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Kenneth D. Swan Photographs and Audio Tapes, 1911-1969

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Swan, K. D. (Kenneth Dupee), 1887-1970
Title
Kenneth D. Swan Photographs and Audio Tapes
Dates
1911-1969 (inclusive)
Quantity
6004 photographs and 10 reels audio tape
Collection Number
Mss 345
Summary
K. D. Swan was the first photographer for the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Region Headquarters in Missoula, Montana. This collection represents his non-professional interests in outdoor recreation and travel and does not contain many official Forest Service images. It contains images of outdoor and town scenes in and around Missoula and other Montana communities, as well as images from some national forests, national parks, and states surrounding Montana. There are also many images of the southwestern United States, New England, and the Canadian Rockies. Audio tapes that he recorded to accompany slide lectures identify images and demonstrate his intent in producing them.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
visual, English
Sponsor
Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Kenneth Dupee Swan was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 16, 1887. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in forestry from Harvard University, then moved to Missoula, Montana, in 1911 to work for the U.S. Forest Service. He worked in the Custer National Forest in eastern Montana and in northern Idaho in the Clearwater National Forest. During his early career, Swan was an engineer and a forest inspector.

He began to work for the Northern Region Headquarters of the Forest Service in 1913 and became that organization's first photographer. He was instrumental in eastablishing the Forest Service's agency-wide photo storage system, which contained more than 300,000 negatives by the early 1990s. Swan developed and printed his own photographs in a photograph laboratory in the Northern Region Headquarters.

Swan also traveled extensively around the United States and took extensive photographs outside of work. From much of this material, he developed slide lectures on many subjects, including New England history, the Southwestern United States, and the flora and fauna of Glacier National Park in Montana. He contributed images to many national publications, including the Christian Science Monitor. In 1968, he and his son published Splendid Was the Trail, a book of photographs and memoirs of his Forest Service work.

Swan and his wife, Ruth, had two children: Helen and Joe. Swan died on March 2, 1970 in Missoula.

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Content Description

This collection represents Swan's non-professional interests in outdoor recreation and travel and does not contain many official Forest Service images. It contains images of outdoor and town scenes in and around Missoula and other Montana communities, as well as images from some national forests, national parks, and states surrounding Montana. There are also many images of the southwestern United States, New England, and the Canadian Rockies. Audio tapes that he recorded to accompany slide lectures identify images and demonstrate his intent in producing them.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Kenneth D. Swan Photographs and Audio Tapes, Archives and Special Collections, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into two series:

Series I: Photographs

Series II: Audio

Custodial History

The photographs were in the possession of Swan's family until time of donation to the Archives.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Joe Swan and Helen Bolle, 1990.

Processing Note

The collection was originally described by John Pierce, who identified images and produced an item-level list. In 2004, a new finding aid with summary information for the collection was produced.

Related Materials

The National Archives holds a number of K.D. Swan images in the records of the U.S. Forest Service, Record Group 95.

Separated Materials

The collection also includes Swan's camera and the slide projectors he used to present his audiovisual shows.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Animals--California -- Photographs
  • Animals--Montana -- Glacier National Park--Photographs
  • Cliff-dwellings -- Southest, New--Photographs
  • Desert animals -- Southwest, New--Photographs
  • Desert plants--Southwest, New--Photographs
  • Hopi Indians -- Photographs
  • Indians of North America -- Fishing--Columbia River--Photographs
  • Mountains--Montana -- Photographs
  • Navaho Indians -- Photographs
  • Parks--Montana -- Missoula--Photographs
  • Plants--California -- Photographs
  • Wild flowers--Montana -- Glacier National Park--Photographs
  • Yakama Indians -- Washington (State)--Gifford Pinchot National Forest--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • United States. Forest Service--Officials and employees
  • Montana Mountaineers

Geographical Names

  • Arches National Park (Utah)--Photographs
  • Arizona--Photographs
  • Big Hole National Battlefield (Mont.) -- Photographs
  • Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah) -- Photographs
  • Canada, Western--Photographs
  • Custer National Forest (Mont. and S.D.) -- Photographs
  • Florida--Photographs
  • Four Corners Region--Photographs
  • Glacier National Park (Mont.)--Photographs
  • Grand Canyon (Ariz.)--Photographs
  • Greenough Park (Missoula, Mont.)--Photographs
  • Mission Mountains Wilderness (Mont.) -- Photographs
  • Missoula (Mont.)--Photographs
  • Montana--Photographs
  • Monument Valley (Ariz. and Utah)--Photographs
  • Navaho Indian Reservation--Photographs
  • New England--Photographs
  • North Dakota--Photographs
  • Oregon National Historic Trail--Photographs
  • Oregon--Photographs
  • Rocky Mountains--Photographs
  • Saint Ignatius (Mont.)--Photographs.
  • Seeley Lake (Mont. : Lake)--Photographs
  • South Dakota--Photographs
  • Teton Range (Wyo. and Idaho)--Photographs
  • United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783
  • Utah--Photographs
  • Washington (State)--Photographs
  • Yellowstone National Park--Photographs
  • Zion National Park (Utah)--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Audiotapes
  • Photographs -- Montana
  • Photographs--Canada, Western
  • Photographs--United States

Occupations

  • Photographers -- Montana
  • Photographers--United States

Finding aid prepared by John Pierce (1990) and Jodi Allison-Bunnell (2004)
2004

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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