Collection is open for research.
Gifts of Patti Hirahara, September 2011 and September 2013 (Lib. Acc. 27440), and November 2013 (Lib. Acc. 28086).
Frank C. Hirahara was an amateur photographer who lived in Portland, Oregon, from 1948 to 1954. He was a member of the Photographic Society of America, the Portland Photographic Society, and the Oregon Camera Club. His work was exhibited at the Oregon Camera Club's salons and published in local newspapers. It was through Hirahara's activities with the Oregon Camera Club that he met Patti Throop, and one of his portraits of her leaning against a haystack, a print of which is included in this collection, won first place in the Oregon Camera Club Fall Quarterly Salon in 1951.
Source: Biographical information in the collection.
Patti Throop was a 1952 Portland Rose Festival princess, became Miss Oregon in 1953, and was a semi-finalist in the Miss America contest of 1954.
Frank C. Hirahara photographs collection, Org. Lot 1078, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Additional photographs by Frank C. Hirahara, and related materials, are held at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, and at the Nikkei Legacy Endowment in Portland, Oregon.
Small collection of black and white photographic prints and negatives taken by Frank Hirahara of Patti Throop, most in 1951. The images include portraits of Throop on a beach, wearing a swimsuit and posing in some images with a beach ball or a towel; portraits of Throop outdoors, in an agricultural setting, that depict her leaning against hay bales and a truck, looking out a window, and holding a puppy; and various studio portraits. Also included is an image of the 1952 Rose Festival Court, which included Throop, on a parade float. The collection includes duplicates of some prints, some in varying sizes, and many of the prints bear Hirahara's stamp. Also included are negatives for many of the prints, as well as negatives for which there is no corresponding print. Other materials in the collection are an inventory listing the bulk of the images; copies of newspapers that include articles about Hirahara and his work; and additional biographical information about Hirahara.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.