University of Wyoming
Allan H. Krafczik was a professional photographer who owned and operated the Easel, a commercial photographic studio located in Laramie, Wyoming. The business operated from 1954 to 1990. The bulk of his business included studio portrait work, weddings, and events. He also did commercial work for local businesses and for the "Laramie Boomerang," the local newspaper.
The Allan H. Krafczik papers contain his inventory of negatives and corresponding photographic proofs. These relate to high school and college graduation pictures, weddings, anniversaries, family portraits, family reunions, class reunions, babies, and passport photos. Some are of noted dignitaries who were in Laramie such as John F. Kennedy and Senator Gale McGee. Also included are the negatives and proofs of his commercial work for Laramie-area businesses and for the local newspaper including special events, local organization group shots, local sports teams, University of Wyoming people, events such as homecoming, and campus shots, which were often used for the UW yearbook, and of interior and exterior shots of buildings. Most of the images relate to the Laramie community and Laramie citizens and to University of Wyoming students. Some photos relate to the surrounding communities including Rock River and Medicine Bow. There also are some large photographic portraits and landscape scenes, many of which were entered in competitions. Finally, playbills for the Gem City Opera House, 1968, and a script for the play, "The Virginian", are included. This production was performed for the 100th anniversary of Laramie, Wyoming in 1968.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by Allan H. Krafczik at the date of processing.
The Allan H. Krafczik papers were donated to the American Heritage Center by Mr. Krafczik in 1994.
The collection was processed by John Richard Waggener in December 2006.
Item Description, Box Number, Allan H. Krafczik papers, Collection Number 10296, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
The Negatives and Proofs series contains the negatives and corresponding photographic proofs of Allan H. Krafczik's's professional work. They are arranged numerically by order number within each subject category.
The "P" (People) category includes individual portraits such as graduation photos and passports, and group shots such as engagements, weddings, and reunions. Also included are special event photos such as homecoming queens, and Laramie Jubilee Days queens.
The "A" category is a continuation of the P category. For unknown reasons, an "A" is assigned to these photos versus continuing the use of the "P" designation.
The "B" (Baby) category includes photos of babies, toddlers, and young children. Please note, baby photos are also found in the "P" and "A" categories.
The "C" (Commercial) category includes commercial photos. Examples include photos of and for Laramie-area businesses, group photos including baseball teams, and University of Wyoming fraternity and sorority members, and of events such as beauty pageants and Laramie Jubilee Days parades. Also, see Box 124 for additional commercial photos.
The "Dr" (Drama) category includes photos of theatrical events performed by the University of Wyoming Theater & Dance Department and to a lesser degree the Laramie-area community theater. Some images are of UW Summer Theater.
The "W" category includes photos of weddings. In many cases, photos include the bride & groom, the wedding party and families, and of wedding events such as receptions. Please note, wedding photos also exist within the "P" and "A" categories. In some cases the wedding is listed under the bride's name and in other cases is listed under the groom's name.
This box contains a small number of unidentified images. Most are of weddings. The bulk of the contents relate to miscellaneous commercial images that are unnumbered or are identified with order numbers that are not in sequence with the "C" (Commercial) series. The images are of Laramie-area businesses and buildings including the construction of Ivinson Memorial Hospital, and public buildings and schools. Also included are University of Wyoming groups and organizations, Laramie area scenery including Vedauwoo and the Snowy Range, and of artistic studio work done by Krafczik.
The Newspaper photos were taken for inclusion in the Laramie Daily Boomerang. They were for stories and for advertising purposes for local businesses. Examples include business grand openings, employee features, real estate photos, store-front photos, and images for advertisements. Also included are University of Wyoming buildings, people, and events, local construction projects, fires, wedding anniversaries, and Laramie-area events such as Jubilee Days. Please note, these images are not referenced in the index. There is no corresponding index to these boxes.
This category includes images of models and of trips taken by Krafczik. The model images most likely are not Wyoming-related. The travel images include photos of an overseas trip taken by Krafczik.
This category includes oversized negatives and proofs from the other categories. They are filed alphabetically by last name. The subjects mostly include individual portraits and weddings and some commercial work. In some cases the order number is included on the envelope, and in other cases just the name is listed.
This series contains professional large photographic prints of images taken by Mr. Krafczik. Many of these were entered in competitions and received awards. Most of the images are color images 16x20 in size. Most of the images are not dated and not identified in any way.
This box contains files about Allan H. Krafczik and his studio, an early index (circa 1950s) of photo orders, and scripts and programs from the 1968 Laramie Centennial Theater productions.
The Index Cards identify the photographic orders that are listed in Series I. The cards are filed alphabetically by the person's name , or by the name of the group, organization, or business. The index cards include the order number (e.g. 10P.) The order number is used to locate the actual photo and negative in Series I. Please note, the names within each of the alphabetical headings are not necessarily in alphabetical order. Box 166 contains wedding (W) orders mostly from the 1980s. In some cases these share duplicate information with the index cards. In other cases, these may be the only reference to a particular order.