Category Archives: Visual Instruction Department

Hello fall, we’ve missed you …

… and the hustle and bustle of a full campus!

Students going to class

Though we’ve made it to the second week of classes and things are settling down a bit on campus …

Arch

The leaves are turning and fluttering down through crisp fall mornings …

Leaves

In the OSU Archives it’s another wild and wacky Wednesday!

Fountain

Are you asking “why is it wacky?” (or “where is that fountain?!“) Well, while we returned to Oregon last month for our Flickr Commons releases, with two great sets from the Pendleton Round-Up, this month we are really back home!

Waldo Hall

Though we’re still looking at lantern slides from the Visual Instruction Department Collection — the one that keeps on giving — we’ve found a lovely set of images from the days of yore at OAC (OSU for you newbies).

Pool

Meander around our campus, and if you want a 2.0 trip, check out our historical walking tour, aptly named
BeaverTracks.

Beaver Tracks

And make sure to stop, take a breath, and enjoy.

Twilight

Let ‘er Buck! Part 2

Mule

If you’ve been following this blog or a regular site-seer to our Flickr Commons site, you know that any set with an image of a man riding backwards on a mule is a set to spend some time looking through … The second release in the Pendleton Round-up collection will not disappoint you!

There’s action!

race

Aerial shots!

Aerial

People falling off!

falling off horse

More racing!

charge

And some Champion Cow Girls!

cow girls

Enjoy the ride.

Updates!

We left you hanging with new online exhibits, new collection guides, and some mountains in the Holy Lands — and yes, that was a long, long time ago …

So what has been going on in the Archives since then? New students have been hired and others have finished their internship projects, vacations have been taken, public school children have returned to their scholarly pursuits, and we are all jazzed up to start another great academic school year with Benny the Beaver finding historical materials and all those in Beaver Land lining up to do some research!

Benny Pointing to box

Elizabeth has continued to produce great collections guides, as we now fully expect that she will every month… You can read about them all in the August 2010 Finding Aid file.

We also added one last set, Rivers of the World, to the Take a Trip: Traveling and touring with the Visual Instruction Lantern Slides Collection.

Calcutta, Delta of the Ganges

And to start off the month right (or to celebrate the middle of the month right?), we’re celebrating what was billed in 1910 to be “a frontier exhibition of picturesque pastimes, Indian and military spectacles, cowboy racing and bronco busting for the championship of the Northwest.” Oh yes, I’m talking about the 100th Anniversary of the Pendleton Round-Up.

Gorgeous images of women in their fullest regalia!
Indian women view ceremonial dance

Ladies in a line!
line horses

Men on bucking broncos!
Bucking

A man and his mule?

Man with donkey

There is something for everyone in this set. And for those who want even more — isn’t there always even more to be wanted?

Oregon Public Broadcasting has a new Oregon Experience piece entitled “Oregon Experience: The Wild West Way.”And yes, you can now watch it online!

OregonLive has a great group of blog posts pertaining to the Round-Up.

There is a nice Wikipedia article on the Round-Up for those who want a short synopsis, a few pictures, and lots of links to rodeo related articles.

And, as you might expect, the Round-Up site itself has a great history section

As they say “Let ‘er buck!” — oh, and enjoy the images!

Great Cities and Gobs of Glaciers!

Great cities, gobs of glaciers, and a whole bunch of new collection guides? Must be another busy couple of weeks of work in the OSU Archives.

Since we always start with Flickr, this week we’ll kick off with fabulous finding aids. Lots of fun collections you can now read about online, including the Oregon State University Historical Motion Picture Films from 1921 to 1969, a Put Up the Gates Campaign Scrapbook from 1940, and 60 fabulous images added to the Women’s Athletics Photograph Collection from 1899 to 1958. See them all here.

And what about our tremendous travels? Two opposite extremes over the past couple of weeks, from Great Cities of the World to Great Gobs of Glaciers of the Globe.

In the Great Cities of the World set you can see the streets of Cairo, Chicago, and Calcutta.

And are you curious to see the Androssy Strasse in Budapest at the turn of the last century? Or the beautiful bridges in Osaka and the Danube Canal in Vienna?

