We’ve launched a new Flickr Commons set in a brand new collection! It’s dedicated to people — and all the stuff they do… Not surprisingly, the collection is called “People Doing Stuff.” The first set is from the Herman Bohlman Collection, and, again not surprisingly, is called “People Doing Stuff in the Herman Bohlman Collection.” 33 images this week, with 30 more to come on the 3rd Wednesday of October (10/21).

Herman Theodore Bohlman was born on April 15, 1872 in Portland, Oregon, and lived there all of his life. He was a lifelong friend of William L. Finley, the renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist. Bohlman and Finley were co-founders of the North-Western Ornithological Association in 1894 and several accounts tell of Bohlman teaching Finley photography…

The two started photographing birds in the late 1890s and between 1899 and 1908 they made many trips to study and photograph birds. Bohlman’s photographs appeared in U.S. and international magazines, as well as in Finley’s 1907 book, American Birds.

While Bohlman’s collection in the OSU Archives is full of wonderful images of birds found in the Pacific Northwest, it is also a treasure trove of images of “people doing stuff.” Included in the collection are images of the Portland waterfront wharves, Crater Lake, Alaska, the Mazamas in the Mt. Jefferson region, and Bohlman family & friends.

Fun fact: Bohlman was associated with the family’s plumbing business in Portland for over 40 years.

Fun fact: On October 14, 1908 he married Maud Bittleston at the Finley home, Jennings Lodge. They had one son, H. Theodore Bohlman.

Fun fact: The collection consists primarily of lantern slides (mounted & unmounted), glass negatives ranging in size from 3.25×4.25 to 6.5×8.5, and nitrate base film negatives.

Want to read all about our collection?

Want to see our other Flickr Commons set full of Finley & Bohlman’s pretty birds?

Want to know more about William Finley?

Want to find a copy of American Birds?