Collection is open for research.
Gift of Philip L. Stevens, June 2004 (Lib. Acc. 25445).
In 1948, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey (1902-1971) ran to be the Republican nominee for U.S. president. In May 1948, he campaigned in Oregon against Harold Stassen. On May 17, 1948, Dewey and Stassen debated each other in Portland, Oregon, about whether the Communist Party should be outlawed in the United States; the debate was broadcast on radio.
Dewey won the Oregon primary, and ultimately became the Republican candidate for the 1948 presidential election. He was defeated by Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman in the general election.
Sources: Articles in the Oregonian, 1948.
The Joseph R. Gerber Company was an advertising agency based in Portland, Oregon. In 1948, it handled advertising for Thomas E. Dewey's presidential primary campaign in Oregon.
Sources: Articles and advertisements in the Oregonian, 1924-1957; letter from Philip L. Stevens to Oregon Historical Society Executive Director John Pierce, June 11, 2004.
Use of the collection requires assistance due to fragility. Contact library staff.
Joseph R. Gerber Company scrapbook on Thomas Dewey's 1948 presidential primary campaign in Oregon, Coll 938, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Additional materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to Dewey's presidential run are in the Politics collection, Mss 1513.
The collection consists of a scrapbook about Thomas Dewey's campaign in Oregon for the 1948 Republican presidential primaries. The scrapbook was compiled by the Joseph R. Gerber Company, an advertising agency in Portland, Oregon, that managed the campaign's advertising. The scrapbook's contents include newspaper articles, newspaper advertisements, radio scripts, pamphlets, leaflets, and ephemera that advertised or related to Dewey's campaign. The scrapbook also includes two photographs: one is of a billboard for Dewey; the other is of a celebration party attended by Gerber Company staff after Dewey's victory in the Oregon primary.
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.