And Prague, glorious Prague

And Leningrad, lovely Leningrad

And, of course, Paris!

And if you want an assignment, can you figure out which cities have changed their names since the early part of the 20th century? And why didn’t the Visual Instruction Department instructors include Corvallis, Oregon?

Not content sticking to a continent, the Gosh Golly — Gobs of Glaciers! set travels around the globe showing off shots of glaciers!

From floating icebergs to glacial scratches, maps of yore to cave-like crevasses?

And what about those lovely colorful pictures of picaresque lodges or stately train stations?

And a big bump?

Enjoy them all!

From Japan to Denmark

We’ve made good use of our virtual frequent flier miles over the past few weeks! Jetting from Japan to Denmark for two great big new Flickr Commons sets.

The first set of images from Japan, taken and used in lectures during the early part of the 20th century, are both gorgeously hand-colored and delightfully informative!

There are some amazing images of Tokyo and city life, but you’ll also find some shots of the countryside — including that famous Mt. Fuji!

There are also bridges and a even a few Buddhas.

There are people learning & people in costumes, people playing & people worshiping. You’ll also find lovely images of Geishas and Buddhist priests, as well as historic art pictures (mainly pottery).

Quite a few things made me happy in the Archives, but the second set — hand-colored slides from Denmark — topped the list this week…

It’s an eclectic collection from the early portion of the 20th century, but one that really captures the spirit of a beautiful country. And who doesn’t love a windmill?

Want to see a Technicolor yellow of a restaurant scene?

Or the thatched roofs of countryside homes or a transplanted house from Iceland? Factories for butter, eggs, bacon? Yes, we have shots of those! You’ll also find cows, farms, fertilizer, and a few fields of sugar beets

Schools, principals, libraries? You’ll find those as well!

Speaking of learning, check out a wonderful statue of Hans Christian Andersen

or the Lyngby Agricultural Museum

Remember, all the image descriptions and titles are taken straight from the lecture booklet used by instructors in the 1920s and 1930s, so if you know anything more please share!

Don’t just sit there!

Want to watch a movie? Take a trip? Do some research? There are plenty of things going on in the OSU Archives this month! In addition to the general buzz around exciting summer projects, we’re all a flutter over lazy, gorgeous summer days … Check out what we’ve been up to!

More new sets in Flickr Commons! We’ve been to Australia & Ireland over the past couple of weeks (care of the Visual Instruction Lantern Slide Collection, of course), with lots of gorgeous historical shots from both sides of the equator.

We’ve also had several films transferred to DVD for your viewing pleasure!

  • Gotta Start Somewhere: Minorities in Mass Media; An OSU Workshop, 1973 (FV P 119) This film was part of a program to train minority students for jobs in radio, television, or print media. It included in-class training at OSU, as well as off-site internships.
  • Nothin’ Comes Easy, 1974 (FV P 119) This film looks at services for minority students at OSU in the early 1970s, including the Educational Opportunities Program. It features footage of minority students describing their experiences and academic programs at OSU (engineering, forestry, pharmacy, etc.).
  • Hail to OSC, circa 1945 (FV P048:030) This is a 37-minute color silent film, which includes footage of academic programs as well as various student activities. The date in the finding aid dates it at 1960 … but it is much earlier than that – probably 1940s.You can listen online to a 1953 version by the Oregon State College Glee Club or a 1950 version by the Oregon State College Mens’ Choir.

Finally, we can’t ignore our 12 fabulous new finding aids for June! Included are another collection of moving images in the Media Services Moving Images, 1957-2002 (FV P 119) records; the Records of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Corvallis Branch, 1971-1974; the Pacific Northwest Seed and Nursery Catalog Collection, 1992-2009; the President’s Office Photographs, 1923-1998 (P 092); and the Voices of Oregon State University Oral History Collection, 1995-2010 (OH 09).

Argentina

We just can’t get enough of the Visual Instruction Department Lantern Slide Collection this summer … So we’re planning to release a set every week. Yes, I know, sun and a weekly release is almost too much!

