OHY_Lot450 Guide to the Amos Burg Photographs 1889-1986 Burg (Amos) Photographs Finding aid prepared by Sharon M. Howe Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Oregon Historical Society, Research Library © 2004
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Finding aid encoded by Sharon M. Howe 2004 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard) Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Org. Lot 450 Burg, Amos Amos Burg photographs 1889-1985 Approx. 7 cubic feet 14,187 photographs, 9,244 negatives, 7,791 slides, 28 lantern slides, and 70 photomechanical prints in 18 boxes plus other unprocessed additions Images document Amos Burg's world travels, explorations, and river running, as well as his careers as a writer, photographer and filmmaker for National Geographic, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and ERPI Classroom Films, and his work with the Alaska Fish and Game Department. The collection is in English. Biographical Note

Amos Burg (1901-1986) was born in Portland, Or., to Amos Burg, Sr., and Minerva Ann James Burg (Annie Laurie Burg). Burg, Sr. (1863-1938), immigrated from Norway in 1877 to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked in the laundry business and married Minerva Ann James in 1889. They and their infant son, Charles, moved to Portland in 1890, and the senior Burg became part owner of the City Laundry. In Portland, the couple had seven more children, including Amos, Jr. The Burgs' longtime family home at 1706 N.E. Dekum Avenue was still standing as of 2004.

Upon graduation from grammar school in June 1917, Burg persuaded his parents to let him go to sea as bell boy on the passenger ship, Rose City, Portland to San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the end of the summer, he returned to Portland to start high school but the call of the sea was so strong that he returned to sea, where during many voyages in the next several years, he continued his education using the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This whetted his appetite for more learning, so between voyages, he completed a college preparatory course at the Oregon Institute of Technology and then enrolled in science, photography, and journalism courses at the University of Oregon (Eugene) and Oregon State College (now Oregon State University, Corvallis) between adventures (1926-1929), although he never earned a degree. He helped to finance his education and adventures by using his sea voyages as an opportunity to earn some money importing Oriental rug, silks, and pearls.

Burg was heralded for making the first complete canoe voyage on the Columbia River from its headwaters in Columbia Lake, B.C., to the Pacific Oct. 20, 1924-Jan. 7, 1925. The newspapers followed his adventure, and this voyage started his lecture career, as he became a sought-after speaker in Portland and elsewhere in western Oregon. By 1930, he was becoming a successsful lecturer on the national circuit with tales of his adventures, illustrated with his own films and slides, accompanied by narration in his self-depracating witty style. Burg followed up his Columbia River triumph in the summer of 1925 with a canoe voyage from the headwaters of the Snake River at Jackson Lake, Wyo., through Hells Canyon, and down the Columbia River to its mouth. At the Cascades of the Columbia (site of the Bonneville Dam in 2004), Fox Movietone and International Newsreel cameramen persuaded Burg to run the cascades in his canoe, which resulted in International newsreel headlines, "Amos Burg first man to attempt passage of swirling Columbia waters in frail craft." Well into the 1930s, Burg continued to make periodic canoe trips on the Columbia, Snake, Yukon and Northwest Territories rivers, culminating in his 1938 trip to film Buzz Holmstrom's re-creation of his 1937 one-man trip down the Green and Colorado rivers. Burg took the first inflatable rubber raft down the Colorado on this trip, and his film, Conquering the Colorado won an Academy Award nomination for short subjects in 1939.

Burg extended his travels around the world aboard the yacht, Camargo, 1931-1932, and followed up in 1933-1934 with a trip in a small boat around Cape Horn. Filmmaking for ERPI and Encyclopaedia Britannica subsequently took him throughout the western United States, Central and South America, Alaska, Europe, and Asia.

In the early 1950s, Burg settled down in Alaska, working forst for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and then establishing himself with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1955-1974. He established the department's Information and Education Section and made many films as part of his work. He also made the Alaska Centennial film, Juneau, Alaska's Capital City. He continued to make many river trips well after his retirement. He died in Alaska in 1985, and his ashes have since been scattered on many of the rivers he voyaged.

The collection documents not only Burg's life, adventures, work, and family, but also traces his development as a photographer, from teenage years, when he took snapshots of his sea voyages around the world, to the late 1920s, when he started producing photographs that graced the pages of glossy magazines such as National Geographic and films for Encyclopaedia Brittanica Films and ERPI Classroom Films. He became an expert at taking shots of people, and his photography of children is particularly striking. The collection includes prints, negatives, slides, and lantern slides. Amos Burg appears in many photographs throughout the collection.

The collection is organized into the following subgroups and series:

Subgroup 1: Amos Burg, His Family, and His Travels, 1889-1950 Series A: Family, Early Life, and College, 1889-circa 1935Series B: Seaman, 1918-1927Series C: Adventurer/Lecturer/Writer, 1920-1950 Subgroup 2: Amos Burg, Alaskan, 1951-1985

NOTE: This guide describes Subgroup 1 only. Subgroup 2 will be added when processing is complete.

The collection is open to the public.

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Amos Burg photographs, Org. Lot 450, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Library accession nos. 17787, 18819, 19839, 20170, 22211, 22726, and 24251.

THIS COLLECTION IS ONLY PARTIALLY PROCESSED. The collection was received in increments and not in any particular order. Burg provided little or no individual identifications for the bulk of the images. Identifications have been added whenever possible but may be subject to change as processing of Subgroup 2 continues.

Manuscript materials were separated into the Amos Burg Papers (Mss 1759) in the Manuscripts Collection at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Film is in the Amos Burg Motion Picture Collection (Mic 5).

Fleischmann, Julius. Footsteps in the Sea. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1935.

