Samuel Harper Swanlund (1931-2003) donated the major portion of the collection (954 images) to the Humboldt State University Library in two groups, one in 1985 and another in 1991. Peter Palmquist donated 47 additional glass plate negatives in 2000. Photographer Ray Jerome Baker’s work is represented in about 65% of the collection. All of the images donated by Mr. Palmquist are attributed to Baker. The content of the Baker images from both donors is very similar and some images were clearly taken at the same event/scene. The majority of the images donated in 1985 were by Baker whereas the 1991 donation contains images by an assortment of photographers, including Baker, McClosky, Francis, Ed Chase, G.W. Miller, and Oscar Swanlund, but in most instances the photographer is not identified.
Mr. Swanlund obtained these images, which are from numerous sources, in the course of his professional photographic work and as a result of his growing interest in historical images. He followed his father in professional photography and for thirty-two years continued the family business, the Swanlund Photo Shop, in Eureka, CA. Sam Swanlund made prints of many of the images and often made them available to researchers and writers, thus many of these images have found their way into works published since the early 1970s. Mr. Swanlund has developed the art form of hand coloring reprints of historical photographs. His works are widely displayed in Humboldt County.
Carl Christensen was the source of most, perhaps all, of the Baker images. Information from Sam Swanlund in 1997 indicates that Carl Christensen and Lloyd Stine jointly acquired images directly from Baker toward the end of Baker's long career. In the late 1960s Sam Swanlund purchased several hundred glass plate negatives from Christensen and Stine. Peter Palmquist, in 2000, recalled that he purchased his portion from Christensen in the 1970s.
A significant portion (112 images) of the collection depicts the Cottage Gardens Nurseries, a business that flourished in Humboldt County from about 1914 to about 1925. Charles Willis Ward was the creator and principal owner of this nursery. The images, marked with a number that begins with "W," show the many activities that took place at four principal locations: McKinleyville, Eureka (Myrtletown and C Street), and along the VanDuzen River in the Carlotta/Yager Creek area. Interiors and exteriors of greenhouses, fields of plants, close-ups of flowers and bulbs, and bird's eye views of landscapes are the major categories of these images. The photographer is unidentified. The estimated date range for this set of images is 1914-1925.
New contact prints and new copy negatives were made for a portion of the collection between 1985 and 1990 using HSU campus photographic services (1999.01.0001-.0369). New contact prints and copy negatives for the balance of the collection, and an item level inventory of the entire collection were made during 1999-2000. The glass plate negatives were retained and are now in permanent archival storage. The nitrate film negatives were not retained because the Humboldt State Library is not presently equipped to store nitrate negatives safely. Images 1999.01.0001-.0628 are from Swanlund (1985), 1999.01.0629-.0915 and 1999.01.0964-.1001 are from Swanlund (1991), and 1999.01.0916-.0963 are from Palmquist (2000).
GUIDE TO ITEM LEVEL DESCRIPTION
Descriptive information about each image has been entered into an Access database. Information entered into the database was taken from the image itself, the wrappers/envelopes that accompanied about one half of the negatives, information supplied by Sam Swanlund, and the archivist's knowledge of the region, as follows:
Title: Titles were taken from the image itself, the envelope, or were supplied by the project archivist. Many of the envelopes came from R. J. Baker's studio, but other envelopes were new ones supplied by subsequent owners. The newer envelopes usually had titles or descriptions that had been supplied by personnel at the Swanlund Studio during the time that Sam Swanlund owned the collection. It is unknown whether the titles supplied by Swanlund Studio were transcribed from original envelopes. Some original envelopes also have information supplied by the Swanlund Studio. All descriptive information on the envelopes was recorded and a few obvious misspellings were corrected. Titles not directly attributable to the photographer's studio are bracketed [ ]. Swanlund Studio information is indicated by [ /ss], and if the source of the title is unknown it is indicated by [ /unknown]. In a few instances R.J. Baker's studio titled an image by another photographer. Baker's initials follow these titles [ /rjb]. The titles created by the project archivist during processing are simply bracketed: [ ].To facilitate use of the collection view copies of each image have been grouped into a blend of geographic and subject categories and placed in binders which are available in the HSU Library Humboldt Room. When the location of a scene is unknown decisions on which binder to place it in were guided by educated guesses. Users should consult the individual records for the most reliable information about geographic location. Unfortunately the time constraints of the project did not allow for additional research. Any corrections or additional information regarding the collection are invited and should be made to the Special Collections Librarian at the Humboldt State University Library.Photographer: Identified photographers include Ray Jerome Baker, McClosky, Francis, Ed Chase, G.W. Miller, and Oscar Swanlund.
Photographer's Number: These numbers appear on the negative. All but two of the Cottage Gardens images have a "W" preceding the number.
Date: Most of the images are undated. Information on the image or on the envelope is the source of the date. If the date was not exactly specified the estimated year is followed by a "?".
Physical Description and Dimensions: This refers to the original negative. Black and white is abbreviated as "b&w". Dimensions are given in inches.
Subject/Genre: Subject terms and geographical place names were drawn primarily from lists already in use in the Library's Humboldt County Collection. When necessary new subject terms were added using Place Names of Humboldt County, California by Dennis Turner, Library of Congress Subject Headings and Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (1995) by the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.
Region: To assist users in locating images from broad geographic areas a region designation has been assigned. Numerical values are given to nine areas of Humboldt County, defined primarily by watershed, and eight values are given to describe other geographical locations. This region categorization is also used in other photographic collections both at the HSU Library and at the Humboldt County Historical Society. A map portraying these regions is accessible at http://library.humboldt.edu/infoservices/humboldt.jpg.
Edith Butler, C.A.
December 2000
