Donna Rydberg was born in Seattle in 1933, the only child of German immigrants Leo and Freida Bartl. Her father worked as a pastry chef and they lived in the Queen Anne neighborhood. She attended Coe School and Queen Anne High. She received training in dance and classical ballet and was an avid equestrian. She married Clifford Rydberg on July 12, 1955, and the couple lived in the Queen Anne house where Donna grew up. They had no children. She died in Seattle on October 8, 2008 from complications of diabetes.
During the 1960s, Donna Rydberg had a successful modeling career and her work appeared in magazines, newspapers and fashion catalogs. She was also featured at various charity events and fashion show benefits at venues such as the Edgewater Inn, Frederick & Nelson, Seattle Center and Longacres Race Track. In 1961, she appeared at the outdoor groundbreaking ceremony for Gracie Hansen’s Night in Paradise Show at the Seattle World’s Fair. On a cold December day, she wore a show costume and elaborate headdress and entered the stage through a paper apple while Gracie Hansen threw apples to the audience and local press. During the Seattle World’s Fair, she danced in Gracie Hansen’s nightclub show and worked with John Eaton, a successful Seattle milliner who created and sold hats to the city's social set from the 1940s to the 1960s. Later in her career, Donna Rydberg taught modeling at the Anita Charles Beauty School located at 7th and Pine Street in downtown Seattle.
The collection consists of photographs, articles, fashion catalogs and magazine advertisements documenting the career of Seattle fashion model Donna Rydberg. The materials were collected and organized by Donna Rydberg into a 12x10 inch 3-ring album. The black and white photographic series includes studio portraits and photographer contact sheets of various modeling poses intended for self-promotion. Other photographs, including some in color, document activities such as fashion show in various venues, photo sessions and charity events.
Of particular interest, the collection includes newspaper clippings and photographs of Gracie Hansen and Donna Rydberg at a promotional event for the Seattle World’s Fair on December 21, 1961. Other unique photographs include Donna Rydberg posing with Seattle designer John Eaton and modeling his Century 21 inspired hats at the Seattle Center. Newspaper clippings include Dorothy Neighbor’s Fashion column from the Seattle Times. The collection features various print advertisements featuring Donna Rydberg and other models, including a 14-page Alaska Arctic Furs catalog.
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The collection is open to the public by appointment.
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Donna Rydberg Fashion Modeling Album, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Gift of Monique Vescia, 2012
The photographs, clippings and other materials were removed from the scrapbook album and stored in folders for preservation purposes. The original order of the album was retained.
MOHAI's accession number 2013.6 consists of 4 black and white photographs of Donna Rydberg modeling clothing at MacDougall & Southwick fashion shows at the Edgewater Inn, 1963-1964.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Photographer proof sheet with 8 different images, stamped on back, Photographic Productions, Inc.
Photographer proof sheet with 12 different images, stamped on back, Photographic Productions, Inc.
Photographer proof sheet with 12 different images, stamped on back, Photographic Productions, Inc.
Photographer proof sheet with 8 different images, stamped on back, Photographic Productions, Inc.
Stamped on back, Frederick & Nelson Photograph Studio
Two different photographs attached together.
Stamped on back, Frederick & Nelson Photograph Studio
Stamped on back, Frederick & Nelson Photograph Studio
Stamped on back, Frederick & Nelson Photograph Studio
Stamped on back, Kennell-Ellis, Inc.
Signed on back, Donna Rydberg
Individual photographs cut from proof sheet
Photographer proof sheet with 12 different images, stamped on back, Yang Color Photography
Handwritten on back: Bud Kimball, Box 66, Steilacoom, WA
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photograph by the Seattle Times
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Stamped on back, Photo by Howard Staples
Outline trimmed from larger photograph
Signed on back, Moe
Stamped on back, Frederick and Nelson Photographic Studio
Photographer contact sheet with 12 images, includes negatives
Includes newspaper and magazine clippings, programs and a catalog.
Photograph of Donna Rydberg posing in a group with Union Oil sign and Space Needle in the background.
Photograph of Donna Rydberg posing in full length dress
Photograph of Donna Rydberg in show costume with Gracie Hansen
Photograph of Donna Rydberg in group outdoors
Photograph of Donna Rydberg, Anne Stover and Gracie Hansen
Photograph of Donna Rydberg modeling velvet dress
July 15, 1963 and September 1963 covers.
Photographs of Donna Rydberg modeling
Photographs of Donna Rydberg modeling
Photographs of Donna Rydberg modeling on stage
Donna Rydberg modelled at this show, put on by the National Society of Interior Designers and the Seattle Children's Home
Photograph of Donna Rydberg
Alaska Arctic Furs, 1517 5th Avenue, Seattle