Peter Misch Photographs, approximately 1930-1960

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Misch, Peter, 1909-1987
Title
Peter Misch Photographs
Dates
approximately 1930-1960 (inclusive)
Quantity
Approximately 4198 black and white prints
Approximately 1828 negatives
Approximately 2330 slides (including 681 lantern slides)
Collection Number
PH1549
Summary
Photographs from professional life of University of Washington professor and geologist
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Selected images can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English, German, Chinese

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Peter Hans Misch was a University of Washington geologist and professor whose research spanned three continents over 50 years. He is especially well known for his research and mapping of the North Cascade mountains of Washington state.

Peter Hans Misch was born in Berlin, Germany in 1909. His father Georg was professor of philosophy at Göttingen University, and his grandfather on his mother's side was the famous German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey. In 1932, at the age of 23, he earned his Ph.D. in Geology from Göttingen University with his investigation of the metamorphic petrology of the central Pyrenees mountains.

In 1934, Misch was asked by Willy Merkl to be the geologist for the German expedition to Nanga Parbat in the western Himalayas. Part of his research during the expedition concerned the petrology of the Himalayas. After his return to Germany, Nazi officials ordered that he surrender all of his research material to a scientist appointed by the government. Misch did not comply with the order, and instead began looking for a teaching position abroad. In 1935, he accepted the chair of structural geology at Sun Yat-Sen University in Canton, China, formerly held by Swiss geologist Arnold Heim.

Misch arrived in China in 1936, and began his studies of the Kwangtung and Kwangsi provinces. By the end of 1938 Japanese advances into south eastern China forced the university to move to Kunming, in Yunnan province. Misch and his students studied and mapped areas of Yunnan province until he left for the United States in 1946.

Misch was teaching at Stanford University when he met Professor Goodspeed of the University of Washington and discovered that they were both members of a minority of geologists who supported the theory of granitization. In 1947, Misch accepted an appointment as assistant professor at the University of Washington. While at the University of Washington, Misch became the leading authority on North Cascades geology. He wrote, published, and lectured on North Cascade geology, especially metamorphic petrology, for nearly 40 years. He created many geological maps of the North Cascades, and painted colorful and geologically detailed watercolor landscapes of many of the mountains that he studied. Misch spent nearly every summer in the mountains with his graduate students in support of their thesis research and general geological education. By the end of his time at the University of Washington, Misch had supervised the research of over 125 graduate students. He also engaged in committee work on behalf of the geology department, as well as various university clubs and associations.

Misch was also active outside of the university setting. During the 1950's, he worked with John Hazzard as a research consultant for Union Oil of California. Misch and Hazzard studied and mapped areas in and around the Great Basin that included eastern Nevada, western Utah, and southern Idaho. Misch's work with Union Oil also took him to Oklahoma where he studied and mapped the Potato Hills region of the Ouachita mountain range. Between 1974 and 1980 Misch was an advisor for the Bechtel Corporation in the proposed development of a nuclear power plant in the Skagit Valley of Washington state. Misch also served as Associate Editor for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Bulletin.

Peter Misch retired from the University of Washington in 1981, but continued his geological research up to the very last months of his life. He died on the 23rd of July, 1987.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The bulk of the photographs consist of aerial mapping photographs, photomicrographs of mineralogical specimens, and photographs of mountain ranges. The bulk of the photographs depict ranges in the Cascade Mountains, but the collection also includes images from Misch's time in Asia, including images of Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas, and areas in Canton and the Yunnan province of China. Mapping photographs include images of mountain ranges in Oklahoma, Utah and Nevada made for Union Oil of California. Some of the photomicrographs were used to illustrate articles written by Misch.

Includes sets of slides Misch arranged into series, probably to accompany lectures or for classroom use, including an extensive, inventoried series on the Washington Cascades.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Processing Note

Minimally processed. Accessioned as PH2007-022.

