Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Gifford Collection Documentary Materials, 1897-1996
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Gifford family.
- Title
- Gifford Collection Documentary Materials
- Dates
- 1897-1996 (inclusive)18971996
1926-1957 (bulk)19261957 - Quantity
- 3.7 cubic feet, (8 boxes, including 3 oversize boxes)
- Collection Number
- P 218-SG 7
- Summary
- The Gifford Collection Documentary Materials consist of paper records, artifacts, and ephemera documenting the Gifford Family's activities as photographers in Oregon. The Gifford Family included four notable Oregon photographers spanning three generations: Benjamin A. Gifford; his son, Ralph, and Ralph's wife, Wanda; and Ralph and Wanda's son Ben L. Gifford.
- 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.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
The Gifford Family is considered Oregon's first family of photography. Beginning in 1888, when Benjamin A. Gifford emigrated to Portland from Kansas, they began a photographic tradition that lasted into the 1950s and spanned three generations. Benjamin A. Gifford worked as photographer in Portland and The Dalles, Oregon, from the late 1880s until about 1920, when his son Ralph took over his studio in Portland. In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Department, a position he held until his death in 1947. After her husband's death, Wanda Muir Gifford took over the family's photography business and continued to take and sell photographs through the mid-1950s. Ben L. Gifford, the son of Ralph I. and Wanda Gifford, joined his mother in the family's business in early 1950s and also worked for a Salem photography studio from 1951 until 1955. Three generations of Gifford photography began to come to a close when Ben took an engineering job with the State Highway Commission in 1955.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Gifford Collection Documentary Materials consist of paper records, artifacts, and ephemera documenting the Gifford Family's activities as photographers in Oregon. The documentary materials include biographical information on each photographer and other family members, business records, publications that include Gifford photographs, technical manuals and catalogs for photographic and motion picture equipment, artifacts, and ephemeral materials created for the Giffords' photography business. The ephemeral items include envelopes, invoices and order forms, business cards, and labels. The bulk of the business records is correspondence with magazines, other publications, and stock houses regarding purchase and use of Gifford images. A descriptive booklet about the Fred Archer School of Photography in Los Angeles is also included.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Gifford Collection Documentary Materials (P 218-SG 7), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Gifford Collection Documentary Materials are arranged in 9 series: I. Gifford Family Biographical Information, 1897-1996; II. Business Records, 1926-1957; III. Fred Archer School of Photography Information Booklet, circa 1950; IV. Publications with Gifford Photographs, 1902-1987; V. Technical Manuals and Equipment Catalogs, circa 1937 - circa 1953; VI. Signs, circa 1940; VII. Oil Portrait of Ralph I. Gifford, circa 1940; VIII. Ephemera, circa 1905 - 1964; and IX. Artifacts, circa 1936-1947.
Custodial History
The materials were donated to the Oregon State University Horner Museum in 1986 by Ben L. and Beth Gifford.
Acquisition Information
The materials were transferred from the Oregon State University Horner Museum to the University Archives in July 1996.
Related Materials
This is one component of the Gifford Photographic Collection (P 218) held by the OSU Archives. Other components are: Benjamin A. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 1); Ralph I. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 2); Ralph I. Gifford Motion Pictures (P 218-SG 3); Wanda Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 4); Ben L. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 5); and Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown or Other Photographers (P 218-SG 6).
The Archives holdings include several collections documenting photography instruction at Oregon State, including the Robert E. McDole Papers and the John Garman Photographic Collections (P 095).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I: Gifford Family Biographical Information, 1897-1996Return to Top
Series I includes biographical information for Gifford Family members and consists primarily of photocopies that were provided by the family when the photographs were donated to Oregon State University. The documents include obituaries as well as news articles and other compilations of biographical information.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
72 | Benjamin A. Gifford |
1929-1993 |
72 | Rachel M. Gifford |
1973 |
72 | Ralph I. Gifford |
1946-1947 |
72 | Wanda M. Gifford |
1989 |
72 | Ben
L. Gifford |
1944-1996 |
72 | Excerpts, "History and Genealogy of the
Gifford Family in America (1626-1953)" |
1984 |
72 |
My Story of the
Last Indian War in the Northwest
Thomas
Morgan
|
1954 |
72 | Gifford Family Scrapbook |
1897 - circa 1968 |
71 | News clippings about Ralph I. Gifford
and Ben L. Gifford |
1944-1947 |
Series II: Business Records, 1926-1957Return to Top
Series II consists primarily of correspondence documenting the Gifford Family photography business during the 1930s-1950s, especially the purchase of photographs by various publications.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Correspondence |
1926-1957 | |
Box | ||
72 | Letter to Benjamin A. Gifford from W.T.
