Angelus Studio photographs

Photographic negatives and images within this collection are currently housed using three separate numbering systems: the University of Oregon Special Collections numbering (Boxes 1-185), the Angelus Studio category abbreviation and negative numbering (Boxes 186-211) and negatives grouped by the photographer’s original numbering (Boxes 212-232). Since Special Collections was unable to reprocess the entire collection into a unified numbering and indexing system, current efforts have focused on rehousing negatives in appropriate storage boxes, identifying damaged or missing negatives from those numbered using the University of Oregon Special Collections system (Boxes 1-185) and developing a shelf list of the entire collection. Existing finding aids for the collection include a computer inventory and index for images P1-P4500, and a guide to a collection of 598 images selected from the Angelus Studio negatives by Works Progress Administration workers in 1940. Due to the subsequent renumbering and rearrangement of the collection the W.P.A guide needs to be cross-referenced with the University of Oregon numbering system.

The classifications used by the Angelus Studio and the number of negatives in each classification are as follows: Agriculture 510; Alaska 20; Amusements 200; Art Slides 500; Bathing 60; Bridges 160; Buildings 1625; Cemeteries 705; Cities 150; Fish 100; Flowers 160; Historic 570; Horses 30; Indians 130; Larry 100; Liberty 45; Livestock 260; Mallory 100; Manufacturing 925; Mining 25; Miscellaneous 260; Multnomah Hotel 75; Old Portland 125; Oregon State College 1; Purcell 900; Railroads 100; Scenic 1400; Ships and Harbors 700; Timber 400; Transportation 60; University of Oregon 20; Wildlife 50.

In 1940 Zed N. Clark assisted members of the Oregon Historical Record Survey in selecting 598 images of “permanent historical value.” These images were reclassified by subject and consecutively numbered for the Guide to the Angelus Studio Collection of Historic Photographs. The Angelus Studio also provided photographic services for other W.P.A. survey projects. Further research is necessary to determine the relationship between the Angelus Studio and other W.P.A. survey projects in Oregon.

In the mid-1940s the 598 images selected by the Oregon Historical Records Survey were transferred to the University of Oregon, which had sponsored the development of the Angelus Studio guide. Sometime in the late 1940s or 1950s the University acquired the remaining negatives by Weister, Prentiss, and the Angelus Commercial Photo Company from the Angelus Studio. It is not currently known whether this transfer coincided with the closing of the Angelus Studio or the death of Zed N. Clark.

In the mid-1970s the entire collection was rehoused in acid-free envelopes and stored upright in clamshell boxes. The Special Collections staff began renumbering the entire collection and created a computerized index with catalog cards for each image. During this project negatives were numbered consecutively without regard to prior numbering sequences or arrangement. When original photographer’s numbers or Angelus Studio numbers were available they were listed on the negative envelopes and computer cards. Unfortunately the project was never completed and rapid changes in computer technology have rendered computer tapes from the project inaccessible. A bound printout of the 1970s database, by subject, is available in the Reading Room. A modern database is being compiled and is available for staff searching.

In preparation for the 1993 renovation of Knight Library, the Angelus Studio photographs were rehoused in negative storage boxes designed specifically for glass plate and safety negatives. During this process damaged negatives were individually wrapped and relocated at the end of the collection for subsequent conservation. The negatives are arranged in the following order until funding is available for a comprehensive cataloging effort.