Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center
University
Archives
121 The Valley
Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone:
541-737-2165
Email:
archives@oregonstate.edu
Web:
http://archives.library.oregonstate.edu/
P
218-SG 6
Gifford family.
Gifford Collection Photographs by
Unknown or Other Photographers
circa
1915-1955
1935-1950
0.5 cubic feet, including 273
photographs
6 boxes, including 2
oversize boxes.
The Gifford Collection Photographs by
Unknown or Other Photographers consists of images created and assembled by
the Gifford Family. Many of the photographs may have been taken by Ralph
I. Gifford, his wife Wanda, or his son Ben L. in the course of their
photographic work. The photographs include portrait photographs; scenic
views of Oregon landmarks; and images of agriculture, primarily in the
Willamette Valley, and public buildings and businesses in Salem, Oregon.
Materials in English.
Biographical Note:
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.
The Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown or Other Photographers
consists of images created and assembled by the Gifford Family. They
include images for whom the photographer is not identified as well as a
few images that were taken by other (non-Gifford family) photographers.
Many of the photographs described as "unknown photographer" may have been
taken by Ralph I. Gifford, his wife Wanda, or his son Ben L. in the course
of their photographic work, but their is not enough information provided
with the images to specifically and confidently determine the
photographer. The images include portrait photographs; scenic views of
Oregon landmarks; and photographs of agriculture, primarily in the
Willamette Valley, and public buildings and businesses in Salem, Oregon.
Of special note are a set of photographs of Berg's Supermarket in Salem,
Oregon, and images of canning and food processing operations for green
beans, mushrooms, and strawberries.
Images by other photographers primarily depict Oregon scenes such as
the Columbia River Gorge and Highway, the Hood River Valley, and the
Fossil Beds. Photographers include the Photo-Art Commercial Studios and
the Angelus Commercial Studio in Portland.
Most of the images in this collection (about two-thirds) are prints
without accompanying camera negatives; the remainder of the collection is
camera negatives. These include 4x5, 5x7, and 120 film negatives and
several nitrate negatives. Only a few items have both a camera negative
and print of the same image.
Collection is open for research.
The Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown and Other Photographers
are arranged in two series: I. Unknown Photographers, circa 1915-1955 and
II. Other Photographers, circa 1930-1955.
Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown and Other Photographers (P
218-SG 6), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
The photographs were donated to the Oregon State University Horner
Museum in 1986 by Ben L. and Beth Gifford.
The photographs were transferred from the Oregon State University
Horner Museum to the University Archives in July 1996.
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
Documentary Materials (P 218-SG 7).
Gifford, Ralph I.
Gifford, Wanda.
Gifford, Ben L.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Fruit processing
plants--Oregon.
Landscape
photography--Oregon.
Portrait
photography--Oregon.
Vegetable processing
plants--Oregon.
Cascade
Range.
Pacific Coast
(Or.)
Salem
(Or.)
Film
negatives.
Nitrate negatives.
Photographic
prints.
Agriculture
Children and Youth
City and Town Life
Home and Family
Women
Oregon
Salem
Photographs
Series I
Unknown Photographers
circa 1915-1955
176 prints and 86 negatives
Series I consists of photographs that were assembled by the Gifford
Family, for which the photographer is not specifically identified and is
therefore considered unknown. Many of these images may have been taken by
Ralph, Wanda, or Ben L. Gifford, but there is not enough information to
confidently determine the photographer. However, similar images of some
subjects depicted in these series are part of other components of the
Gifford Photographic Collection, which may be helpful in identifying the
photographer. The images include portrait photographs; scenic views of
Oregon landmarks, such as the Oregon coast and the Cascades; and images of
agriculture in the Willamette Valley and public buildings and businesses
in Salem, Oregon. Only a few of the images in this series are available as
both a camera negative and print.
Electric generating station at night
12
3 4x5 negatives
Profile of a man sitting and drinking
12
2 4x5 negatives
Long shot of a farm
12
2 4x5 negatives
A
soldier and his family
12
5 4x5 negatives
Mural in the state capitol
12
4x5 negative
Portraits of people
62
Tilda and cat
5x7 negative
62
Tilda alone
5x7 negative
62
Pinkey
5x7 negative
62
Baby Hagedon
5x7 negative
62
Colgan boys
4 5x7 negatives
62
Harlan's mother and father
2 5x7 negatives
62
Dalby copy negatives of old
photos
2 5x7 negatives
Portrait of a young girl
7
4 prints
Portraits of a young woman
7
3 prints
Two shoulder portraits and one view in swimsuit.
