Collection is open for research.
Gift of Craig Fransen, December 2024 (RL2024-104).
Corydon Addison (Corry A.) Bushnell was born in approximately 1866 in Eugene, Oregon. As a child, Bushnell suffered from bouts of rheumatism that left him physically incapacitated and unable to do physical labor. He instead pursued a career in photography. In approximately 1887, he opened his first picture gallery in Roslyn, Washington. Shortly after he opened the gallery, he hired Eli Emor James to work with him in the studio. James married Sara Bushnell, Corry Bushnell's sister, in the fall of 1888. That same year, a fire destroyed the studio, along with much of the commercial district of Roslyn. Afterward, Bushnell and James separately operated studios in several western cities, including Ellensburg and Yakima, Washington; La Grande, Union, and Eugene, Oregon; and Fresno, California. In approximately 1900, Bushnell and James moved to Seattle, Washington, and opened a studio there. They operated the James and Bushnell Studio together until 1914, when Bushnell opened a new studio in Portland, Oregon. James continued operation of the Seattle studio with his son-in-law, Sydney Merrihew, under the new name of James and Merrihew Studio.
Bushnell hired Ludwig (Leo) Loeser Pokorney (1877-1925) to manage Bushnell Studio in Portland. Pokorney managed the studio until his death in 1925. Orville Reeves took over the job, and managed the studio until at least 1931. Bushnell suffered from increasingly debilitating physical ailments and it is likely that he primarily managed the business aspects of the studios while James, Pokorney, and other studio managers produced most, if not all, of the later photographic and artistic output. Bushnell died in Seattle in 1941.
Sources: "Spawn of Coal Dust: History of Roslyn, 1886-1955" (Roslyn: A Project of Operation Uplift, Community Development Program, 1955), pages 316-318; "Life of Anna and Eli Emor James: Reminiscences of Hazel James Merrihew," Local History Collection, Ellensburg Public Library, 1967; vital records in Ancestry.com.
Collection includes a visual index to the negatives, compiled by Craig Fransen, who donated the collection to the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. The index includes a reduced-size image of each photograph in the collection, as well as its corresponding negative number.
Researcher access to negatives in the collection is limited for preservation purposes. A visual index of the images in the collection is available to help researchers identify negatives of interest. To inquire about viewing the negatives, contact library staff. Fees may apply.
Bushnell Studio glass negatives, Org. Lot 1444, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Collection consists of 1,068 glass plate negatives, 8 nitrate negatives, and 1 black and white photoprint taken by Bushnell Studio in Portland, Oregon. Most of the photographs are formal studio portraits taken by Bushnell Studio between approximately 1918 and 1925. Many of the portraits featured people in wedding or formal attire. Some glass negatives have a surname inscribed on the edge of the plate. Five of the photographs show Leo Pokorney, a manager of the Bushnell Studio, with a Hudson Super Six coupe automobile.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.