermath; microfilm of Mary Saunders and Helen Saunders' recollections of the Whitman killings and aftermath; and items related to the memorialization of the Whitmans, including efforts in the 1890s to erect a monument in their honor.

Photographs of Vanport, Oregon, circa 1948

  • Org. Lot 1364
  • Collection
  • 1942 - 1948

Photographs of Vanport, Oregon before and after the flood of 1948, including images of Dale Skovgaard and his family, who lived there at the time.

Skovgaard, Dale

Vanport flood photographs collection, 1948

  • Org. Lot 131
  • Collection
  • 1948

Photographs of the aftermath of the flood that destroyed Vanport, Or. on May 30, 1948. The images depict the damage to buildings, bridges, roadways, and other structures in both Vanport and Portland, Or. Includes postcards and snapshots, as well as photographs taken by the Camera Art Studio of Portland, Or.

Camera Art Studio (Portland, Or.)

Jerry Jiro Yasutome photographs

  • Org. Lot 762
  • Collection
  • 1945-1948

This collection consists of photographs of the Yasutome family, a Japanese-American family from Portland, Oregon, taken from 1945 to 1948. Most of the photographs were taken by Jerry Jiro Yasutome; a smaller number were created by other members of the Yasutome family and by unidentified students at the Northwest School of Photography in Portland, where Jerry Yasutome studied from approximately 1946 to 1948. Photographs taken by Jerry Yasutome and other family members document their experiences during incarceration at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California from 1945 to 1946. These images include portraits of the Yasutome family, including Jerry Yasutome’s son, James Mamoru Yasutome, and his parents, Sadao Kurata Yasutome and Ju Jiro Yasutome; group portraits of electrical workers and a Buddhist Sunday School; and photos of a fire at the Tule Lake high school. The remainder of the photographs in the collection represent the work of students at the Northwest School of Photography. They include photographs of the processing lab and students in classes, as well as portraits taken by the students. Also included are photographs taken by Yasutome and other students depicting the aftermath of the Vanport Flood in May 1948.

Yasutome, Jerry Jiro, 1919-1994

Aaron M. Frank address to Meier and Frank employees

  • SR 294
  • Collection
  • 1949-03-24

This speech was delivered by Aaron M. Frank on March 24, 1949, at the Meier & Frank Department Store in Portland, Oregon. In this speech, Frank urges the assembled store employees to resist union organizing efforts. He enumerates the benefits provided to employees by Meier & Frank, gives examples of management and employee loyalty, lists his responsibilities as director, and makes a plea for an employee vote of confidence. The employees ultimately voted against unionization.

Frank, Aaron M. (Aaron Meier), 1891-1968

Steamship R. R. Thompson plans

  • Mss 4051
  • Collection
  • Circa 1878 - Circa 1950

Collection consists of 14 plans on 8 sheets of the steamer R. R. Thompson, which was originally designed by John Gates. It is unknown whether the plans are original or are later reproductions; they include writing in at least two different hands. Drawings include plans of top and side views; a plan of the freight deck lowerhouse, skylight, and texas; a plan of the cabin deck; engine plans; boiler plans; mechanical plans; and a plan of the piston head and rings. Some sheets are stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from the collection of L. C. Hosford."

Steamship Oneonta Plans

  • Mss 4044
  • Collection
  • Circa 1863 - Circa 1950

Plans of a sidewheel steamer, Oneonta. The plans may be a depiction of the steamer Oneonta built in 1863 and operated by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, but features in the plans differ from contemporary photographs of that steamboat. It is unknown whether the drawings are originals or later reproductions. The drawings consist of 3 plans on 1 sheet: a top view, a side view, and a plan of the pilot house and rooms. Sheet is stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from collection of L. C. Hosford."

Women collection, circa 1899-1950

  • Mss 1534
  • Collection
  • 1899-1950

Collection of materials assembled by the Oregon Historical Society relating to women in Oregon, ca. 1899-1950. Included in the collection are postcards with anti and pro-suffrage images, the correspondence and diary of Mrs. Sylvia Thompson, the correspondence of M.H. Wicoxon, scrapbook of the League of Women Voters, papers of various women's political groups (including anti-suffrage groups) and newspaper clippings regarding women's rights, legal status and prominent women.

Steamship Hassalo plans

  • Mss 4033
  • Collection
  • Circa 1860 - Circa 1950

Collection consists of 6 plans on 4 sheets of the sternwheel steamer Hassalo. The drawings include a side view of the Hassalo; a plan of the freight deck; a lines plan, with cross sections, labeled as being taken from a model of the steamer made by John Gates; and a cross section. Three of the sheets are stamped: "Oregon Historical Society - Portland, Oregon / from collection of L. C. Hosford." It is unknown whether the plans are original drawings or later reproductions.

Oral history interview with Erskine Wood

  • SR 1096
  • Collection
  • 1954-08-21

This oral history interview with Erskine Wood was conducted by William Renwick at Wood's home in Vancouver, Washington, on August 21, 1954. In this interview, Wood discusses his experiences as an adolescent living with Chief Joseph and the Nimiipuu people (Nez Perce) in the Wallowa Valley, Oregon. He briefly talks about Chief Joseph's life story. He speaks about his daily life, including caring for horses, hunting, and taking sweat baths. He closes the interview by describing Nimiipuu recreational activities, including dancing, singing, and games. In the interview, Wood uses terms for Native people that were common in that historical period but that are now considered pejorative.

