Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards, circa 1920s

Title: Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards, circa 1920s - 1986

Predominant Dates: circa 1920s-1930s

ID: P 312

Primary Creator: Patterson, Frank, 1883-1961.

Extent: 1.5 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards are arranged in 19 series: 1. Checklist and Workbook, 1986; 2. Album Pages, circa 1920s-1930s; 3. General Postcards, circa 1920s-1930s; 4.Oregon Caves, circa 1920s-1930s; 5. Crater Lake National Park, circa 1920s-1930s; 6. Rogue River and Diamond Lake, circa 1920s-1940s; 7. Pacific Highway, circa 1920s-1930s; 8. Roosevelt Highway and Oregon State Highway, circa 1920s-1930s; 9. Redwood Highway, circa 1920s-1940s; 10. Clear Lake, California, circa 1920s-1930s; 11. Mount Lassen, circa 1920s-1940s; 12. Pacific Highway, circa 1920s-1940s; 13. Oregon Coast Highway, circa 190s-1940s; 14. Redwood Highway, circa 1920s-1940s; 15. Color Postcards, circa 1920s-1940s; 16. Ashland, Oregon, circa 1920s-1940s; 17. Arcata, California; Brookings, Oregon; and Bandon, Oregon, circa 1920s - 1951; 18. Crescent City, California, circa 1920s-1940s; and 19. Sites in Oregon and Northern California, circa 1920s-1950s. Within each series, the images are arranged by item number as assigned by Patterson.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

The Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards consist of images made by Frank Patterson depicting natural features, tourist sites, and highways in Oregon and northern California. The bulk of the images are photographic postcards which were produced en masse for purchase by travelers and tourists. The collection includes a checklist of Patterson images prepared by Robert I. Wright in the mid-1980s. This assemblage of Patterson images was collected by Gerald W. Williams.

The Patterson Photographic Postcards provide extensive documentation of natural features in southern Oregon and northern California including Crater Lake, the Oregon Caves, the Rogue River, Diamond Lake, the Oregon Coast, Mount Shasta, Mount Lassen, and the redwoods. Numerous views of towns in Oregon (Medford, Ashland, Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Klamath Falls) and in California (Arcata, Crescent City, Eureka, Redding, Ukiah, and Santa Rosa) are part of the collection. Photographs of tourist highways and bridges on the Oregon coast and through the redwoods of southern Oregon and northern California depict these structures near the time of their development and construction.

Most of the images are undated, but were likely taken by Patterson during the 1920s and 1930s when he was working from studios in Medford, Oregon, and Santa Rosa, California. It is possible that some of the images dated in the 1940s were made by other photographers under Patterson's imprint. The titles provided for each image are taken from the item or Wright's checklist. The item numbers were assigned by Patterson.

While the bulk of the collection consists of photographic postcards, there are several photographic prints and ephemeral items in Series 2.

Images from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Frank Patterson, born December 20, 1883 in Klickitat, Washington, was a prolific photographer of the West Coast in the 1920s and 1930s, working at studios in Medford, Oregon and San Francisco, California. He married his first wife, Cora, on February 16, 1907, with whom he had three daughters. Frank and Cora divorced on September 7, 1921, after which Frank moved to Medford, Oregon where he opened a photography studio. He created the majority of his photographic postcards while he was in Medford. He married his second wife Josephine Champie on June 28, 1922. In 1928 Frank moved to Santa Rosa, California. In 1940 he was sentenced to San Quentin for twelve years and served six, after which he worked for Bear Photo in San Francisco until 1959. He developed Alzheimer’s and was admitted to Napa State Hospital where he died in 1961.

Author: Ryan Atwood

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1550 photographs; 5 boxes

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These materials were received in 2007 as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection.

Related Materials: The Gerald W. Williams Regional Albums (P 303) include 1000s of postcards and other images assembled by Williams. The Ralph I. Gifford Photographs (P 218-SG 2) include numerous images of Crater Lake and the Oregon coast, many taken during the same period as Patterson's images. The Special Collections and Archives Research Center houses numerous collections with photographic postcards documenting the natural features and landmarks of Oregon and the Northwest.

Preferred Citation: Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards (P 312), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

These materials were received as part of the Gerald W. Williams Collection in 2007. In 2016, they were separated from the Williams Collection to form this separate collection.

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

Historically, "squaw" has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used in the context of Squaw Rock, a landscape feature on the mouth of the Klamath River.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collecctions, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitidues or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]

Creators

People, Places, and Topics

Ashland (Or.)
Bridges--Oregon.
Brookings (Or.)
Coast Ranges
Coasts--Oregon.
Coquille River (Or.)
Crater Lake (Or.)
Crater Lake National Park (Or.)
Grants Pass (Or.)
Klamath Falls (Or.)
Klamath River Watershed (Or. and Calif.)
Lassen Peak (Calif.)
Medford (Or.)
Natural Resources
Oregon Caves National Monument (Or.)
Pacific Coast (Or.)
Patterson, Frank, 1883-1961.
Patterson Pictures (Firm : Medford, Or.)
Patterson Pictures (Firm : Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Photographers--Oregon.
Postcards--California--Catalogs.
Postcards--Collectors and collecting.
Postcards--Oregon--Catalogs.
Redwoods--California.
Redwoods--Oregon.
Rivers--Coast Ranges.
Roads--Oregon.
Rogue River (Klamath County-Curry County, Or.)
Rogue River National Forest (Or. and Calif.)
Rogue River Watershed (Klamath County-Curry County, Or.)
Roseburg (Or.)
Scenic byways--Oregon.
Shasta, Mount (Calif. : Mountain)
Shasta Dam (Calif.)
Upper Klamath Lake (Or.)

Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards, circa 1920s - 1986

Collection Overview