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Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection, 1969-2007

By Karl McCreary

Collection Overview

Title: Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection, 1969-2007

Predominant Dates: 1980-2002

ID: MSS WilliamsGPosters

Primary Creator: Williams, Gerald W.

Extent: 0.35 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection is arranged into two series: 1. U.S. Forest Service Posters, 1980-2002 and 2. Posters from Other Organizations, 1969-2007.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection is made up of posters accumulated by Forest Service Historian Gerald W. Williams. Most of the posters were produced as a part of Forest Service educational campaigns and others highlight a variety of events, places, and publications relating to wildlife, recreational areas, and history.

Scope and Content Notes

The Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection is made up of posters accumulated by U.S. Forest Service Historian Gerald W. Williams. Most of the posters were produced by the U.S. Forest Service as a part of educational campaigns about forest fire prevention and wildlife preservation. The other Forest Service posters commemorate the 1991 centenary of the establishment of national forests in the U.S., the Gifford Pinchot Institute, and several U.S. Forest Service historical sites and national recreational areas. The posters generated by other organizations pertain to events, places, and publications relating to wildlife and history.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Gerald W. Williams worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. From 1979 to 1993, he was a sociologist with the Umpqua and Willamette National Forests in Oregon; in 1993-1998, he served as the regional sociologist for the Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland; and from 1998 until his retirement in 2005 he was the national historian for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington D.C. Williams designed and implemented a regional and national history program for the Forest Service which culminated in his appointment as national historian and his authorship of the centennial history of the Forest Service, The USDA Forest Service -- The First Century, in 2000. He has published more than 75 books, chapters, book reviews, and articles and conference papers exploring a variety of historical topics such as the Native American use of fire to manage environments, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the U.S. Army's Spruce Production Division during World War I.

Author: Chris Petersen

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 91 posters; 1 oversize box and 1 map folder

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These materials were acquired by the former University Archives and the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in 2007 and originally described as a component of the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG). They were separated for description as this collection in 2016.

Related Materials: The core of Gerald Williams' research materials are maintained as the Gerald W. Williams Papers (MSS WilliamsG). Other materials that were collected by Williams have been described as separate collections: Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Army Spruce Production Division (MSS Spruce); Gerald W. Williams Collection on Forestry and Northwest History Publications (MSS WilliamsPubs); Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps (MSS CCC); Gerald W. Williams Moving Image and Sound Recordings Collection (FV 320); Gerald W. Williams Collection on Smoky Bear (MSS Smokey); Gerald W. Williams Prints Collection (MSS WilliamsPrints); Jason S. Elder Forest Service Diary (MSS Elder); Gerald W. Williams Lantern Slide Collection (P 319); C.C. Hall Photograph Album (P 301); J.F. Ford Photographs (P 308); Forest Service Equipment Development Center Photograph Album (P 311); Mount Hood Area Excursion Photograph Album (P 310); Gerald W. Williams Regional Albums (P 303); and Gerald W. Williams Family Vacation Slides (P 316);  Frank Patterson Photographic Postcards (P 312).

Preferred Citation: Gerald W. Williams Posters Collection (MSS WilliamsGPosters), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Williams, Gerald W.
United States. Forest Service

People, Places, and Topics

Natural Resources
Smokey Bear.
Timberline Lodge (Mount Hood, Or.)
United States. Forest Service
Wildfires--United States--Prevention and control.

Forms of Material

Posters.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: U.S. Forest Service Posters, 1980-2002
Series 1 consists of posters produced by the U.S. Forest Service as a part of forest fire prevention and wildlife preservation campaigns. Other posters in this series relate to the centenary of the establishment of national forests, the Gifford Pinchot Institute, the Grey Towers national historic landmark, the Tongass National Forest, Timberline Lodge, and the administative staff  of the Forest Service national and regional field offices. About half of these posters feature the forest fire prevention mascot "Smokey the Bear." There are 76 posters in total.
Box-Folder 1.1: U.S. Forest Service Posters, 1980-2002
Map-Folder 2.1: U.S. Forest Service Posters, 1991
Series 2: Posters from Other Organizations, 1969-2007
Series 2 consists of posters generated by various organizations that document events, places, and publications relating to wildlife and history. The subject matter of these posters include: International Migratory Bird Day, a Washington State Historical Society Military History Conference, Timberline Lodge, a Waterfowl Festival, and the release of the OSU Press Book Wild Beauty: Photographs of the Columbia River Gorge, 1867-1957. A 1969 poster listing members of the United States Senate is also part of this series. There are 15 posters in total.
Box-Folder 1.2: Posters from Other Organizations, 1969-2002
Map-Folder 2.1: Posters from Other Organizations, 1995-2007

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.