Electric Studio/O.G. Allen photographs

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: PH 033

Scope and Contents note

The Electric Studio/O.G. Allen collection consists of five glass plate negatives and one vintage print.

1. [untitled], cowboy with Appaloosa Horse. Glass plate negative and print.

2. “John Thomas bulldogging, Round-Up, Pendleton, OR, No. 25, Electric Studio”.

3. “33x. Homer Wilson Bulldogging, Round-Up, Pendleton, OR, Electric Studio”.

4. ‘“Roy Hunter bulldogger at the Round-Up” By O.G. Allen Pendleton No. 638.’.

5. [untitled], crowd gathered at train for whistle-stop campaigning.

There is no documentation for this collection. However, the location is clearly Pendleton, Oregon c.1910. As one image is signed by O.G. Allen, and Robinson documents a postcard with the imprint "Allen's Electric Studio, Eagle Woodman Bldg., Pendleton, Or.", the entire collection is attributed to this photographer.

Dates

circa 1910-1920

Creator

Electric Studio (Pendleton, Or.) (Organization)
Allen, O. G. (Orla G.) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room.

Physical Access

Glass plate negatives and lantern slides are restricted due to the fragility of the format. All decisions regarding use will be at the discretion of the curator for visual materials.

Conditions Governing Use note

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Archival material may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws and other regulations.

Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g. a cause of action for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Oregon assumes no responsibility.

If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.

Biographical/Historical note

Little is known about Orla G. Allen. He was a member of the Pendleton Camera Club. Robinson notes that Allen’s name appears in the Pendleton city directories only in 1911-1913. A front page article in the East Oregonian from Aug. 22, 1913 documents Allen’s brief escape from a mental institution: Crazed Man Drives His Auto Into Drug Store; Interior of Place Wrecked; None Hurt. O. G. Allen, a local photographer, escapes from attendants at St. Anthony’s hospital, jumps into machine, and speeds down street at fifty miles an hour—tears through fence and heads for business center of city. Stands in car yelling 'Let 'er Buck'.

The same article gives Allen’s age as 34, states that he is one of the proprietors of the Electric Studio on Court Street, in partnership with E.E. Gustin, and for the past two years had been one of the official Round-Up photographers.

Grafe suggests that many of the early Round-Up photographs in the Lee Moorhouse collection, which are 5x7 glass plate negatives, are probably the work of Allen. Some have clearly had the Allen signature removed and the Moorhouse name added. (Moorhouse primarily worked in 8x10 format.).

Extent

0.25 linear feet (2 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Orla G. Allen (c. 1879-?), commonly known as O.G. Allen, was a professional photographer operating in Pendleton, Oregon, circa 1910-1920. “Electric Studio” is a franchise name that appeared in locations throughout the West. The collection consists of five images and documents rodeo people and activities, and a Pendleton event. Other O.G. Allen images are available in other collections.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Unknown. Possibly a donation from Lee D. Drake of Pendleton.

Existence and Location of Copies note

Selected items are available online in the Electric Studio/O.G. Allen photographs, ca. 1911-1913 in Oregon Digital.

Related Archival Materials note

This collection forms part of the Pendleton Group, a series of photograph collections from the Pendleton area, 1880s-1940s. Images from certain photographers, such as Bowman, may be found in many of these collections. The Pendleton Group includes the Lee Drake photographs (PH 021), the Lee Moorhouse photographs (PH 036), the Charles W. Furlong photographs (PH 244), the Walter S. Bowman photographs (PH 004), and the Electric Studio/O.G. Allen photographs (PH 033). Related images are also held in the Print Collection (PH 035) and the Park Weed Willis photographs (PH 288). Images of Allen’s traveling studio appear in the Lee Moorhouse collection, PH036-2941, PH036-2989 and PH036-2990. Allen is also shown on a bucking horse in PH036-3592.

General Physical Description note

2 containers, including 7 photographs

Processing Information note

Collection processed by Normandy S. Helmer, February 2004.

This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.