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Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection, circa 1890-1928

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bohlman, Herman.
Title
Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection
Dates
circa 1890-1928 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.80 cubic feet, including 517 images: 197 lantern slides, 41 prints, 143 glass negatives, 135 film negatives, and 1 painting, (16 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes)
Collection Number
P 202
Summary
The Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection consists of images taken and assembled by Bohlman documenting bird species and his travels, primarily in the Pacific Northwest.  Bohlman was a lifelong friend and collaborator of renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist William L. Finley.  Many of the photographs are available online in the Oregon Digital collection Reuniting Finley and Bohlman.
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

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Herman Theodore Bohlman was born on April 15, 1872 in Portland, Oregon, where he would live all of his life. He was a lifelong friend of William L. Finley, renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist. Bohlman and Finley co-founded the North-Western Ornithological Association in 1894. Several accounts tell of Bohlman teaching Finley photography. The two started photographing birds in the late 1890s. Between 1899 and 1908, they made trips to the Columbia River (1900), Three Arch Rocks (1901 and 1903), California (1904 and 1906), Klamath and Tule Lakes (1905), Malheur and Harney Lakes (1908), and other places to study and photograph birds. In 1912, Bohlman and Finley revisited the Klamath and Malheur regions.

Bohlman's photographs appeared in U.S. and international magazines, as well as Finley's 1907 book, American Birds. He was a charter member (1900) of what would become the Oregon Audobon Society and served on the organization's board at the time of his death in February 1943. Bohlman was an avid oil painter and a member of the Oregon Artist Society later in life. Bohlman was associated with the family's plumbing business in Portland for over 40 years. He married Maud Bittleston at the Finley home in Jennings Lodge on October 14, 1908. They had one son, H. Theodore Bohlman.

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Content Description

The Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection includes images taken and assembled by Herman Bohlman documenting bird species and his travels primarily in the Pacific Northwest, including river trips on the Lewis River (Washington) and the Willamette River (Oregon) around the turn of the century. Many of the trips were taken with fellow ornithologist and conservationist William L. Finley, who appears in several photos. A number of the bird photos appear in or are similar to those in Birds of Oregon (Gabrielson and Jewett, 1940), American Birds (Finley, 1907), and William L. Finley: Pioneer Wildlife Photographer (Mathewson, OSU Press, 1986).

Images of the Portland waterfront wharves; Crater Lake; Metlakatla, Alaska; Mazamas in the Mt. Jefferson region in 1917; and Bohlman family and friends are also included. Sixteen of the lantern slides are copies of Weister & Co. views of the Columbia River Gorge from 1914 and 1915. Several of the film negatives are copies of bird photos and illustrations from other sources.

Twenty-one of the lantern slides and glass plate negatives depict excursions by Bohlman with William Finley and others to various locations throughout Oregon, Washington, and California to document birds. These images, taken by Bohlman and Finley, illustrate the pair traveling to marshlands, rivers, and the ocean, photographing birds as well as themselves. The birds pictured in these shots include pelicans (Klamath Lake, Oregon), a condor (California), common murres (Three Arch Rocks, Oregon), and Caspian terns (Klamath Lake). Other travelers portrayed in these photos include Dallas Lore Sharp, A. W. Anthony, and Irene Finley. There is also one portrait shot of Bohlman as a young man. Some of these photographs were featured in Worth Mathewson's book, William L. Finley: Pioneer Wildlife Photographer.

The collection also includes an oil painting by Bohlman.

The collection consists primarily of lantern slides (mounted and unmounted), nitrate base film negatives, and glass negatives ranging in size from 3.25 x 4.25 to 6.5 x 8.5. A small number of contact prints have been made of selected glass negatives.

Many of the photographs are available online in the Oregon Digital collection Reuniting Finley and Bohlman.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Scholarly use of ten or more collection images, or any commercial use, requires the permission of the donor.

Preferred Citation

Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection (P 202), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Herman T. Bohlman Photograph Collection is arranged in 10 series based on format: 1. 3.25 x 4.25 Glass Negatives, circa 1890-1925; 2. 4 x 5 Glass Negatives, circa 1890-1925; 3. 5 x 7 Glass Negatives, circa 1903-1911; 4. 5 x 8 Glass Negatives, circa 1909; 5. 6.5 x 8.5 Glass Negatives, circa 1890-1925; 6. Lantern Slides (Mounted), circa 1890-1925; 7. Lantern Slides (Unmounted), circa 1901-1919; 8. 3.25 x 4.25 Film Negatives, circa 1890-1925; 9. 3.75 x 6 Film Negatives, circa 1900-1915; 10. Photoprints and Painting, circa 1890-1928.

Acquisition Information

The core of the collection was donated to the University Archives by John Bohlman in 1994.  Worth Mathewson donated an addition of 21 images in 2011 and an oil painting and one photograph in 2016.

Processing Note

Identifiers were assigned to collection images in 2018.

Related Materials

The William L. Finley Papers (MSS Finley) include photos of Bohlman and Finley together. The Office of University Publications and OSU Press Records (RG 018) includes the manuscript copy and original illustrations of Birds of Oregon. Collections relating to Bohlman and Finley are also located at the Oregon Historical Society: Coll. 542 Herman Bohlman Lecture Notes, circa 1900-1920, Coll. MSS 2654 William L. Finley Letters and Scrapbook, 1946-1962, and Org. Lot 369 William L. Finley Photograph Collection, 1901-1940.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Birds--Oregon.
  • Photography of birds.
  • Rivers--Oregon.
  • Rivers--Washington (State).
  • Waterfronts--Oregon--Portland.

Personal Names

  • Bohlman, Herman.

Corporate Names

  • Mazamas (Portland, Or.)

Geographical Names

  • Columbia River Highway (Or.)
  • Crater Lake (Or.)
  • Lewis River (Wash.)
  • Metlakatla (Alaska)
  • Portland (Or.)
  • Upper Klamath Lake (Or.)
  • Willamette River (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Glass plate negatives.
  • Lantern slides.
  • Nitrate negatives.
  • Oil paintings (visual works)
  • Photographic prints.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

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

    Corporate Names

    • Weister Company. (creator)

Finding Aid Authors: Erin Clark and Larry Landis.
2019

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

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