Photographs were relocated from the Peter Misch Papers, Accession No. 3370-009, in 2007.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

United StatesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Alaska
Glacier Bay
Box/Folder
22/6
Landscapes
1950?
22/6
Specimens
1950?
Juneau Ice Cap
Box/Folder
22/6
Landscapes
1950
22/6
Misch on the Juneau Ice Cap
1950
Kigluaik Mountains
Box/Folder
14/6
Kigluiaik Mountain landscapes
between 1950 and 1955?
22/6
Near the peak of Mount Osborn
July 6, 1982
Appalachian region (Virginia)
Box
25
Geologic diagram slides of the Appalachian Mountains
between 1946 and 1955?
Arizona
Box/Folder
19
Grand Canyon landscape slides
between 1935 and 1940?
California
Landscapes
Box
27
Southern California geological diagram slides
1949?
Box/Folder
22/5
Death Valley and Mojave Desert landscapes
April 1947
Box/Folder
22/5
Friends and students
April 1947
Colorado (Rockies)
Box/Folder
22/6
Banded Gneiss specimen slide from Hallett Peak
between 1940 and 1945?
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
Slide master list for Wyoming, Rocky Mountains, Alps Presentation (carousel 7)
between 1950 and 1965?
16
Slides for Wyoming, Rocky Mountains, Alps Presentation (carousel 7)
between 1950 and 1965?
Connecticut
Box
25
Geologic diagram slide of Triassic faulting in South Connecticut
between 1946 and 1955?
Montana
Box/Folder
22/6
McGuire Mountain from Monument Mountain
September 1, 1955
Nevada
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
List for Snake Range slides (carousel 8)
between 1950 and 1960?
Box
16-17
Snake Range slides (carousel 8)
between 1950 and 1960?
Nevada slides
Box/Folder
15/2
1951 Nevada slides
1951
17
East Central Nevada talk slides
1966?
19
Nevada (possible) series
1940?
25
Geological diagrams of Schell Creek Range
between 1948 and 1955?
25
"1953 Stanford Paper" slides (about Snake Range)
1953?
Box/Folder
22/4, 23/6
Nevada specimen photos
between 1956 and 1960?
Box
27
Muddy Mountains Wilderness area and Snake Range
1949?
Landscape photos
Box/Folder
22/4
1956 Landscape Photos
March 1956
22/4
1958 Landscape Photos
August 1958
23/6
1959 Landscape Photos
April 1959
21/6
1960 Landscape Photos
September 1960
New York
Box
25
Specimen/ geologic diagram slide of Catskills
1948
Oklahoma
Ouachita Range slides
Box/Folder
15/2
Potato Hills specimen slides
between 1950 and 1960?
Box
25-26
Potato Hills geological diagram slides
between 1950 and 1960?
26
Ouachita Range stratigraphic table slides
Box
24-26
Geological diagram slides of Oklahoma
between 1950 and 1960?
25
Geological diagram slides of marginal belt S. Blanco area
between 1950 and 1960?
Pennsylvania
Box
25
Pennsylvania geologic diagram slides
between 1946 and 1955?
Texas
Box/Folder
22/6
Graham, Texas fossil specimen
between 1950 and 1955?
22/6
El Paso Trip
November 1949
Box
25
Geological diagram slides
between 1946 and 1955?
Utah
Goose Creek Mountains
Grouse Creek Mountains (in Goose Creek range?)