Portrait of young woman with lace scarf on
dress
7
Portrait of a young woman in a swimsuit
7
Portraits of U.S. Navy officers
7
4 prints
Man
standing in front of a wall
7
Snapshot print.
Wedding photo -- Helen Mulkey
7
Snapshot print.
Portrait of an older man
12
4x5 negative
Woman sitting at picnic table built into rock
hillside
12
4x5 negative
Woman walking with a child; Mt. Hood in
background
12
5 4x5 negatives
Painting of a U.S. Army officer
7, 12
print and 4x5 copy negative
Man
standing in front of trees
12
4x5 copy negative
Portrait of an older man
7
Dinner at Silver Falls Lodge
1947
7
Military officers standing next to Japanese Zero
airplane
7
2 prints
Jeeps with rocket launchers in action, World War
II?
7
2 prints
Two men and a woman
7
2 prints
Eating dinner
7
Holding fish
Perhaps paying for a lost wager.
Group sitting is a yard eating
watermelon
7
Photograph taken at night.
Young woman with a flower hat sitting in an orchard
under a tree in bloom
7
Copy photo of a family group
circa 1900
7
Coos Head Lighthouse at Cape Arago, Charleston,
Oregon
7
North Head Lighthouse at Ilwaco,
Washington?
7
Man
viewing haystack rocks from cliff
7
Skiers at Mt. Hood
7
2 prints
Two
women with waterfall in background
7
Hot
springs near near Lakeview, Oregon
7
Two
girls standing near edge of cliff, Oregon Coast
12
2 4x5 negatives
Man
and woman watching waves break, Oregon Coast
12
4x5 negative
Two
men fishing in a river
12
2 4x5 negatives
Three people on a dock with their fishing
catch
7
Pack horses and riders in a meadow; mountain in
background
7
Man
and a woman on horseback with dog running in front of them; Mt. Hood? in
background
7
Military officers: eating, at logging site, at
desks
12
11 4x5 negatives
Man
releasing fish at fish hatchery
12
4x5 negative
Painting of a man with a horse and cart
12
4x5 copy negative
Central Oregon river? Three Sisters in the
background?
12
2 4x5 negatives
Flag on back of boat on the Columbia
River?
7
Trucks on a highway, Willamette Valley,
Oregon?
7
Highway embankment near underpass covered with
grass and flowers
7
Highway through an unidentified town
7
Applying asphalt on a road?
7
Close-up view.
Laying gravel on a road bed
circa 1921
7
State Capitol
7
State Library Building
12
4x5 negative
Branch of cherry blossoms
7
A
young prune orchard on the Red Hills of Marion County
7
Copy print of published photograph and caption.
Old
farmhouse
12
3 4x5 negatives
House on a hillside in the woods
12
2 4x5 negatives
Front yard of a house
7
School or state office building
7
Stucco apartment complex
7
Men
working a sheep herd, Central Oregon?
7
Hen
and chicks
7
Copy print of four cattle photographs
7
Two
calves grazing on a field
7
Sunsets
7
3 prints
Onion field
7
Man
shocking grain
7
Panoramic view of a farm
7
Boy
hoeing a garden
7
Tomato packing operation
7
Blackberry patch at dusk
7
Flower garden
7
2 prints
Scotty tractor with plow attachment
7
Woman driving front end loader loaded with
gravel
7
View of creek and mountains
12
3 4x5 negatives
View of trees and mountain
12
4x5 negative
Rock slide or blasting?
12
4x5 negative
Aerial view of forested mountains
12
4x5 copy negative
Basalt formation next to highway
7, 12
print & 2 4x5 negatives
View of lake or reservoir; Mt. Hood? in
background
7
Road next to mountain stream; Mt. Hood? in
background
7
View of arid lands from mountain
7
2 prints
Pasture, fence and mountains (Steens Mountain
area?)
7
Man
looking at rock formation, John Day fossil beds?