Amos Burg's photographs appeared with articles written by him and others in National Geographic.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Burg, Amos--Photographs. Burg family--Photographs. McCormick Steamship Co. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Inc. Erpi Classroom Films, Inc. Alaska--Description and travel. British Isles--Description and travel. Cape Horn (Chile)--Description and travel. Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Description and travel. Columbia River--Description and travel. Indonesia--Description and travel. Mackenzie River (N.W.T.)--Description and travel. Magdalena River (Columbia)--Description and travel. Nunivak Island (Alaska)--Description and travel. Oregon--Description and travel. Salmon River (Idaho)--Description and travel. Scandinavia--Description and travel. Snake River (Idaho)--Description and travel. Spain--Description and travel. Thailand--Description and travel. West Indies--Description and travel. West (U.S.)--Description and travel. Yukon River (Yukon and Alaska)--Description and travel. Boats and boating Canoes and canoeing Eskimos. Fishing--Alaska. Alaska Idaho Montana Oregon Washington (State) Photographs Environmental Conditions Fisheries and Wildlife Sports and Recreation Transportation Negatives. Photograph albums. Photographic prints.

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Subgroup 1 Amos Burg, His Family, and His Adventures 1889-1950

This Subgroup is organized into three series:

SeriesA: Family, Early Life, and College, 1889-ca. 1935 Series B: Seaman, 1918-1927 Series C: Adventures, Expeditions, and Freelance Projects, 1920-1950 Series A Family and Early Life 1889-circa 1935 161 photographs and 21 photomechanical prints.

Includes the Burg family, early photographs of Amos Burg, Jr., the Burg home, family friends, the City Laundry and other Portland area locations and activities. It also includes mages from Burg's various stints at the University of Oregon and possibly Oregon State. (See timeline in this guide for details.)

 1/1 Burg family 1889-circa 1935

Includes Amos, Sr., and Annie Laurie Burg; their children, Amos, Jr., Carrie [Edwards], Charles W., George W., John E., Mabel A.H. [Merryman], [Mrs. Ellery Reim], and Vera B. [Yunker]; and grandchildren, including Anna Rose. Also included is a biographical sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Burg, Sr.

 1/2 2/6 Amos Burg, Jr. circa 1915-circa 1925

Includes one image with camera, formal portraits and snapshots. Two images show him in canoe, probably on Columbia River in Portland area. Album 450-3: Burg (with crutch) and group of friends or relatives (pg. 56); in plaid jacket and tie (pg. 92).

 1/3 Burg friends and relatives--formal portraits circa 1905-1930

Unidentified young men and one young woman. One portrait of a scout troop is inscribed to Burg "from his Scoutmaster Bert V. Chappel, 2/4/1930."

 1/4 2/5, 2/7 Burg friends and relatives--snapshots, identified circa 1915-1928

Identified people in loose snapshots include: Frieda and "Grandma" Gibcke, Etta Gray, Aaron Loughey, Carolyn and Gertrude Schail, Bernice [?], Josie [?], Lillian [?], and Vivian [?]. Identified people in Album 450-3: Tommy and Jennie (pg. 1); LaWanda, Edith, Claudia, Alice, Mary (Pg. 73); Tommy (pg. 92).

 1/5 2/6 Burg friends and relatives--snapshots, unidentified circa 1910-1920

Album 450-3: girl with dog, two girls wearing jodphurs (pg. 48); children, including girl with dog (pg. 58); others (pg. 73, 92).

 1/6 Burg friends and relatives--snapshots, with animals, automobiles, houses, at various locations circa 1910-1920

Identified people include: Frieda and "Grandma" Gibcke, Etta Gray, Aaron Loughey, Carolyn and Gertrude Schail, Bernice [?], Josie [?], Lillian [?], Vivian [?].

1/7 Oregon locations--Eastern 1919 1/8 2/6 Oregon locations--Portland circa 1925

Rose Festival parade floats. In Album 450-3 (p. 34-35) are floats, including the State Laundry float, with a shirt collar and laundry on a clothesline cleverly rendered in flowers.

2/5-6 Oregon locations--unidentfied circa 1925

Album 450-3: images in snow-covered forested countryside (pg. 35-37), including photographer shooting with tripod-mounted camera (back to camera, possibly Burg) and unusual round-tracked vehicle pulling wooden bus on sled.

 1/9 2/6 University of Orego 1926-1929 1931

Includes portrait of Amos Burg, associate editor, with staff of the Emerald, University of Oregon student daily newspaper. Other staff members identified: Dorothy Baker, Melvin Cohn, William Haggerty, Leonard Hagstrom, Donald Johnston, Arden X. Pangborn, Joe Pigney, and Arthur Schoeni. Images also include Burg in a typing class, as well as individual and group shots of classmates. Also included is a group portrait that includes Burg, dated 1931, when he returned to campus, probably to give a lecture. Album 450-3: group portrait (pg. 56).

 1/10 University of Oregon--Plane trip from Eugene Airport 1927-1929

Photographs taken at the airport as Burg was preparing to depart with pilot David Langmack to photograph the Three Sisters peaks for a newsreel. Includes photocopy of Burg's account from the Emerald.

 1/11 Postcards collected and sent by Burg 1921, undated

Includes postcard folder, "The Shasta Route," sent to his mother in Portland from the "Summit Siskiyou Range".

 Series B Seaman 1918-1927 520 photographs and 64 photomechanical prints.

Images document ships, crews, life and work aboard ship, and ports of call, most notably in Japan and China. The series include a number of photographs of Amos Burg. The bulk of the photographs of his merchant seaman career are contained in three photograph albums. Album 450-1 includes his first voyages from 1918-1920. He may not have had a camera until he shipped on the SS Katia in September 1918, so voyages before that time are documented by postcards and other photomechanical prints and a teenager's purple prose. Most of Burg's photographs in this album document his voyage aboard the Katia on the Northern Circle route to Japan and on to other Asian ports, then through the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal to Marseilles, France. The 2.5-inch by 3.5-inch prints are fading, but they give a hint of the photographic strengths and skills Burg would develop, particularly in photographing people. Album 450-2 includes good quality prints by Burg of his voyage aboard the SS President Madison in 1923, and Album 450-3 (which also includes expeditions and other trips in Series C) includes a few images from several voyages but mostly good quality prints from his voyage aboard the President Jackson.

