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Ralph I. Gifford Photographs, circa 1910s - 1947

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Gifford, Ralph I.
Title
Ralph I. Gifford Photographs
Dates
circa 1910s - 1947 (inclusive)
1935-1947 (bulk)
Quantity
2.5 cubic feet, including 2089 photographs , (17 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes, and 1 map folder)
Collection Number
P 218-SG 2
Summary
The Ralph I. Gifford Photographs consist of images taken by Gifford throughout Oregon, primarily during the 1930s and 1940s. The photographs depict many Oregon landmarks and scenes, including the Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Mount Hood, the Wallowa Mountains, and the Snake River Canyon. The collection includes numerous images of sport fishing as well as several photographs of Native Americans. Ralph Gifford was the son of Benjamin A. Gifford and took over his father's Portland photography business around 1920. In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Department, a position he held until his death in 1947.
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
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Born in Portland, Ralph I. Gifford (1894-1947) worked in his father's (Benjamin A. Gifford) photography studio as a boy and accompanied his father on photography trips around Oregon. He married Wanda Muir Theobald in 1918 and spent the last part of World War I in the U.S. Navy. Ralph took over his father's photography business around 1920 and sold it in 1928 to go into the motion picture business with F. C. Heaton in Portland.

In 1936, Ralph became the first photographer of the newly established Travel and Information Department of the Oregon State Highway Commission. His landscape views of Oregon's natural beauty were used for many years to promote tourism in the state. He also took motion pictures for the Highway Commission, including its 1941 color version of The New Oregon Trail, which was shown in every state in the U.S., and Glimpses From Oregon State Parks, released shortly before Ralph's death on June 23, 1947. His obituary, published in several Oregon newspapers in late June 1947, stated that "more than any other person, he is responsible for the tourist business in Oregon being an $83,500,000 business."

Ralph also took and sold photographs commercially; many of his commercial views were taken at the same time as his Highway Commission photos. His photographs could be purchased as postcards, view sets, individual prints, and photo-plaques. In a letter to the managing editor of U.S. Camera magazine, Ralph stated in 1943 that his work was "to visually educate the traveling public as to Oregon's scenic and vacation possibilities."

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Content Description

The Ralph I. Gifford Photographs consist of images taken by Gifford throughout Oregon, primarily during the 1930s and 1940s. Many of Ralph Gifford's landscape photographs complement those he took for the State Highway Commission, as they were taken at the same time. He extensively photographed the Oregon Coast, Crater Lake, Silver Falls, Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge, the Pendleton Round-Up, the Wallowa Mountains, and the Snake River Canyon. Many of his photographs were made into postcards or view sets, which were sold at souvenir shops throughout the state.

Gifford also photographed the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, and the Columbia River Highway; the Oregon State Capitol and other state buildings in Salem; the Oregon Caves; highway bridges on the Oregon coast; and Oregon agriculture, especially orchards and ranches. Several Oregon rivers are depicted in the collection, including the Chetco, Imnaha, John Day, McKenzie, and Rogue Rivers as well as numerous Cascade Mountain lakes. Scenes of Portland, Brookings, and Salem are part of the collection. The collection includes numerous images of sport fishing and fishermen as well as several images of Native Americans, especially participating in the Pendleton Round-Up. Chief Clarence Burke, of the Umatilla Indians, is depicted in several photographs. Images of Gifford's wife, Wanda, and children are part of the collection.

The collection includes photographs Gifford took while stationed at Whiddy Island, Ireland, in the U.S. Navy during World War I. These images depict fellow servicemen, the local people of Whiddy Island, houses and structures, and landscapes and towns on the island.

The bulk of the collection consists of film negatives (853 items) and prints (902 items). Film negatives are predominantly 4x5 format; however, 5x7 and 8x10 formats are also included. The prints include 8x10 and larger sizes as well as postcard prints. The collection also includes 256 nitrate negatives, 22 glass negatives, and 56 color positive transparencies.

Many images in the collection are available online in several digital collections.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Ralph I. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 2), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Ralph I. Gifford Photographs are arranged in 9 series: I. World War I Views of Whiddy Island, Ireland, 1918; II. Gifford Family, circa 1920 - circa 1930; III. Nitrate Negatives, circa 1910s - circa 1935; IV. Numbered Series, circa 1935 - 1947; V. Highway Commission Photographs, 1936-1946; VI. Postcard Photographs, circa 1935-1945; VII. Coastal Bridges, circa 1936; VIII. Un-Numbered Photographs, circa 1935 - 1947; and IX. Color Transparencies, circa 1937 - 1947.

Custodial History

The photographs were donated to the Oregon State University Horner Museum in 1986 by Ben L. and Beth Gifford.

Acquisition Information

The photographs were transferred from the Oregon State University Horner Museum to the University Archives in July 1996.

Related Materials

This is one component of the Gifford Photographic Collection (P 218) held by the OSU Archives. Other components are: Benjamin A. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 1); Ralph I. Gifford Motion Pictures (P 218-SG 3); Wanda M. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 4); Ben L. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 5); Gifford Collection Photographs by Unknown or Other Photographers (P 218-SG 6); and Gifford Collection Documentary Materials (P 218-SG 7).

Other collections containing Ralph Gifford's work include the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection (P 120), Clackamas County Jersey Cattle Club Scrapbook, Roland G. Holmes Collection of Oregon and Washington Postcards (P 283), Gerald W. Williams Collection, Edwin Russel Jackman Photographs (P 089), and the John E. Smith Collection.

Photos taken by Ralph Gifford for the State Highway Commission can be found at the Oregon State Archives in the records of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Lawrence A. Landis; updated by Elizabeth Nielsen
2011

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