Jordan of Maryhill, Washington, regarding information about one of
Gifford's Native American photographs taken in the area |
September 1926 |
Letter to Ralph Gifford from Universal Pictures
Corporation regarding motion picture assignment at Mt. Hood |
September 1934 | |
Box | ||
72 | Letters of recommendation for Ralph
Gifford working at the State Highway Commission |
July 1936 |
72 | Letter and photograph to Ralph Gifford
from Sgt. F.L. Boulier |
Sept. 1944 |
72 | Letter of condolence to Wanda Gifford
from State Parks Superintendent S.H. Boardman regarding Ralph Gifford's
death |
June 1947 |
72 | Letter to State Highway Dept. from Ben
L. Gifford regarding state photographer tests |
January 1957 |
Box | ||
72 | Correspondence with magazines, other
publications, and stock houses |
1936-1956 |
Box | ||
72 |
American Fruit
Grower Magazine
|
1950-1956 |
72 | A-D |
|
72 | E-L |
|
72 | M-Z and unclassified |
|
72 | Customer consent slips |
1949 |
72 | Exhibition records for
The New Oregon Trail motion
picture |
1942 |
72 | Image log, Ralph Gifford and Ben L.
Gifford
Includes original and photocopy.
|
|
72 | Ralph Gifford expense log |
1940-1947 |
72 | Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
meeting program |
June 1947 |
72 | Lists of magazines using freelance
photographs |
undated |
72 | Jersey Spring Show program |
May 1951 |
Series III: Fred Archer School of Photography Information Booklet, circa 1950Return to Top
Container(s): Box 72
Series III consists of a booklet with information about the Fred Archer School of Photography in Los Angeles, California, including facilities, faculty, the 2-year course of study, and admissions requirements. Ben L. Gifford attended the Fred Archer School in 1950-1951.
Series IV: Publications with Gifford Photographs, 1902-1987Return to Top
Series IV consists of publications that include photographs by the Gifford Family photographers, primarily in the 1940s and 1950s; several of the publications featured Gifford photographs as the cover images.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
72 |
Snap Shots on the
Columbia
Photocopy; see Benjamin A. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 1) for
original.
|
1902 |
72 |
Neah-Kah-Nie
Mountain: The Most Beautiful Spot on the Pacific Coast, by Lewis M.
Head |
1910 |
72 | Events Illustrated
March, June Published by Beaver Engraving Co.
|
March, June & August 1938 |
72 |
The
Exhaust
|
December 1938 |
72 |
The Oregon State
Employee
Cover photos by Ralph I. Gifford.
|
August-September 1944 |
72 | Oregon Tuberculosis Association annual
report |
1946 |
72 |
The Oregon State
Employee; Salem Cherry Festival program
Cover photos by Ralph I. Gifford.
|
May-June 1947 |
72 |
Along the Union
Pacific Railroad
|
July 1947 |
72 | International Evergreen Empire; tourist
brochure on Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia |
circa 1947 |
72 |
The County
Officer magazine |
June 1949 |
72 |
Public
Works magazine |
December 1950 |
72 |
Oregon Jersey
Review
|
Winter 1951 |
72 | The Northwest Calendar for
Engagements |
1954 |
72 |
Oregon: Cool green
vacation land, tourist brochure |
undated |
72 | Snogo snow removal ad |
undated |
72 | Undated tear sheets from
Pacific Pathways, National Geographic and unidentified
publication |
undated |
78 | Newspapers with Gifford
photographs |
1938-1984 |
71 | OSU Foundation 1986-87 annual
report |
1987 |
Series V: Technical Manuals and Equipment Catalogs, circa 1937 - circa 1953Return to Top
Series V consists of manuals and catalogs assembled by the Giffords for photography and motion picture film equipment and photographic processing. Information about cameras, lenses, and projectors as well as photograph films, papers, and processing are included.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
72 | Formulas notebook |
undated |
72 | Temporary Strobonar Seven Instructions
(electronic flash unit) |
circa 1953 |
72 |
Ansco Formulas on
Black and White Photography
|
1946-1948 |
72 |
Ansco Photographic
Papers: Their Properties, Processing and Application
|
1947 |
72 |
Better Photography
Made Easy (Ansco)
|