2/2 SS Lurline--San Francisco to Hawaii 1918 January

Postcard print of ship (Album 450-1, pg. 49)

 2/1-2 SS Ventura--San Francisco to Hawaii, Pago Pago, Samoa, and Sydney, Australia 1918 May 28-July 5

Burg shipped as bridge cadet. Album 450-1: 29 postcard and photomechanical prints, pgs. 9-10, 23, 28-29, 51, 75.

 1/12 2/1-3 SS Katia--Seattle to Marseille 1918-1919

Many photographs of the voyage are in Album 450-1 (Box 2/Folders 1-3). Locations include Dutch Harbor and Unalaska, Alaska; Siberia; Kobe and Yokohama, Japan; Shanghai; Saigon; Singapore; Rangoon; Colombo; and Suez Canal and Port Said, Egypt. Burg won promotion to able seaman at Kobe.

 2/1-3 SS Patria--Marseille to New York via Oran, Algeria 1919 June

French transport carrying 2,500 American troops. Album 450-1: 7 photographic prints and 9 photomechanical prints, pgs. 12-13, 35-36, 45, 59-61, 73, 82, and 95.

 1/13 2/2 SS Matsonnia--San Francisco via Honolulu, Hawaii 1919

Images of Honolulu and Waikiki beach. Ship photo in Album 450-1 (pg. 49). Burg was bridge cadet.

 1/14 2/2 SS Wakiki--New York to Manchester, England, via Panama and the Azores 1919-1920

Images include scenes in Panama and off-loading lumber at Manchester. One print in Album 450-1 (pg. 63)

 1/15 SS Lapland--Southampton, England, to New York 1920

After SS Waikiki was rammed and badly damaged by the SS Cape Transport, the Waikiki crew returned to New York on the Lapland

 1/16 2/7 SS Egeria--Portland to Sydney and Newcastle, Australia, and return 1920-1921

Includes postcard print Burg sent from Hawaii to his sister, Mabel, in Portland. Tw views of Honolulu harbor in Album 450-3 (pg. 76)

 1/17 SS West Kader--San Francisco to Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kobe, Japan, and Shanghai 1922

Burg, who shipped as able seaman, was hospitalized for a month at Shanghai after injuring knee at Kobe.

1/18 2/7 SS Hanna Nielsen--Shanghai via Tsingtao to Astoria 1922

Burg returned with first load of goods to start his import business. Includes views of Tsingtaoand photos of ship's crew. One view of Tsingtao in Album 450-3 (pg. 76).

 1/19 2/4 SS President Madison--To Japan, China, and the Philippines 1923

Burg shipped as quartermaster on another buying trip for his import business. All of Album 450-2 (2/4) are photos Burg made of this trip or commercially-produced postcards and other prints of life in China and the Philippines. Also includes views of SS President McKinley and crew.

 1/20 2/5-7 SS President Jackson--To Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines 1927

Burg shipped as able seaman on another buying trip for his import business. Good photographs of the ship (especially with iced-up rigging on the "Northern Circle") and its crew, underway, in dry dock in Yokohama, Japan, and of several harbors. Many photographs are in 450-3 (pg. 1-2, 10-12, 19, 28-33, 48, 64-71, 96-97, and 102).

 1/21 2/5-7 SS President Jackson[?]--Kuomintang conflict [?] 1927

Three mounted prints of executions in China, possibly during Kuomintang drive to capture Beijing, probably obtained by Burg in China.

 1/22 Seaman--prints on album pages 1918-1920

Includes black-and-white prints of voyages on SS Katia, SS Wakiki, and SS Lapland, and photomechanical prints of ships, including SS Queen, and the harbor at Yokohama, Japan.

 1/23 Seaman--loose and prints, unidentified 1918-circa 1923

Album 450-3: pavilion-like building (pg. 49), girl riding ostriche (pg. 52)

 Series C Adventurer/Lecturer/Writer 1920-1950

The series is arranged into 37 subseries that follow approximately chronologically Amos Burg's path around the world. Subseries 37 includes a small quantity of photographs by other photographers that Burg obtained from various sources.

 Subseries 1 Amos Burg, His Boats, and His Friends and Photo Subjects circa 1925-1945 207 photographs and 64 photomechanical prints. 3/1 Amos Burg--snapshot size images circa 1930-circa 1945

Includes one image of Burg holding 35-mm camera and many of him aboard boats.

 3/2 Amos Burg--5x7-inch and larger images circa 1930-circa 1945

Includes one image of Burg with Walter W. Hoffman (Spike), inscribed on verso to Burg and one with South Seas women from the Camargo voyage.

 3/3 Amos Burg--lecture promotion images circa 1930-circa 1940

From lecture tours on Columbia and Snake River canoe trips, the Camargo voyage, the Cape Horn expedition, and Alaska trips.

 3/4 Boat, Dorjun 1933-circa 1945

Includes views during renovation of the former Coast Guard vessel and its christening by Dorette Fleischmann, who named it Dorjun in honor of her two children, Dorothy and Junior (Charles Fleischman III). Also includes later images in Alaska and the Portland area.

 3/5 Boat, Endeavor circa 1930-circa 1945

Includes views when it belonged to Capt. Oliver P. Rankin of Astoria and after Rankin turned the boat over to hsi friend, Amos Burg, in 1938. Folder includes printout of Web site created by Fritz Funk, owner of the Endeavor as of 2004.