Aerial photographs
Washington State
Cascade Mountains (boxes 3-9)
Materials for presentations
Box/Folder
15/1
North Cascades slides master list (carousels 1-4, 6, 9, WC series
between 1950 and 1960?
Cascade Mountain slides
Box/Folder
27
1949 Cascades landscape slides
1949
26
Maps of the Northern Cascades
between 1948 and 1955?
26
Geological diagram slides
1950, 1952
26
1961 Cascades Trip landscape slides
1961
18
1961 Cascades Trip slides
1961
18
1962 Cascades Trip slides
1962
18
1963 Cascades Trip slides
1963
18
1966 Cascades Trip slides
1966
15/2
Washington State slides (loose)
1952?
Box
16-18
North Cascades slides (carousels 1-4, 6, WC series, 1961-1963, 1966 slides, and others)
1961 to 1963, 1966
Box/Folder
15/2
Mount Despair slides
1969
18
Copper Creek map slides
1979
18
Skagit Trip slides
1980
18
Field Trip along WA-20
Box/Folder
26
Okanagan area geological map slides
1948?
Materials for academic publications
Box/Folder
9/1
Materials for academic paper Alkaline granite amidst the calc-alkaline intrusive suite of the northern Cascades, Washington
1966
9/3
Materials for Centennial Guidebook
1986
Box
3-4
1949 Cascades Trip landscape photos
1949
Box/Folder
23/6
Unidentified landscape photos
1949?
3/1
Azurite Peak as seen from Crater Mountain
August 6, 1949
3/1
Big Beaver Creek as seen from Devil's Dome
July 22, 1949
3/2
Chilliwack Range
1949
Colonial Peak
Box/Folder
3/1
Colonial Peak as seen from western part of Diablo Lake
July 14, 1949
3/1
Colonial Peak as seen from "middle" part of Diablo Lake
July 14, 1949
3/1
Colonial Peak as seen from Pumpkin Mountain
July 14, 1949
3/1
Colonial Peak as seen from East Ross Dam
August 5, 1949
Box/Folder
3/1
Crater Mountain as seen from Devil's Dome
July 22, 1949
3/1
Golden Horn as seen from Crater Mountain
August 6, 1949
3/1
Jackita Peak as seen from the northwestern side of Devil's Pass
July 22, 1949
Jack Mountain
Box/Folder
3/1
Jack Mountain as seen from Crater Mountain
August 6, 1949
3/1
Jack Mountain as seen from Bear's Skull shelter at western point of Diablo Dam
July 22, 1949
3/1
Jack Mountain as seen from Devil's Dome
July 22, 1949
3/1
Jack Mountain and Pyramid Peak as seen from Bear's Skull shelter at western point of Diablo Dam
July 22, 1949
Mount Baker
Box/Folder
3/1
Mount Baker as seen from "Pk 7,600 NE" above Roosevelt Glacier
August 10, 1949
3/1
"Pk. 7,600 NE", northern side of Mount Baker
July 10, 1949
3/1
Bedding and cleavage as seen from Kulshan Cabin
July 11, 1949
3/1
West Black Butte as seen from Coleman Glacier
July 11, 1949
3/1
Pinnacle Peak from lower Goodell Creek
July 13, 1949
3/2
Mt. Baker enlargements
1949
Box/Folder
3/1
Mount Ballard as seen from Crater Mountain
August 6, 1949
3/1
Mount Shuksan as seen from "Pk. 7,600 NE" above Roosevelt Glacier
July 10, 1949
3/3
Picket Range enlargements
1949
3/1
Pyramid Peak as seen from E. Ross Dam
August 5, 1949
3/1
Ruby Mountain as seen from Pumpkin Mountain
July 14, 1949
3/1
