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Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection, circa 1900s-1930s

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Williams, Gerald W.
Title
Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection
Dates
circa 1900s-1930s (inclusive)
Quantity
0.30 cubic feet, including 184 lantern slides, (3 boxes)
Collection Number
P 319
Summary
The Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection consists of lantern slides assembled and acquired by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the history of forestry and the Pacific Northwest region.  The slides depict forests and forest operations; landscapes and scenery; and birds, wildlife, and plants.  The collection includes advertisements for local businesses in the McKenzie River area.  Gerald Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 to 2005 as a sociologist (1979-1998) and historian (1998-2005).
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.   Five lantern slides are damaged or in poor condition and have limited researcher access.  These items have been digitized and are availalble online.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1993, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998, he served as the regional sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Williams designed and implemented a regional and national history program for the Forest Service which culminated in his appointment as national historian and his authorship of the centennial history of the Forest Service, The USDA Forest Service -- The First Century, in 2000. He has published more than 75 books, chapters, book reviews, and articles and conference papers exploring a variety of historical topics such as the Native American use of fire to manage environments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army's Spruce Production Division during World War I.

Williams is a native of Oregon and earned degrees from Southern Oregon University (B.A., Sociology; M.A. General Studies Social Science) and Washington State University (Ph.D., Sociology).

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Content Description

The Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection consists of lantern slides assembled and acquired by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the history of foresty and the Pacific Northwest region. The slides depict forests and forest operations; landscapes and scenery; birds, wildlife, and plants; and salmon fishing. Many of the images are of Oregon landmarks, including the Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, and Mount Hood. Of particular note are a set of lantern slides advertising local businesses in the McKenzie River area. All of the images are undated; an approximate date range for the collection was assigned based on the time period when the creation and use of lantern slides was most prevalent.

Many of the slides are in color. Five of the items are damaged or in poor condition and have been segregated from the builk of the collection. These items have been digitized and are available online.

The collection includes lantern slides by many photographers and producers including the U.S. Forest Service, the Keystone View Company, Arthur M. Prentiss, Underwood and Underwood, Weister Co., Herman T. Bohlman, and the Kansas City Slide Company.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection (P 319), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slides Collection is arranged in 6 series:  1. Forest Operations and Trees, circa 1900s-1930s; 2. Landscapes and Scenery, circa 1900s-1930s; 3. Wildlife, Plants, and Flowers, circa 1900s-1930s; 4. Advertisements for McKenzie River Area Local Businesses, circa 1920s-1930s; 5. American Military, Government, and War Propaganda, circa 1900s-1930s; and 6. Diagrams, Illustrations, and People, circa 1900s-1930s.

Acquisition Information

These materials were acquired by the former University Archives and the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in multiple accessions in 2007-2016.  They were originally described as a component of the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG) and were separated for description as this collection in 2016.

Related Materials

The core of Gerald Williams' research materials are maintained as the Gerald W. Williams Papers (MSS WilliamsG).  Other materials that were collected by Williams have been described as separate collections: Gerald W. Williams Collection of Forestry and Northwest History Publications (MSS WilliamsPubs); Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps (MSS CCC); Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection (FV 320); Gerald W. Williams Collection on Smokey Bear (MSS Smokey);  Gerald W. Wiliams Prints Collection (MSS WilliamsPrints); Jason S. Elder Forest Service Diary (MSS Elder); C.C. Hall Photograph Album (P 301); J.F. Ford Photographs (P 308); Forest Service Equipment Development Center Photograph Album (P 311); Mount Hood Area Excursion Photograph Album (P 310); and Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards (P 312).  The Herman T. Bohlman Photographs (P 202) includes other images made by Bohlman.  The Special Collections and Archives Research Center houses many collections that include lantern slides.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Birds--Oregon.
  • Forests and forestry--Northwest, Pacific.
  • Logging--Northwest, Pacific.
  • Salmon--Northwest, Pacific.

Personal Names

  • Bohlman, Herman. (creator)
  • Prentiss, A. M. (Arthur M.) (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Kansas City Slide Co. (creator)
  • Keystone View Company. (creator)
  • Underwood & Underwood. (creator)
  • United States. Forest Service. (creator)
  • Weister Company. (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Columbia River Gorge (Or. and Wash.)
  • Hood, Mount (Or.)
  • McKenzie River (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Lantern slides.

Finding Aid Authors: Anna Brecheisen and Elizabeth Nielsen.
2016

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

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