 3/6 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--identified, A-J circa 1925-circa 1945

Alice [?] , Margaret Bayne, J. Barry (with KVOA microphone), Anne Bergstrand, [Mr. and Mrs.] Gwludys Bowen, the Most Reverend Bartholomew Cattaneo (including card honoring his consecration to the Episcopacy, St. Patrick's Church, Sydney, Australia), Dr. Arthur L. Canfield, L. Chamnanvitya, Dan [?] , Trevor Davis, Jo [?] (and Nelly [?] ).

 3/7 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--identified, L-T circa 1930-circa 1940

Capt. Alfred Larsen (and wife), Merl LaVoy, Fred and Laura Lockley, [?] Long, Ward Randall, Rita [?], Bertha Schwan, Jesse and Joy Sill (their house, not them), Eugene M. Tardy (in Indian headress with child in Indian dress), Donald H. Thompson, and Clara and Doris Tobin with Amos Burg's dog, King (one image used as Christmas card for Emory, Doris and Clara Tobin).

 3/8 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--unidentified--children circa 1925-circa 1945 3/9 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--unidentified--groups circa 1925-circa 1945 3/10 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--unidentified--men circa 1925-circa 1945 3/11 Friends, photo subjects, etc.--unidentified--women circa 1930-circa 1945 Subseries 2 New York to Northwest Train Trip 1920 20 photographs. 3/12 New York sightseeing 1920 3/13 On Northern Pacific--St. Paul, Minn., to Spokane, Wash. 1920 Subseries 3 Canoe trip--Snake River at Lewiston, Idaho, to mouth of Columbia River 1920 May-June 101 photographs.

Trip with Fred Hill (Spoke) of Spokane, Wash., who had been Burg's shipmate on the Wakiki.

 3/14 Train trip to Lewiston, Idaho 1920 May 24 3/15 Lewiston, Idaho, to Indian 1920 May 25 3/16 Indian to Central Ferry 1920 May 26-27 3/17 Riparia to Umatilla area 1920 May 28-31 3/18 John Day to Deschutes 1920 June 2-3 3/19 Celilo to Dalles-Celilo Canal 1920 June 4-5 3/20 Mosier area to Cascades 1920 June 6-9 3/21 Lower Columbia River 1920 June 12-15 3/22 2/5 Unidentified, undated 1920 May-June

One Columbia River view in Album 450-3 (pg. 16).

 Subseries 4 Canoe trip--Yellowstone, Missouri and Mississippi [Livingston, Mt., to New Orleans, La.] 1922 145 photographs.

While serving as a seaman aboard the SS West Kader to Japan and back in early 1922, Burg started studying up on early voyageurs, including Lewis and Clark. In June, he shipped his canoe by rail to Livingston, Montana, and started down the Yellowstone River to St. Louis on the Missouri. He then canoed on down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. He returned to Portland as banana messenger (his job was to keep the bananas ventilated so they didn't ripen too soon) on the Pacific Fruit Express train.

 4/1 2/7 Yellowstone and Missouri to St. Louis 1922

Album 450-3 (2/7): p. 78.

 Mississippi River 1922 4/2 2/7 Burg and his canoe 1922

Album 450-3 (2/7): p. 78.

 4/3 Cities and towns 1922 4/4 Levees and bridge 1922 4/5 2/7 People 1922

Album 450-3 (2/7): p. 78.

 4/6 River scenes 1922 4/7 Ships 1922 4/8 Steamboats 1922 4/9 Steamboats--crew members 1922 4/10 Steamboats-- Kate Adams (Memphis to Greenville) 1922 4/11 Steamboats--snag boats 1922 4/12 Other boats 1922 4/13 2/7 Vicksburg--Civil War battlefield 1922

Album 450-3 (2/7): p. 78.

 4/14 2/7 Pacific Fruit Express train 1922

Album 450-3 (2/7): p. 78.

 4/15 Yellowstone and Missouri to St. Louis--unidentified images 1922 Subseries 5 Canoe trip--Columbia River from source to mouth 1924-1925 56 photographs.

4/16 Amos Burg and his canoe, Song o' the Winds 1924 4/17 People, places, and activities 1924 River scenes 1924 4/18 2/6 Identified locations--British Columbia 1924

Album 450-3 (2/6) includes 21-Mile Rapids, Canoe River, Donald Canyon, Kinbasket Lake, and Ed Robinson's cabin at 12-Mile (pgs. 40, 42-43), hotel near Revelstoke and other scenes (p. 60)

 4/19 2/5, 2/7 Identified locations--Washington state 1924

Album 450-3 includes Burg and canoe at mouth of Walla Walla River (pg. 16), Little Dalles (p. 80).

 4/20-21 2/5 Unidentified locations 1924

Images also in Album 450-3 (2/5), pp. 21-23, 26

 4/22 Newspaper photograph layout 1924 4/23 2/5, 2/7 Photographs by "P.W.C." [unidentified photographer] 1924

Album 450-3 includes images by P.W.C. (pgs. 20, 26-27, 80)

 4/24 Reaching the mouth of the Columbia 1925 January Subseries 6 Canoe trip--Snake River headwaters to Columbia River mouth 1925 115 photographs,

The prints documenting this daring trip include a group glued to loose album pages and another group of loose prints. Burg started the trip in his beloved canoe, Song O' the Winds, but he had to replace it with another after it was smashed up in the Grand Canyon of the Snake. Most of the photographs document the Snake River leg of the journey, especially Hells Canyon. Of special note is a group of images of Bill Hissom, homesteader on the Snake River Plains who was of African-American and Mohawk Indian heritage. Burg became good friends with him and visited Hissom's homestead during the canoe voyage. Also included is a small group of images made by newsreel cameramen documenting Burg's descent of the Cascades of the Columbia. Among them are reproductions of the newsreel headlines.

 2/6 Album 450-3--selected pages 1925

Jackson Lake and Dam (p. 39), Hells Canyon (p. 89), Burg at Idaho Falls, canoe at Lake Walcott, and Si Bullock (p. 98)

 5/1 Album pages 1925

In addition to the Snake River/Columbia trip, Burg has intermingled a small number of prints of friends and one of a ship's officer from his seaman service. Nearly all of the prints are identified by location.