7
Crater Lake and Wizard Island in winter
7
Boat dock on lake
7
Boat at dock on lake
12
4x5 negative
Deer walking through snow in a forest
12
2 4x5 negatives
Courtroom in a courthouse
7
Possibly in new Marion County Courthouse.
Aerial view of Salem bridges over the Willamette
River
circa 1952
7
Aerial view of Willamette River and Salem downtown
area
circa 1952
7
Aerial view of south Salem
circa 1940
7
Capitol and early state buildings,
Salem
circa 1915
Capitol
60
2 nitrate negatives
Marion County Courthouse
60
2 nitrate negatives
Pioneer monument
60
nitrate negative
Unidentified building
60
nitrate negative
Road under construction?
7
High dam on river in arid area
7
Snake River?
Lake or reservoir in arid area
7
Dog
lying on the ground
12
4x5 negative
Three men playing cribbage
7
2 prints
Women diving into a pool
7
2 prints
Young boy in car merry-go-round
7
Group gathered in a living room
7
Man
sitting at a desk
7
2 prints
Man
sitting in basement or utility room
12
4x5 negative
Woman looking at map of Salem
7
Children and older man in a swimming pool or water
tank next to a greenhouse
7, 12
5 prints and 2 120 negatives
Gnarled tree next to beachhouse door
7, 76
3 prints
Family group? at beach, Oregon Coast
7
5 prints
View of coast
12
2 4x5 negatives
Land survey map
12
4x5 copy negative
Large stack of logs
12
4x5 copy negative
#2504?
Sheep
grazing
12
4x5 copy negative
Snow covered cabin
7
Snow covered garden and lawn?
7
Snow covered mountain, Eastern Oregon?
7
River and snow covered bluff
7
Deer hunters
7
2 prints
Barn, corral and men on horseback
7, 76
3 prints
Camp at base of mountain
7
Young boy holding fly rod and caught
fish
7
Fishing boats in a river
7
Man
holding catch of fish
7
Berg's
Supermarket, Salem
35 prints
Includes views of store interior with and without shoppers including
produce, meat, and shelves with canned foods and an aerial view of the
store and parking lot. Some of the photos to taken (or printed) by
McEwan's Photo Shops in Salem.
Canning and processing
operations
Green beans, Santiam Cannery, Stayton
7
8 prints
7
Mushroom growing and canning
7 prints
7
Strawberry processing
2 prints
7
Loading railroad cars with frozen food
cases
2 prints
7
Crop dryer
2 prints
7
Cannery building
7
Man in office
December
1946
7
Silage?
7
Boys in a pole bean field
2 prints
Welder
76
Southern Pacific steam locomotive going through
downtown Salem, Oregon
76
Gnarled trunk of a grapevine?
76
Heceta Head lighthouse, framed by two
trees
76
Gem of the Sea, ship in drydock
76
Marina views, Los Angeles?
76
3 prints
Series II
Other Photographers
circa 1930-1955
11 prints
Series II consists of photographs assembled by the Gifford Family that
were taken by other photographers. These include images of Oregon scenes
such as the Columbia River Gorge and Highway, the Hood River Valley, and
the Fossil Beds.
The Columbia Gateway: Bonneville Dam and Mt.
Hood
7, 77
postcard print and hand colored mounted
print
Copyright 1938 by Samuel Lancaster.
7
Man and woman viewing Columbia
Gorge
Photo-Art Commercial Studios, Portland
7
Mitchell Point tunnel, Columbia River
Highway
Angelus Commercial Studio, Portland, #59380
7
Apple orchards of the Hood River Valley
nestling under the slopes of the eternally snow-clad Mt. Hood
Angelus Commercial Studio, Portland; courtesy Oregon State Highway
Dept.
7
Fossil beds, home of the pre-historic
three toed horse, John Day Highway, Oregon
Sawyers Scenic Photos #C 12560
7
Bull M M Prince Royal 17
Photograph by Edward J. Saxton, Helena, Montana.
7
Pharmacy? with Ralph Gifford's
photomurals
Photo-Art Commercial Studios, Portland
7
Woman harvesting commercially grown
mushrooms
Photograph by Joseph Tompkins, Salem.
77
Still life of fruit and
flowers
By Charles Conkling.
77
Winter
Shadows
Photograph by Ray Atkeson; art print engraving by Hicks-Chatten
Engraving Co.