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Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection, 1893-1959

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Williams, Gerald W.
Title
Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection
Dates
1893-1959 (inclusive)
1905-1945 (bulk)
Quantity
0.50 cubic feet, including 1176 postcards, (2 boxes)
Collection Number
P 323
Summary
The Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection consists of postcards acquired and assembled by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the regional history of the Pacific Northwest. The bulk of the collection consists of scenic views and natural landmarks in Oregon, Washington, and California.  Forestry, logging, fishing, and other rural activities are predominant topics in the collection. Gerald Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 to 2005 as a sociologist (1979-1998) and historian (1998-2005).  Items from the collection are available online in the Gerald W. Williams Collection.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1993, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998, he served as the regional sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Williams designed and implemented a regional and national history program for the Forest Service which culminated in his appointment as national historian and his authorship of the centennial history of the Forest Service, The USDA Forest Service -- The First Century, in 2000. He has published extensively on a variety of historical topics such as the Native American use of fire to manage environments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army's Spruce Production Division during World War I.

Williams was a native of Oregon and earned degrees from Southern Oregon University (B.A., Sociology; M.A. General Studies Social Science) and Washington State University (Ph.D., Sociology).  Gerald W. ("Jerry") Williams died on January 3, 2019.

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Content Description

The Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection consists of postcards acquired and assembled by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the regional history of the Pacific Northwest.  The bulk of the collection consists of images of Oregon, Washington, and California; images of Oregon comprise half of the collection and depict all regions of the state.  The collection depicts numerous scenic views and natural landmarks and therefore most of the collection is arranged geographically.

Predominant topics in the collection are forestry, logging, fishing, and other rural activities.  Images of bridges, highways, and dams as well as lakes, rivers, waterfalls, river rapids, and hot springs are represented throughout the collection.  Multiple images of the Cascade Range, Crater Lake, Columbia River region, Oregon Coast, McKenzie River basin, Willamette River Valley, and Mount Shasta are included.  A set of postcards commemorating the 1906 Oregon Trail Monument Expedition by Ezra Meeker and a selection of images of Native Americans in the western United States are also part of the collection.  Several dozen postcards depicting humorous or holiday greetings round out the collection.

The collection includes many photographic postcards made by Frank Patterson – especially of southern Oregon, Crater Lake, and northern California.  Frank Patterson was a prolific photographer who worked in studios in Medford, Oregon and Santa Rosa and San Francisco, California during the 1920s-1950s.

Most of the postcards were created in the first half of the 20th century.  Dates are included in the container list when available.  Undated postcards fall with the dates provided for the series in which they are included.

The collection includes both picture postcards and photographic postcards (also known as real photo postcards), with the latter comprising the bulk of the collection.  Most of the postcards were not mailed; approximately a quarter to a third of the postcards in the collection include handwritten messages that were mailed to friends or family.

Items from the collection are available online in the Gerald W. Williams Collection.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection (P 323), Special Collection and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Gerald W. Williams Postcards Collection is arranged in 9 series: 1. Oregon, 1893-1958; 2. Washington, 1904-1956; 3. California, 1898-1954; 4. Other States and International, 1895-1959; 5. Oregon Trail Monument Expedition Series, 1906-1911; 6. Unidentified Scenic Postcards, 1914-1937; 7. Advertisements and Greeting Cards, 1905-1927; 8. Native American Culture, 1912-1954; and 9. U.S. Presidents and Politicians, 1902-1948.

Acquisition Information

These materials were acquired by the former University Archives and the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in multiple accessions in 2007-2016.  They were originally described as a component of the Gerald W. Williams Collection and were separated for description as this collection in 2016.

Processing Note

The postcards were arranged by processors into groupings by location or topic.

Related Materials

The core of Gerald Williams' research materials are maintained as the Gerald W. Williams Papers (MSS Williams).  Other materials that were collected by Williams have been described as separate collections; some of  these have overlap of format or subject matter with this collection, specifically:  Gerald W. Williams Regional Albums (P 303), Gerald W. Williams Prints and Postcards of Native Americans Collection (P 317), and Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards (P 312).

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's holdings include numerous collections with extensive imagery of Oregon landscapes and natural features.  Of special note are the Benjamin A. Gifford  (P 218 - SG 1) and the Ralph I Gifford (P 218 - SG 2) Photographs.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • Coasts--Oregon.
  • Forests and forestry--Oregon.
  • Logging--Oregon.
  • Logging--Washington (State)
  • Redwoods--California.

Geographical Names

  • Cascade Range.
  • Columbia River Gorge (Or. and Wash.)
  • Columbia River Highway (Or.)
  • Columbia River.
  • Crater Lake (Or.)
  • McKenzie River (Or.)
  • Oregon National Historic Trail--Pictorial works.
  • Shasta, Mount (Calif. : Mountain)
  • Willamette River Valley (Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic postcards.
  • Picture postcards.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Patterson, Frank, 1883-1961. (creator)

Finding Aid Authors: Anna Brecheisen, Hope Glenn, and Elizabeth Nielsen.
2019

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

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