 5/2 Loose prints 1925 5/3 Bill Hissom and his homestead, Snake River Plains 1925 5/4 Shooting the Cascades of the Columbia 1925 Subseries 7 Canoe trip--Alaska Inside Passage to Seattle 1926 19 photographs.

Documents canoe trip by Amos Burg and Fred Hill (Spoke) from Skagway to Ketchikan. Includes portrait of the two men on Standard Service oil tanker, on which they worked their way from Ketchikan back to Seattle.

 5/5 Inside Passage to Seattle--loose prints 1926 2/5, 2/7 Inside Passage to Seattle--prints in Album 450-3 (pp. 4-5, 82-83, 90-91, 93-95) 1926 Subseries 8 Canoe trip--Columbia River, headwaters to mouth 1926 47 photographs.

Documents trip by Amos Burg and Fred Hill (Spoke) after they and the canoe, Song O' the Winds, rode the rails from Seattle to Columbia Lake, B.C. A notable group of prints (5/9) shows them portaging the canoe around Celilo Falls and running the rapids below the falls.

 5/6 2/5-7 River scenes--British Columbia 1926

Documents location of David Thompson's 1814 campsite, the Big Bend region, Canoe River, Downie Creek, Double Eddy Creek, Kinnabasket Lake, and Windermere. Includes farewell to Bob Blackmore, who was locally famous for his voyage around the Big Bend and images of Sluice Box Pete, a miner in the area. Album 450-3 (2/5) includes Columbia Lake, a sawmill at Golden (where Burg and Hill worked for a time), a fire in the Big Bend country, and Windermere (pp. 6-7) , mouth of Canoe River and a miner (p. 44), Canal Flats and "Indian Jim" on horseback (pp. 54-55), Big Bend and Downie Creek (p.74), Surprise Rapids (p. 84, 87), Patch Island Camp, Ed Robinson and Sid Webber (trappers, Big Bend country), and repairing canoe (p. 85), Beavermouth (p. 86), and various images (p. 93).

 5/7 2/5 River scenes--Washington state 1926

Documents Kettle Falls area, including Indian fishery and the Old Mission, as well as the steamboat, Bridgeport at Pateros. Album 450-3 (2/5, 2/7) includes: canoeists at Priest Rapids (pp. 1, 92),

5/8 River scenes--unidentified locations 1926 5/9 2/7 River scenes--Celilo Falls, St. Helens 1926

Portaging Celilo Falls and running rapids below also in Album 450-3 (2/7), pp. 72, 75

 Subseries 9 Alaska-Yukon Expedition 1928 66 photographs. 5/10 Burg--in kayak and with dogs 1928 5/11 Juneau to Lake Bennett 1928 5/12 Yukon River 1928 5/13 Yukon River--reindeer herd crossing 1928 5/14 Nome to King Island 1928 5/15 Locations, unidentified 1928 5/16 Images that appeared in National Geographic [and similar views] 1928

Article, "To-day on 'The Yukon Trail of 1898'," July 1930.

 Subseries 10 Mackenzie River Expedition 1929 49 photographs. 5/17 Amos Burg, Dr. George Rebec, and their canoe 1929 5/18 Athabaska River 1929 5/19 Mackenzie River 1929 5/20 Peel Portage, Fort McPherson to LaPierre House 1929

Burg used one image from this portage for Christmas cards. See 5/24.

 5/21 Fort Yukon 1929 5/22 Fort Yukon--Dr. Grafton Burke and Hospital 1929 5/23 People--unidentified locations 1929 5/24 Amos Burg's Christmas card image--Peel Portage 1929-1932 5/25 Images that appeared in National Geographic [and similar views] 1929

