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Fife Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture slide collection, 1940-1981

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Fife, Alta (Alta Stevens), 1912-1996
Title
Fife Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture slide collection
Dates
1940-1981 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.5 linear feet, (8 boxes)
Collection Number
UUS_FOLK COLL 4 no. 3
Summary
A collection of slide images created and collected by Austin E. and Alta S. Fife related to folk architecture in the western United States.
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Mailboxes, quilts, murals, tree bark graffiti, fences, gravestones, and festivals are among the many examples of folklife and material culture visually recorded by folklorists Austin and Alta Fife and presented in this collection. Alta Fife wrote: "Since our first collecting ventures in the realm of the folklore of the Intermountain West, we have carried a camera and taken pictures of things, people, events. However, it was not until we came to Utah to live in 1960 that we began to give folk life and material culture the interest it justifies, and to use the camera as the principal means for documenting our observation." While most of the slides in this collection were taken by Austin E. Fife, others, especially Wayland D. Hand, contributed slides as well. This collection is part of the Austin and Alta Fieldwork Collection, begun in 1966 with the Fife's initial extensive fieldwork collections and added to up until 1982.

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Content Description

Approximately 2,700 slides used to illustrate folklore's influence on objects and architecture. Subjects include: American Indian Crafts; Animals, Live; Animals, Symbolic; Barns; Bells and Gongs; Bridges; Cairns; Cattle Guards; Churches; Corrals; Costumes; Dance; Farm/Ranch Equipment; Feed Fences and Racks; Festivals and Rituals; Folk Medicine; Gates and Stiles; Graffiti; Granaries; Gravestones; Hay Derricks and Stacks; Hitching Posts; Horse Shoeing; Horseshoes; Houses; Livestock Chutes; Livestock Shelters; Mailboxes; Murals; Occupational Signs; Outhouses; Panoramic Views; Property Entrances; Quilts; Root Cellars; Scarecrow; Sheds; Sheep Camps; Stone Walls; Trains; Wagons; Weather Vanes and Windmills; Wood Carving

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Fife Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture slide collection must be obtained from the Fife Folklore Curator and/or the Special Collections Section Head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: Fife Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture slide collection USU_Folk Coll 4 No. 3. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_Folk Coll 4 No. 3, USUSCA.

Alternative Forms Available

A digital exhibit comprised of these materials can be found here

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

These materials are arranged in the original order in which they were donated to USU Special Collections and Archives.

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to USU Special Collections and Archives by Austin and Alta Fife.

Related Materials

Austin and Alta S. Fife collection on Mormon folklore, Folk Coll 4 No. 1 Fife American Collection, Folk Coll 4 No. 2 Austin Fife photograph collection, P0141 Austin E. and Alta S. Fife papers, Coll Mss 281

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid created by Heather Housley
2025

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

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