Gerald W. Williams Stereoscopic Photograph Collection, 1870-1943

Predominant Dates: 1890-1910

The Gerald W. Williams Stereoscopic Photograph Collection is comprised of stereoscopic photographs collected by former U.S. Forest Service historian Gerald Williams. The photographs depict natural and scenic landmarks, river basins, communities, forestry and logging. Geographic locations featured in the collection include Oregon, Washington State, other western states, Washington D.C., the East Coast and other countries. Other topics covered include U.S. Presidents, general Americana, the Spanish American War and World War I.

The contents of Box 01, Series 1 through Series 6, have been digitized and are available upon request.

Creators

ID: P 327

Extent: 1.2 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

The Gerald W. Williams Stereoscopic Photograph Collection consists of 504 b/w and 5 color lithograph stereoscopic images. All are mounted. Many of the photographs are undated. They were acquired and compiled by Williams in the course of his work as a Forest Service sociologist and historian and due to his avocational interest in the history of forestry and the history of the United States, especially that of the Pacific Northwest region.

Roughly fifty percent of the photographs feature Oregon locations, with Washington State and California also predominant; other western states such as Alaska, Colorado, Montana, and Utah are also represented. The photographs depict natural landmarks and scenic landscapes, such as Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson in Oregon, and Mt. Rainier or Mt. Tacoma in Washington State, and many include people climbing these prominent peaks. National park scenes show Crater Lake, Mt. Rainer, Glacier, and Yellowstone. Scenic river basin views include those along the Columbia, Rogue, Santiam, Umpqua and Willamette Rivers in Oregon. East Coast locations include the Empire State Building, Plymouth Rock, and Independence Hall and several photographs from Washington, D.C.. Seven of the photographs present scenes from the Spanish-American War and World War I.

Scenic landscapes and landmarks from other countries such as the Frasier River and Glacier National Park in Canada, the Forbidden City in China, the pyramids in Egypt, the Winter Palace in Russia, and one photograph from Japan are included in the collection.

The photographers or photographic studios for many of these images are not identified, except for some photographs which have the photographer’s last name, or photo studio, printed on the border of the mounting. Some of the photographers and studios are, Darius Kinsey, Keystone View Company, Underwood & Underwood, Watkin’s Pacific Coast. Companies such as Keystone produced the stereoscopes in topical series, such as “Oregon Scenery”, or “Pacific Coast Views”; series names were also printed on the mounted photographs.

The contents of Box 01, Series 1 through Series 6, have been digitized and are available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Statement on Description: This collection was acquired from Gerald W. Williams by the former University Archives and the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in the original accession in 2007 and subsequent accessions in 2009 and 2012. They were originally described as a component of the Gerald W.Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG) and were separated for processing and description as the Gerald W. Williams Stereoscopic Photograph Collection in 2016.

Arrangement

Preferred Citation: Gerald W. Williams Stereoscopic Photograph Collection (P 327), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Columbia River, 1886-1909 and undated Add to Shelf

The series includes picturesque images of natural landmarks found in the vicinity of Columbia River Gorge area including the Columbia River, Multnomah Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Pillars of Hercules, Oneonta bluffs, Rooster Rock, among others. The series also captures the images of log rafts, a dry dock, fish wheels, "First Haul of the season- Salmon industry", depicting the local fisheries in the area. Extent: 66 black and white stereoscopic images, and 1 color stereoscopic lithograph.