Wood, Erskine

Flowers family photographs

  • Org. Lot 865
  • Collection
  • 1860-1955

Collection consists of 27 original photographs and copy prints relating to the Flowers family of Portland, Oregon. The photographs date from approximately 1860 to 1955. They are primarily portraits and snapshots of members of the Flowers family, including Allen Ervin Flowers; his wife, Louisa Mathilda Flowers; and their sons, Lloyd A. Flowers, Ralph Perpeno Flowers, Elmer Allen Flowers, and Ervin Milton Flowers. Also included are photographs from several Flowers family business enterprises, including the Flowers family farm, the Flowers automotive repair and sales lot, a jitney bus operated by Ralph Flowers, and beach cottages at Oceanlake, Oregon.

Marie Holst Pottsmith photographs

  • Org. Lot 460
  • Collection
  • 1908-circa 1956

Digitized versions of 119 sheet film negatives taken by Marie Holst Pottsmith, many of them during the eight months in 1908 that she taught in the remote Finnish community of Hamlet, Oregon. These images document the people and community life in Hamlet, including farming, the school, and construction of the first wagon road to Necanicum by residents of the village, as well as a nearby community in Elsie Valley.

Along with Pottsmith's time in Hamlet, photographs in the collection document her life as a student at the University of Oregon; visits to family and friends in Portland, Salem, and Woodburn; teaching at Fisher, Washington; and her family life in Ellsworth, Washington, and in Oregon. The collection includes one image made circa 1956, when Pottsmith revisited Hamlet and photographed an abandoned farmstead she had previously photographed in 1908.

Undigitized materials in the collection include 129 access prints of the negatives made by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library in 1986. Ten of the prints in the collection do not have corresponding negatives.

Pottsmith, Marie Holst, 1882-1980

KPTV interview with Jackie Kennedy and John F. Kennedy

  • SR 3904
  • Collection
  • 1958

This interview with John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy was conducted by John A. Salisbury for broadcast on the Portland, Oregon, channel KPTV in 1958. In this interview, Jackie Kennedy discusses their family life and recreational activities. John F. Kennedy talks about Jimmy Hoffa and labor unions. He addresses the controversy surrounding his Catholicism and youth. He discusses his experience meeting Oregonians.

Salisbury closes the interview with thanks to the Kennedys for appearing on his program, a commercial for Ovaltine, and an explanation of the changes in Oregon laws regarding primaries. A commercial for SafeCo Insurance plays, followed by a message regarding Oregon election laws from Oregon Secretary of State Howell Appling and Governor Mark Hatfield. The recording ends with a commercial for an allergy nasal spray.

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963

Oral history interview with John G. Wyers

  • SR 2097
  • Collection
  • 1959-03-03 - 1959-03-21

This oral history interview with John G. Wyers was conducted by his son, Teunis J. Wyers, from March 3-21, 1959. The interview was conducted in four sessions. An unidentified woman was also present during the first session.

In the first interview session, conducted on March 3, 1959, Wyers discusses settling in the Klickitat County, Washington, area in 1891. He talks about the people who lived in the areas now known as White Salmon and Underwood in the late 19th century. He describes a ferry, the landscape, and buildings in the area.

In the second interview session, conducted on March 5, 1959, Wyers talks about the people who lived in the western area of Klickitat County in the late 19th century. He also speaks about conflicts between white emigrants and Native people who lived in the area.

In the third interview session, conducted on March 12, 1959, Wyers talks about the people who lived near the White Salmon River in the late 19th century, including the areas now known as Trout Lake and Glenwood.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on March 21, 1959, Wyers talks about the schools, churches, and roads in western Klickitat County in the late 19th century.

Wyers, John G. (John Gerbrand), 1871-1961

Tsuboi Family home movies

  • MI Tsuboi
  • Collection
  • 1925 - 1960

The collection contains home movies filmed by members of the Tsuboi Family circa 1925-1960. The films depict Japanese American family scenes and feature locations around Oregon, Washington, California, and British Columbia, including the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, downtown Portland, Pendleton Round-Up, the Oregon Coast, Seattle, Yosemite National Park, and Los Angeles. Also included in the collection is footage taken in Northeast China, Japan, and on voyages across the Pacific Ocean.

Tsuboi family

Oral history interview with Charles A. Sprague

  • SR 155
  • Collection
  • 1962-07-18

This interview with Charles A. Sprague was conducted by Robert Bruce of the Capitol News Bureau in Sprague's office at the Oregon Statesman in Salem on July 18, 1962. It was broadcast on the radio as part of the Living History Series. In the interview, Sprague briefly discusses his family history and early life in the Midwest. He then talks about his career in journalism and ownership of the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Statesman, as well as big news stories during that time, including the labor movement. Sprague also discusses his involvement with the Republican Party and his term as governor of Oregon during World War II. He also talks about landmark legislation that was passed during his term, particularly the establishment of the state forest system, as well as his thoughts on amending the Oregon Constitution. He closes the interview with a discussion about contemporary American culture.

Sprague, Charles A. (Charles Arthur), 1887-1969

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