"On Mackenzie's Trail to the Polar Sea," August 1931

 Subseries 11 Canoe trip--Canoe River to Columbia and downriver to Portland 1930 June-July 89 photographs. 6/1 Map [photographic reproductions on post card stock] 1930 June-July 6/2 British Columbia--Canoe River 1930 June 6/3 British Columbia--Columbia River 1930 June-July 6/4 British Columbia--Brilliant [including Dukabor settlement] 1930 June-July 6/5 Washington (state)--Columbia River 1930 July 6/6 Washington (state)--Indian people at Kettle Falls and Colville 1930 July 6/7 Oregon and Washington (state)--Columbia River 1930 July 6/8 Unidentified locations and people 1930 June-July Subseries 12 Canoe trip--Snake River and Columbia River to Portland 1930 August 90 photographs. 6/9 Amos Burg and canoe 1930 August 6/10 Prints on album pages 1930 August 6/11 Locations--identified 1930 August 6/12 Locations--unidentified 1930 August 6/13 People--unidentified 1930 August 6/14 Possibly Snake, Columbia or Canoe Rivers--Amos Burg and canoe 1930 June-August 6/15 Possibly Snake, Columbia or Canoe Rivers--locations and people, unidentified 1930 June-August Subseries 13 6/16 Nonesuch Island (Bermuda) Expedition, New York Zoological Society 1931 June 5 photographs Subseries 14 Around the World on Yacht Camargo 1931-1932 757 photographs 7/1 Amos Burg 1931-1932 7/2 Views of Camargo 1931-1932 7/3 Camargo crew 1931 7/4 Julius and Dorette Fleischmann 1931-1932 7/5 Charles Fleischmann III (Skipper) 1931-1932 7/6 Dorette Louise Fleischman [baby] 1931-1932 7/7 Fleischmann children and nannies, Mademoiselle and Miss Jean 1931-1932 7/8 Fleischmann party 1931-1932 7/9 Album pages [photographic copies] 1931-1932 7/10 Bermuda 1931 October 7/11 Jamaica 1931 October 7/12 Barbados 1931 October 7/13 Cocos Island (Pacific off Costa Rica)--rescue of castaways 1931 October 7/14 Marquesas 1931 November 7/15 New Britain 1931 November 7/16 New Hebrides 1931 December 7/17 Tahiti 1931 December 7/18 Fiji 1931 December 7/19 Tonga 1931 December 7/20 Solomon Island 1931 December 7/21 New Guinea and Dutch East Indies 1931-1932 7/22-23 Bali 1932 8/1 Java 1932 8/2 Borneo--Labuan and Sarawak 1932 8/3 Philippineso--Manila 1932 8/4 Indo-China--Annam 1932 8/5 Indo-China--Cochin China 1932 8/6 Indo-China--Chami ruins 1932 8/7 Cambodia 1932 8/8 Thailand--Bangkok 1932 8/9 Singapore 1932 8/10 Sumatra 1932 8/11 Nias 1932 8/12 Ceylon 1932 8/13 Aden 1932 8/14 Arabian Desert--Bedouins 1932 8/15 Egypt 1932 8/16 Eastern Mediterranean 1932 8/17 Unidentified--boats and ships 1931-1932 8/18 Unidentified--cities and towns 1931-1932 8/19 Unidentified--crafts and markets 1931-1932 8/20 Unidentified--monuments and landmarks 1931-1932 8/21 Unidentified--people 1931-1932 8/22 Unidentified--scenic views 1931-1932 Subseries 15 A Native Son's Rambles in Oregon--article for National Geographic [February 1934, pp. 173-234] 1932 57 photographs 9/1 Agriculture 1932 9/2 Celilo Falls 1932 9/3 Columbia River Highway--bridges 1932 9/4 Crater Lake 1932 9/5 John Day River valley 1932 9/6 Klamath Lake--black crowned night heron 1932 9/7 Lumber industry 1932 9/8 Oregon State Game Farm--pheasants 1932 9/9 Mill--unidentified 1932 9/10 Oregon Caves 1932 9/11 Pendleton Roundup 1932 9/12 Portland 1932 9/13 Rogue River--Hell's Canyon Bridge construction [?] 1932 9/14 Captions Burg wrote for submitted photos 1932 Subseries 16 9/15 Admiralty Island, Alaska--trip to film Giants of the North 1932 57 photographs Subseries 17 Cape Horn Expedition 1933-1934 458 photographs 28 lantern slides hand colored

Burg refitted a former U.S. Coast Guard surf boat, which was christened Dorjun by one of his sponsors, the Julius and Dorette Fleischmann family. The McCormick Steamship Co. of San Francisco, for which Burg had done freelance work, shipped the Dorjun to Buenes Aires aboard the West Mahwah, and Burg shipped as supercargo to save funds for the expedtion. One of his fellow seamen, Roy Pepper, volunteered to make the expedition with him. They and the Dorjun reshipped aboard the steamship Jose Menendez to Punta Arenas (Magellanes) on the Strait of Magellan, from where they started the expedition in the Dorjun, towing a dory, the Cabo de Hornos, whi National Geographicch Burg obtained from a miner for $16. Burg's assignment for on the trip was to photograph and write about the native people of the sourthern end of the hemisphere, including the Yahgan, Alacaluf, Ona, and Haush. The trip resulted in a National Geographic article, "Inside Cape Horn," published with Burg's photographs in December 1937.

 9/16 Trip on West Mahwah 1933 9/17 Map [photographic reproduction] 1933 9/18 Markers and monuments 1933-1934 9/19 Images published in National Geographic [December 1937] 1933-1934 9/20 Burg and crew 1933-1934 9/21 Dorjun and Cabo de Hornos--at sea 1933-1934 9/22 Dorjun and Cabo de Hornos--inshore 1933-1934 9/22 Dorjun --inshore for repairs 1933-1934 10/1 Magellanes/Punta Arenas, Chile 1933-1934 10/2 Magellanes to Santa Ana Point (Port Famine/Fort Bulnés) 1933 10/3 Dawson Island 1933 10/4 Offing Island 1933

Includes views of "jackass" penguins, named after their braying vocal effects.

 10/5 Gabriel Channel 1933 10/6 Brecknock Pass 1934 10/7 Yendegaia Bay (and Beagle Channel) 1934

Includes resupply by Chilean naval transport, Micalvi.

 10/8 Ushuaia, Argentina 1934

Includes views of penitentiary.

 10/9 Navarino Island and vicinity 1934 10/10 Hoste Island, Chile 1934 10/11 Yahgan people [Tierra del Fuego] 1934 10/12 Yahgan people--Domingo and family 1934 10/13 Punta Arenas to Puerta Montt aboard Chilean naval sailing vessel, Baquedano 1934 10/14 Birds 1933-1934 10/15 People, their activities and settlements, unidentified 1933-1934 10/16 Ships and boats, unidentified 1933-1934 10/17 Views--mountains and glaciers, unidentified 1933-1934 10/18 Views--sea and islands, unidentified 1933-1934 19 Hand colored glass lantern slides 1933-1934

Amos Burg used these 28 images from the Cape Horn Expedition to illustrate his lectures.

 Visit with friends in Santiago, Chile, and vicinity after Cape Horn Expedition 1934 10/19 Arica 1934 10/20 LaSerena 1934 10/21 Santiago 1934 10/22 Santiago--Carlos and Olga [?] and family 1934 10/23 Santiago--Edwards home 1934 10/24 Valparaiso 1934 10/25 On yacht, Aconcagua 1934 10/26 Locations, unidentified 1934 10/27 People, unidentified 1934 10/28 Flag presentation to Argentine officials 1934 10/29 Buenos Aires, Argentina--on shipboard 1934 10/30 Barbados 1934 Subseries 18 11/1 Pope and Talbot Lumber Co. film job 1935 13 photographs

Amos Burg made his first commercial film for Pope and Talbot, filming the company's trestles, culverts, docks, and bridges from Vancouver, B.C., to San Diego, Calif.