Spratt Mountain as seen fro Devil's Dome
July 22, 1949
4-5
1950 Cascades Trip
1950
6
1952 Cascades Trip
1952
1954 Cascades Trip
1954
Box
6
1955 Cascades Trip
1955
Box/Folder
7/1
1959 Cascades Trip
1959
7/2-7/3, 23/5
1960 Cascades Trip
1960
9/2
1965, 1966 Cascades Trips
1965 and 1966
U.S.G.S. aerial photographs
Box/Folder
7/5
Black Creek Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Copper Mountain Quad
1950
7/5
Diablo Lake Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Diamond Creek Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Doe Mountain Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5, 9/4-9/6
Hamilton Quad
1950, 1947
7/5, 9/4-9/6
Lake Shannon Quad
1950, 1947
7/5, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8
Marblemount Quad
November 20, 1947, 1950
7/5
Mazama Quad
November 20, 1947
7/1
Mt. Arriva Quad
August 13, 1968
7/5, 9/7-9/9
Mt. Baker/ Van Zandt Quad
1950, 1947
7/5
Mt. Hozomeen Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Mt. Shuksan Quad
1950
7/5
Ptarmigan Peak Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Mt. Hozomeen Quad
November 20, 1947
9/4-9/6
Skagit Hamilton Quad (1 S) and Lake Shannon Quad (2 S)
September 11, 1947
7/5
Slate Pass S.W. Quad
November 20, 1947
7/5
Stehekin Quad
January 10, 1945
Skagit Gneiss
Landscape photos
Box/Folder
9/1
Proofs photos
1952
3/2
Picket Range
1949
9/1
Rowland Tabor's photos of Skagit Gneiss
1967
9/2
Skagit Field Trip along WA- 20
1968, 1972
9/1-9/2
Specimen photos
1952, 1967, 1968, 1974
Box
25
Slides with diagrams of geologic makeup of Skagit Gneiss
between 1946 and 1955?
Box/Folder
9/1
Materials for academic paper Alkaline granite amidst the calc-alkaline intrusive suite of the northern Cascades, Washington
1968
Maps and notes
Box/Folder
7/1
Mt. Arriva Map
7/4
Mt. Baker National Forest Map
1962
9/3
Upper Skagit Region Map
1986?
7/4
Mapping notes
between 1965 and 1966?
Okanagan
Landscape Photos
1950
Box/Folder
10/1-10/2, 10/6, 11/1-11/2
Okanagan Quad Aerial photos (1 B, 2 B, 7 B, 8 B)
1943
18
Okanagan area slides
between 1950 and 1955?
Specimen photos
Box/Folder
10/3, 11/3
Specimen photos
between 1950 and 1952
9/10, 10/4-10/5, 11/3
Photomicrographs
These photomicrographs are accompanied by notes for a talk at Berkeley about Okanagan County.
item
10/3
Diagrams of Okanagan area
between 1950 and 1952?
Maps
Wisconsin
Box/Folder
22/6
Van Hise Rock along highway through Upper Narrows of Baraboo River, Wisconsin
June 1949
Wyoming
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
Slide master list for Wyoming, Rocky Mountain, Alps Presentation (carousel 7)
between 1950 and 1965?
Box
16
Slides for Wyoming, Rocky Mountains, Alps Presentation (carousel 7)
between 1950 and 1965?
Box/Folder
18, 25
Slides of Wyoming Rockies
between 1948 and 1955?
25
Landscape slide of Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole
between 1948 and 1955?
25
Slide of geological diagram of central Wyoming
between 1948 and 1955?

InternationalReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
North America
Box/Folder
26
Slides about cenozoic structures and volcanoes
1953
Alps (Switzerland and Germany)
Box
24-25
Geological diagrams of mountain and ranges in the Alps
between 1935 and 1945?
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
Slide master list for Wyoming, Rocky Mountains, Alps Presentation (carousel 7)
between 1950 and 1965?
16
Slides for Wyoming, Rocky Mountains, Alps presentation (carousel 7)
Box/Folder
8/4
Microfilm notes about Vals, Switzerland
Canada
Alberta
Box/Folder
18
Slides of Moraine Lake Outlet
Box
25
Geologic diagram slide of folded thrusts in Brazeu River area
1942
British Columbia
Specimen photos
Box/Folder
14/5
Specimen photo from Grand Forks, B.C.
between 1947 and 1955?
14/5
Specimen photo from West Vancouver, B.C.
between 1947 and 1955?
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
18
Canadian Rockies slides
1961
15/2
Cariboo Mountains and vicinity slides
R.B. Campbell (Photographer)
October 12, 1971
Box
25
Geologic diagram slides of British Columbian Rockies
between 1948 and 1955?
Manitoba
Box/Folder
14/6
Specimen photos
1947
China
Presentation materials
Box
24
Landscape slides
between 1938 and 1946?
24
Geological diagram slides of Yunnan and Guaqndong Provinces
between 1938 and 1946?
Box/Folder
13/3
1938 Photos (various locations)
1938
Canton (Guangdong Province)
Box/Folder
12/8
Friends
1936-
12/8
Landmarks
1936-
12/8
Landscapes
1936-
12/8
Pictures of Peter Misch
1936?
12/8
Street Scenes
1936-
12/8
Kan-hsien Trip
1938
12/8, 13/3
Bombing and/or fire (Sino-Japanese War, probably)
1938
Box/Folder
13/2
Chingkiang (aka Zhenjiang) (Jiangsu Province)
1939-1942
13/2
Haikou (Hainan Province)
between 1939 and 1941?
Yunnan Province
Box/Folder
13/2
Yunnan Province landscape
1939, 1940-1941
13/2
East Yunnan
between 1936 and 1946?
West and Northwest Yunnan, 1945-1946
Box/Folder
12/7, 13/1
People
1945-1946
12/7, 13/1
Landscapes
1945-1946
12/7
Street Scenes
1945-1946
13/2
Kunming
1940, 1945
West Yunnan
Li Kiange Mountains region
Box/Folder
12/5-12/6, 13/2
Landscapes
1940, 1949
12/5-12/6
Mountaineers
1939-1940
12/5
Street Scenes
1940
Tali Mountains region
Box/Folder
12/2-12/3
Landscapes
1939
12/2-12/3
Specimen photos
1939
12/2-12/3
Street Scenes
1939
Box/Folder
12/1
Photomicrographs
between 1936 and 1947?
12/4
West Yunnan Landscapes, 1940
1940
Diagrams
Box/Folder
13/2
Geographical maps
13/2
Land formation diagrams
The diagrams shows the geological makeup of mountains near Ts’ao-tien, mountains in northwest Yunnan
between 1936 and 1946?
13/2
Specimen Diagrams
between 1936 and 1946?
13/2
Mountain Sketch
between 1936 and 1946?
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
Notes on slide carousel 5 about Nanga Parbat, China, Pyrenees slides
between 1950 and 1960?
15/2
Nanga Parbat, China, Pyrenees slides (carousel 5)
The images appear to be from the 1934 Expedition, but the slides are more recent than that.
1934
18
Slides of various areas in China
between 1936 and 1945?
Box/Folder
18
France- Slide of Vis River Canyon
1955
14/5
Mountain peak probably in Germany
1934
Pakistan (Nanga Parbat 1934 Expedition)
This expedition was sanctioned by the Nazis in response to the British scaling of Mount Everest. Misch was part of the scientific contingent partnering the mountaineers scaling the mountain. The expedition was a failure and resulted in several deaths when the mountaineering contingent was caught in a snowstorm. The scientific expedition helped in the rescue attempt which was largely unsuccessful.
Box/Folder
14/1, 14/3-14/4
Landscape photos
Photos in folder 14/4 have notes saying "for slides", might match to series of slides.
1934
14/4
Expedition members
1934
14/4
Diagrams
1940?
Research notes
1934
Box/Folder
13/5-13/6
Specimen photos
1934
13/4, 14/2
Microphotographs
1934
19
Himalayas glass plate negatives
1934
23/6
Negatives of Nanga Parbat region map
1934?
Presentation materials
Box/Folder
15/1
Notes on slide carousel 5 about Nanga Parbat, China, Pyrenees slides
between 1950 and 1960?
Box
16, 18
Nanga Parbat, China, Pyrenees slides (carousel 5 and others)
The images appear to be from the 1934 Expedition, but the slides are more recent than that.
1934
24
Nanga Parbat landscape slides
between 1934 and 1946?
25
Geologic diagram slides of Nanga Parbat
Peru
Box/Folder
18
Slides of Peru mountains
August 1960
South Africa
Spain (Pyrenees)
Box/Folder
16
Nanga Parbat, China, Pyrenees slides (carousel 5)
The images appear to be from the 1934 Expedition, but the slides are more recent than that.
1934
Box
24
Diagram slides of Pyrenees Mountains
Tibet
Box/Folder
13/1
People
1945-1946
United Kingdom
Box/Folder
26
United Kingdom geological diagram slides (series)
between 1950 and 1960?
England
Scotland
Box/Folder
25
Slides geologic maps of Scottish highlands
between 1935 and 1946?
Wales

