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Ivan Collins Papers, 1903-1971

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Collins, Ivan, 1906-1971
Title
Ivan Collins Papers
Dates
1903-1971 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 cu. ft. (11 document cases, 2 card file boxes, 2 flat boxes, 71 oversize folders).
Collection Number
Mss 2012 (collection)
Summary
The Ivan Collins papers, 1903-1971, document research, publication and exhibition activities pertaining to Collins's studies, construction and models of horse-drawn vehicles. The buk of the collection dates from the period from about 1940 to 1971 and includes correspondence between Collins and the other wagon research experts in the United States. Numerous newspaper and magazine clippings reflect Collins's obsession with his topic. Of particular historical interest is both the scale plans of his wagons, which provide rare construction details, and the journals, notes and sketches which document how Collins located examples to work from and how he learned to construct historically accurate models.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Ivan L. Collins (1906-1971) was born in Dufur, Oregon and grew up in Wasco County. Operatic aspirations led him to Los Angeles in the 1930s. While in California, in 1935, Collins constructed a "prairie schooner" from a model kit while recovering from an illness. His dissatisfaction with the model's authenticity made him realize that correct knowledge about the design and construction of the entire range of recently "extinct" horse-drawn wagons of the nineteenth century was in danger of being entirely lost. From the late 1930s through the 1940s, while he earned his living constructing models at movie studios and as an aircraft mockup builder at Lockheed, Collins devoted his personal time and resources to researching and constructing wagons. By the end of the 1940s he had completed about forty wagons and had secured a publisher for Horse Power Days (Stanford University Press, 1953 / 388.3 C712h), an illustrated book about his work.

Collins moved his family to Eugene in 1950, where he worked as a designer for the University of Oregon physical plant. His ongoing avocation of model wagon building found a home at the University in 1965 when he retired to half time at the Physical Plant and became director and curator of the incipient wagon museum. He continued building and researching until his death in February 1971. Shortly thereafter, his family donated his collection and research to the Oregon Historical Society.

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Content Description

The Ivan Collins papers, 1903-1971, document research, publication and exhibition activities pertaining to Collins' studies, construction and models of horse-drawn vehicles. The collection concentrates on the period from about 1940 to 1971. Much of the collection preserves correspondence between Collins and the other wagon research experts in the United States. Numerous newspaper and magazine clippings reflect Collins' obsession with his topic. Of particular historical interest is both the scale plans of his wagons, which hold specific construction details that are now difficult to find, and the journals, notes and sketches which document how Collins located examples to work from and how he learned to construct historically accurate models.

Included at the end of the collection is a series of reproductions of the Collins drawings, including negatives, for reference use.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Reproductions of selected scale drawings from the Ivan Collins papers can be purchased from the Oregon Historical Society Press, 1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR 97205, (503) 222-1741.

Restrictions on Use

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 use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Copyright Statement: Copyright to scale drawings in the Ivan Collins papers is held by the Oregon Historical Society.

Preferred Citation

Ivan Collins. Papers, Mss 2012, Oregon Historical Society.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series I.: Model Plans, 1938-1970.

Series II: Model Research, 1908-1970.

Series III: Topical, 1903-1971.

Series IV: Museums and Exhibits, 1946-1971.

Series V: Research and Clippings, 1965-1970.

Series VI: Reference Reproductions, undated.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Ivan Collins.

Bibliography

Collins, Ivan L. Horse power days : popular vehicles of nineteenth century America / made and described by Ivan L. Collins ; with photographs by Ivan L. and Laura Collins.
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Detailed Description of the Collection

Contents List

Processed by Jim Labosier
2003

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