 Subseries 19 Dorjun trip through Inside Passage, Seattle, Wash., to Skagway, Alaska 1936 29 photographs 11/2 British Columbia 1936 11/3 Alaska 1936 Subseries 20 Trip to England 1937 36 photographs

Amos Burg sailed to England aboard the liner, America, to cover the coronation of King George VI for National Geographic. Then, in an American canoe shipped to England, he paddled canals from London to Liverpool. Burg produced an article for National Geographic, "Britain Just Before the Storm" (August 1940, pp. 185-212), and he filmed Canal Children of England for ERPI Classroom Films.

 11/5 London 1937 11/6 Canals and boats 1937 11/7 Locations, unidentified 1937 11/8 People, unidentified 1937 Subseries 21 Green River and Colorado River run 1938 215 photographs

Amos Burg took the first inflatable rubber raft to film Haldane Holmstrom (Buzz) recreating his 1937 one-man voyage in a wooden boat he constructed himself. Holmstrom made the 1937 trip from Green River Lakes in Wyoming to Hoover (then called Boulder) Dam in 52 days. The re-creation took 70 days. Willis D. Johnson joined the crew at Green River, Utah. Paul Douglas narrated the resulting film, Conquering the Colorado, which was distributed by 20th Century Fox and won an Academy Award nomination for short subjects. Both men also used the film on lecture tours.

11/9 Trip from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2, with Holmstrom and Burg 1938 11/10 Trip from Sept. 2-circa Sept. 20, with Holmstrom and Burg 1938 11/11-12 Trip from circa Sept. 20-Nov. 8, with Holmstrom, Burg, and Johnson 1938 11/13 Trip with Holmstrom and Burg, undated 1938 Subseries 22 12/1 Middle Fork Salmon River (Idaho) 1939 June 40 photographs

Amos Burg ran the Middle Fork Salmon River with Dr. Russell G. Fracier, physician for Admiral Byrd's Antarctic Expedition, and six Utah boatmen. Paramount Pictures bought the resulting film, Seeing Is Believing.

 Subseries 23 12/2-3 The Cattlemen film project--Modoc County, Calif. 1939 August 62 photographs

Amos Burg inspected several ranches in California before selecting the Christensen Ranch in Modoc County for the ERPI film. He took his rubber raft along on the trip and packed it on his back between streams.

 Subseries 24 12/4 International House, New York City, N.Y. circa 1940 215 photographs

Portraits of Chinese actresses at International House.

 Subseries 25 Asian trip for ERPI Classroom Films 1940 70 photographs

Amos Burg was assigned to make three films, Children of Japan, Children of China, and People of Western China, working under wartime conditions. He spent four months filming in Japan under close supervision of officials and produced a film that pleased the Japanese Department of Tourism. To make the China films, Burg flew China National Airways into wartorn Chungking, then by truck to Chengtu, where he lived with missionary teachers and filmed Children of China. With Chengut as a hub, he ranged into the foothills of the Himalayas to film People of Western China. In Kobe, Japan, on the return trip to San Francisco aboard the SS President Pierce, Burg was detained briefly on suspicion of being a spy.

 12/5 Voyage to Japan on Tatuta Maru 1940 March 12/6-7 Children of Japan project 1940 12/8 Children of China project, Chungking 1940 Subseries 26 Alaska trip for ERPI Classroom Films and National Geographic 1941 84 photographs

Burg sailed out of the Columbia River on his sloop, Endeavor, for Alaska. He filmed Alaska: Reservoir of Resources and Eskimo Children.

 12/9 Alaska: Reservoir of Resources 1941 12/10 Alaska: Reservoir of Resources--Bristol Bay, dog and sleds 1941 12/11 Alaska: Reservoir of Resources--Bristol Bay fisheries 1941 12/12 Alaska: Reservoir of Resources--Nakneck River fisheries 1941 12/13 Eskimo Children--air travel to Nunivak Island 1941 12/14 Eskimo Children--Mekoryuk village, Nunivak Island 1941 Subseries 27 12/15 West Indies to Central America trip for ERPI 1943 5 photographs

Burg made two films on the two regions. The prints in this subseries are from Guatemala and Cuba.

 Subseries 28 Colombia and Venezuela trip for ERPI 1944 85 photographs

From Bogota, Amos Burg traveled Colombia mostly by railway and river steamer on the Magdalena. The subseries includes one image from Venezuela; the remainder are from Colombia. Burg filmed Colombia and Venezuela and produced a National Geographic article, "Cruising Colombia's Ol' Man River" (May 1947, pp. 615-660)

 12/16 Agriculture and farms 1944 12/17 Agriculture--banana groves 1944 12/18 Airplanes 1944 12/19 Art 1944 12/20 Burros 1944 12/21 Churches 1944 12/22 Flowers 1944 12/23 Guahiba Indians 1944 12/24 Landscape views 1944 12/25 Magdalena River--riverboats 1944 12/26 Magdalena River--shore scenes, moving cargo 1944 12/27 Magdalena River--views 1944 12/28 Netmaking 1944 12/29 Railroads 1944 12/30 Road building 1944 12/31 Ruins--Indian 1944 12/32 Ruins--Spanish 1944 12/33 Tree felling 1944 12/34 Unidentified people 1944 12/35 Unidentified towns 1944 12/36 Venezuela--Rio Orinoco 1944 Subseries 29 13/1 New York City for Encyclopedia Britannica Films 1944 38 photographs Subseries 30 Alaska trip on Endeavor 1946 157 photographs

After refurbishing the Endeavor at Astoria, Amos Burg sailed tieh Inside Passage, joined at Prince Rupert, B.C., by Dick and Maeline Taylor and their son, Dickey, who made the trip on their cabin cruiser, Como Reto. Burg wrote an article for National Geographic, "Endeavor Sails the Inside Passage" (June 1947, pp. 801-828).