Academic paper materials- separate category for items that are grouped together specifically for papers? Or leave as geologically separate?Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Materials for paper Metasomatic granitization of batholithic dimensions, 1949
This paper discusses the Nanga Parbat area, northwest Himalayas, India, and northwest Yunnan, China. That's why it was put in this section rather than within a geographic category. There are academic paper materials in the Cascades series, but those materials may also be moved to this category depending on final arrangement. Photos in this series may have been taken earlier than 1949, but I have dated them as 1949 since that is when the paper was published.
1949
Box/Folder
22/7, 23/1-23/2
Photomicrographs of specimens
1949
22/7, 23/1-23/2
Specimen photos
1949
23/1-23/2
Notes about plates and figures
1949
23/1-23/2
Diagrams of strata and geological makeup
1949
23/1-23/2
Landscape photos
1949
Box/Folder
23/3-23/4
Photomicrographs for "Tillite Paper"
1955?
Box
25
Slides for "Boston Paper 1952", may be referring to Misch, P. (1952). Some special criteria for granitization. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 63(12), 1280-1281
1952

Union Oil of California workReturn to Top

Misch's work with Union Oil of California consists of aerial photographs of Nevada, Oklahoma, and Utah.

Container(s) Description Dates
Nevada
Unidentified range aerial photos
Box/Folder
1/1
Aerial photo
September 23, 1946
Goshute Mountains
Box/Folder
2/5
Aerial photo
May 22, 1948
2/5
Maps
1945
Box/Folder
2/5
Humboldt Range specimen photos
Schell Creek Range
Box/Folder
2/5
Aerial photos
1954?
Snake Range
Aerial
Box/Folder
21/1, 21/4
Garrison Quad
July 9, 1946
21/1, 21/6
Lehman Caves
October 23, 1952
21/5
Northern Snake Range
September 10, 1954, September 13, 1954
21/2, 21/6, 22/1-22/3
Sacramento Pass Quad
October 22-23, 1952
2/1-2/4
Snake Range aerial photos
Jack Amman Photometric Engineers, Inc., San Antonio, Texas
between 1953-1955
21/1
South Snake Range
1958?
21/1, 21/3
Wheeler Peak Quad
October 2, 1945
Landscape photos
1960?
Photomicrographs
Oklahoma (probably Ouachita Range Area)
Box/Folder
1/3-1/15
Edgar Tobin Aerial Survey Photos
Edgar Tobin Aerial Surveys, San Antonio, Texas (Photographer)
between 1950 and 1955?
1/16-1/19
1940 Aerial Photos
1940
Box/Folder
1/20-1/21
Utah (Raft River Range)
1953?
2/6
Project 121 (Ranging between Utah and Nevada)
This project spans Utah and Nevada, and includes the Goose Creek Range, Grouse Creek Range, and Raft River Mountains.
July 1955

Friends and StudentsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
14/6
Photos of assorted friends and students
between 1950 and 1955?
23/6
Peter Misch with students
between 1947 and 1960?
23/6
Photos of Professor George Edward Goodspeed's retirement party
May 29, 1957
23/6
Young boys playing with toy boat
March 1956

Assorted specimen slides without identifying information, between 1930 and 1940?Return to Top

Container(s): 19-20

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)