1947 |
72 |
Choosing Film for
Your Camera for Black and White Photography (Ansco)
|
1947 |
72 |
Color Photography
Made Easy (Ansco)
|
1947 |
72 |
Book of Formulas
for Eastman Professional Films and Plates
|
May 1938 |
72 | Kodak Data Books |
|
Box | ||
72 |
Formulas and
Processing
|
1946 and 1952 |
72 |
Kodachrome and
Kodacolor Film
|
1947 |
72 |
Kodak Lenses:
Shutters and Portra Lenses
|
1948 |
72 |
Exposure and Your
Camera, C.I. Jacobson |
1948 |
72 |
Salon
Photography
|
1951 |
72 | Photo filter information |
undated |
72 | Peerless camera store
catalogs |
1947-1948 |
72 | Zeiss Ikon cameras catalog |
undated |
72 | Stanley-Marsh picture frame tools
catalog |
circa 1937 |
72 | Bolex motion picture film equipment
catalog |
circa 1941 |
72 | Bell & Howell Filmosound "Master"
motion picture film projector manual |
circa 1939 |
72 | History of the Cine-Kodak
Special |
undated |
72 | Eastman 8mm and 16mm home movie
equipment catalog |
fall 1938 |
72 |
Secrets of Good
Projection, Frank E. Gunnell |
undated |
Series VI: Signs, circa 1940Return to Top
Series VI includes two signs created and used by Ralph Gifford. One is a sign for the darkroom door reminding visitors to knock; the second is a list of postcard sets available for purchase.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
71 | Darkroom sign |
|
71 | Postcard list |
Series VII: Oil Portrait of Ralph I. Gifford, circa 1940Return to Top
Container(s): Box 79
This framed portrait was painted by Lola Schroeder.
Series VIII: Ephemera, circa 1905 - 1964Return to Top
Series VIII consists of materials created for the Giffords' photography business and includes envelopes, invoice and order forms, business cards, and labels. Extra postcards and view sets created by Ralph Gifford are part of this series. Original paper sleeves that housed negatives when they were received by the Archives are included. Duplicates of a Benjamin A. Gifford advertisement include color transparencies and color photocopies made in the late 1990s.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Benjamin A. Gifford advertisement |
circa 1905 | |
Box | ||
68 | 4 frames of 120 color film
transparencies |
|
71 | color photocopies |
|
Box | ||
72 | Ralph Gifford envelope from film
business |
circa 1930 |
72 | Ralph Gifford |
circa 1940 |
Box | ||
72 | Covers for Scenic
Oregon Album Prints
|
|
72 | Business cards |
|
72 | Labels for photoplaques |
|
72 | Photo order form |
|
72 |
Oregon in
Miniature sets envelopes |
|
72 | Letterhead, Travel Information
Department, Oregon State Highway Commission |
|
72 | Ben and Beth Gifford Christmas card
mock-ups |
1964 and undated |
80 | Photographic products and business
forms
Includes extra postcards, view sets (in envelopes), blank invoice
forms, business cards, and photoplaque labels.
|
circa 1935-1945 |
81 | Original negative sleeves
Includes original negative sleeves for photographs made by Ralph I.
Gifford, Wanda Gifford, and Ben L. Gifford.
|
circa 1920-1955 |
Series IX: Artifacts, circa 1936-1947Return to Top
Series IX consists of rubber stamps used by Ralph Gifford for labeling the backs of photographic prints and several signed mats separated from the acompanying photographic prints.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
70 | Ralph Gifford rubber stamps for labeling
backs of photographs |
circa 1936-1947 |
78 | Signed Gifford mats |
circa 1936-1947 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Landscape photography--Oregon.
- Photographers--Oregon.
- Photography--Equipment and supplies.
- Photography--Oregon.
- Photography--Processing.
- Photography--Studios and dark rooms.
- Photography--Study and teaching--California--Los Angeles.
- Portrait photography--Oregon.
- Selling--Photographs.
Geographical Names
- Oregon--Description and travel.
Form or Genre Terms
- Ephemera.
- Oil paintings (visual works)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Gifford, Benjamin A. (creator)
- Gifford, Ben L. (creator)
- Gifford, Ralph I. (creator)
- Gifford, Wanda. (creator)
Corporate Names
- Fred Archer School of Photography (Los Angeles, Calif.) (creator)