 13/2 Refitting Endeavor at Astoria 1946 13/3 Seattle to Prince Rupert, B.C. 1946 13/4 Prince Rupert, B.C. 1946 13/5 Prince Rupert, B.C., to Ketchikan, Alaska 1946 13/6 Ketchikan, Alaska 1946 13/7 Sitka, Alaska 1946 13/8 Shipwreck remains 1946 13/9 Juneau, Alaska 1946 Subseries 31 13/10 Ketchikan 1947 2 photographs

Amos Burg lived aboard Endeavor and worked for the Alaska Sportsman magazine. Prints in this subseries are of Burg's dog, King, performing on a stage.

 Subseries 32 13/11 British Isles for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films 1947 11 photographs

Amos Burg filmed British Isles. Prints in this subseries are of coal mining in Scotland.

 Subseries 33 Spain for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films 1947-1948 153 photographs

Amos Burg filmed Spanish Children in the village of Torremolinos. He also filmed Iberian Peninsula throughout Spain and Portugal. The storyboards for Spanish Children, included in this subseries, show how Burg used his still photographs to set up scenes for filming.

 13/12 Bicycle tour 1947-1948 13/13 La Roca, Malaga 1948 13/14 Mediterranean coast 1948 13/15 Ronda, Marbella, and El Chorro 1948 13/16 Unidentified locations 1948 13/17-18 Unidentified people 1948 14/1-10 Spanish Children storyboards 1948 14/11 Spanish Children prints not used on storyboards 1948 Subseries 34 14/12 British Children for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films 1948 6 photographs

Amos Burg filmed British Children in walled city of York.

 Subseries 35 Scandinavian trip for Encyclopaedia Britannica Films 1949 267 photographs

Amos Burg filmed Norwegian Children on Hardanger Fjord and Scandinavia, covering a Norwegian sailor, a Danish farmer, and a Swedish steelworker. Nearly all of the images in this subseries are of Norway.

 14/13 Cruise on DS Nordstjernen 1949 14/14 Cruise on DS Nordstjernen--unidentified port, Norway 1949 14/15 Cruise on DS Nordstjernen--crew members 1949 14/16 Cruise on DS Nordstjernen--passengers 1949 14/17 Cruise on DS Nordstjernen--passengers, Indrelid family [?] 1949 14/18 Hardanger Fjord, Norway 1949 14/19 Jaeren, Norway 1949 14/20 Latefoss Waterfall, Norway 1949 14/21 Odda, Norway 1949 14/22 Lofthus, Norway 1949 14/23 Sörfjord (near Hardnager Fjord), Norway 1949 14/24 Bergen, Norway 1949 14/25 Bergen, Norway--harbor 1949 14/26 Bergen, Norway--fish market 1949 14/27 Bergen, Norway--homes 1949 14/28 Fantoft Stave Church near Bergen, Norway 1949 14/29 Troldhaugun, Edvard Grieg's home near Bergen, Norway 1949 14/30 Bergen, Norway--vicinity 1949 14/31 Ålesund, Norway 1949 14/32 Western Norway 1949 14/33 North Trøndelag, Norway 1949 14/34 Helgeland, Norway 1949 14/35 Bodø, Norway 1949 14/36 Lofoten Islands, Norway 1949 14/37 Vesterålen Islands, Norway 1949 14/38 Tromsö, Norway 1949 14/39 Hammerfestg, Norway 1949 14/40 Havøy Island, Norway 1949 14/41 Havøysund, Norway 1949 14/42 Honningsvåg, Norway 1949 14/43 Båtsford, Norway 1949 14/44 Vardö, Norway 1949 14/45 Vadsö, Norway 1949 14/46 Kirkenes 1949 14/47 Finnmark area, Norway--drying codfish 1949 14/48 Finnmark area, Norway--fishing fleets 1949 14/49 Norwegian fjord horse 1949 14/50 Norway--unidentified people 1949 14/51 Denmark--dairy products 1949 Subseries 36 15-18 North Star trip for National Geographic 1950 1,039 photographs

Amos Burg sailed on the SS Alaska to Sitka, where he boarded the MV North Star for a voyage through the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean to Point Barrow and back. Burg filmed many Eskimo villages, as the ship dropped supples at 45 villages along the route. He produced a lecture film and an article for National Geographic, "North Star Sails Alaska's Wild West" (July 1952, pp. 57-86).

The prints are arranged numerically in order of Burg's numbers in all of Boxes 15-17 and Folders 1-8 in Box 18.

 Subseries 37 Photographs from other sources 1903-circa 1950 1,039 photographs.

Although Burg made the bulk of the images in this collection, he also obtained images by other photographers for reference and use in his projects.

The images are arranged into two sub-subseries: North America (including Hawaii) and Elsewhere in the World. Within the sub-subseries, images are arranged alphabetically by location.

 North America (including Hawaii) 1903-circa 1950 18/8 Alaska circa 1920-circa 1950 18/9 Alaska--published by Lomen Brothers (Nome) 1903 1906 18/10 Alaska--aerials by U.S. Forest Service 1929 18/11 Alaska--Bristol Bay fisheries circa 1935 18/12 Alaska--Hasselberg, Al 1910-circa 1920 18/13 Alaska--ships circa 1930 18/14 British Columbia circa 1930-circa 1950 18/15 Hawaii 1928 18/16 Idaho 1931 18/17 Northwest Territories circa 1925 18/18 Northwest Territories--by O.S. Finnie 1929 18/19 Texas circa 1940 18/20 Washington state circa 1930 18/21 Wyoming circa 1930 18/22 Yukon Territory 1898 Elsewhere in the World 1933-circa 1935 18/23 Barbados--by Ardia Taylor 1934 18/24 New Guinea 1933 18/25 South America circa 1935