Since summer is finally heating up in Oregon, and not to be outdone by the last “take a trip” set from Palestine & Syria, this week we’re heading to Argentina.

Views from the harbor and from the city, scenes from the streets and from the gardens, this set is full of beautiful historic images from Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Chaco, Mar del Plato, and La Plata.

It showcases the city, rich with history and chock full of monuments!

Want to travel to the Plaza Lavalle to see the Lavelle Monument and Colon Theatre, stroll down the Avenida de Mayo, catch a streetcar on the Paseo Colon? Care to catch a play in the open air theater for children? Horses at the Hippodrome? And did we mention the monuments, cathedrals, and capital buildings?

Don’t worry, there are hotels and subway train station shots for those who like to plan!

So pack your bags and join us for the trip — and make sure you stick around to see the cowboys … (Seriously, there are pictures of cowboys.)

Enjoy!

Happy Summer!

In the beginning of the month we released a fabulous set of images from Yaquina Bay on the Oregon Coast — and now we’re ready to jump on one of the vessels and set sail for the summer.

We’re traveling again this year, taking another trip with the Visual Instruction Lantern Slides Collection, but this year we are really stretching our legs. From Palestine & Syria to Buenos Aires & Argentina, all the way through Australia, Japan, Denmark, and Ireland, these slides from the early 20th century are sure to delight everyone from the armchair tourist to the most seasoned traveler.

Far from the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest, in the first set we’re traveling to the Middle East and exploring the Holy Lands

Sacred sites, gorgeous monuments, and amazing terrain — glance back in time with these shots, do your own research to see how things have changed, and then share what you find with us!

This set also came with a wonderfully informative lecture booklet, so take a little time to read the image descriptions for a historic narrative to go with the images.

Oregonians: we read, write, work — and we can cheese?

Check out the latest set in Flickr Commons, Oregon Industries circa 1940. Again, we’re looking at the labors in our land, including textiles, food production, mining, and (of course) a little bit of logging.

Women working at the Portland Woolen Mills,” what a beautiful shot!

This set concludes both the Oregon Industries run, as well as the “Take a Trip: Traveling and touring with the Visual Instruction Lantern Slides Collection” photos we’ve been releasing all summer.

It’s been quite a trip! From the wonders of the Lakeview Terrace of the Lewis and Clark Expo in 1905 …

Or to Table Mountain …

To the rose gardens of Portland …

To the image that will adorn many cards this holiday season!

Thanks for coming along! Watch for a new collection, launching the first Wednesday of October … Sneak peak? Not yet, but I can tell you it is entitled “People Doing Stuff.” Let your imagination go.

Oregon Industries: circa 1925

Where can you find logs, ladies, and lumber? Cows, carcasses, and chickens? Stacks of wheat and a pile of wool? In Oregon, of course!

This week we launched the latest addition to our Flickr Commons account! The 1925 Oregon Industries set focuses on logging, agriculture, and textiles production – quite familiar topics to those of us at the OSU Archives…

And, as I have mentioned many times before, the instruction booklet gives us gems of information about the images. For example, here’s the description for the “Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem, Oregon” image, which give information about the picture above, but also for the set as a whole.

It was in 1873 that work began on the erection of the State Capitol, commonly called the State House, at Salem. It was accepted by the state from the contractor on August 26, 1876. Of course later additions were made to the building and this picture shows it as it is today after a half century of service. During the fifty years the industrial growth of Oregon has been gradual until today, in proportion to population, the quantity and quality of the products of the state are very gratifying.

The lumber and timber products industry, including logging camps and sawmills, is the leader in manufacturing when measured either by value of products or the number of wage earners employed.”

“The basic industry of Agriculture continues to increase its production, in spite of the fact that there were about 8000 less farm owners in 1925 than in 1920. While transportation companies in Oregon rank next to timber in the number of employees, the farms make possible the grain mills and flour mills, the output of which ranks next to timber products in value.”

“Standing third in value in factory products is the slaughtering and meat packing industry, while butter-making flows closely and is steadily gaining in the value of its output.”

“The pictures following give glimpses indicative of a few industrial activities of Oregon.”