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Willibald Weniger Photographic Collection, 1870-1940
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Weniger, Willibald, 1884-
- Title
- Willibald Weniger Photographic Collection
- Dates
- 1870-1940 (inclusive)18701940
1901-1914 (bulk)19011914 - Quantity
- 0.60 cubic feet, including 689 photographs, (7 boxes, including 1 oversize box)
- Collection Number
- P 081
- Summary
- The Willibald Weniger Photographic Collection consists of a photograph album of images taken and/or collected by Willibald Weniger pertaining to the University of Wisconsin and Oregon Agricultural College and their vicinities between about 1904 and 1914. Also included are portraits of Weniger and a 19th century photograph album with images most likely of Weniger, his family and friends. Weniger was a professor of physics at Oregon Agricultural College from 1908 to 1914 and again from 1920 until his retirement in 1951.
- Repository
-
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Willibald Weniger was a professor of physics at Oregon Agricultural College from 1908 to 1914 and 1920 to 1951.
Weniger was born on 20 June 1884 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He spoke German at home and in the Milwaukee public schools he attended. Weniger received B.A. (1905), M.S. (1906), and Ph.D. (1908) degrees from the University of Wisconsin. In 1908, he came to Oregon Agricultural College to organize and head the Physics Department. Weniger left the College in 1914 to work as a physicist in the Nela Research Laboratories of General Electric in Cleveland. During World War I he studied the relative merits of monocular and binocular field glasses for all except field artillery purposes.
Weniger returned to OAC in 1920 as Physics Department head. During a 1929/1930 sabbatical at the Smithsonian Institution, including five months at Table Mountain Solar Observatory, he measured energy from the sun to correlate changes in the sun's emission of energy with the earth's weather. In 1933 he became Assistant Dean of the Graduate Division and later served as Associate Dean and Dean before his return to the Physics Department in 1949. During a 1938 summer sabbatical he visited universities, physical laboratories, and factories in Europe with other American physicists. After retiring from Oregon State College, he spent four years (1951-1955) as head of the Physics and Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Alaska.
Weniger married Myrtle Elizabeth Knepper, a librarian, in 1918; their son, George Edward, was born in 1919. Weniger invented a translucent blackboard and a typewriter attachment for typing Greek letters and mathematical symbols. He died on March 14, 1959 in Corvallis, Oregon. The Physics Building, completed that same year was named Weniger Hall in his honor.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection consists of photographs taken and/or collected by Willibald Weniger. The bulk of the collection is a photograph album documenting scenes, buildings and people at the University of Wisconsin and Oregon Agricultural College. The Oregon Agricultural College images are of campus and the vicinity around Corvallis, Oregon; physics laboratories and research; and Weniger and his family and friends. Of special note are photographs of the construction of Strand Agricultural Hall (1913) and McAlexander Fieldhouse (1911); the Willamette and Marys Rivers and forests on Marys Peak; floods; and railroads, including the Corvallis and Alsea River Railroad. The photographs of the University of Wisconsin campus and Madison as well as other locations, such as the Wisconsin Dells, document where Weniger took classes, worked and visited. Many of the images are not identified.
The collection also includes a late 19th century photograph album that likely includes photos of Weniger as a child, other Weniger family members, and family friends.There are also non-album portraits of Weniger and several unidentified people and places.
The bulk of the collection is the photograph album of black and white prints; most of the prints are 4x5 in. or smaller. The collection also includes some loose prints, including one mounted cyanotype; about 40 4x5 glass negatives; 1 color transparency in a lantern slide mount; and 41 nitrate negatives.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Willibald Weniger Photographic Collection (P 081), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series. Series one consists of portraits of Weniger, the family photograph album, and other unidentified photographs. Series two consists of photos of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and vicinity. These images are in an album and are numbered 1 through 134. Series three consists of images of Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis and vicinity and unidentified locations in the northwestern U.S. These images are in an album and are numbered 135-556.
Related Materials
The Willibald Weniger Papers (MSS Weniger) include Weniger's dissertation and reports of a 1938 trip to visit university, physical laboratories, and factories in Europe. Additional photographs of Weniger are located in Harriet's Collection (HC 1727).
Three individual images and one album page from the Willibald Weniger Photographic Collection can be found online in Oregon Digital's Historical Images of Oregon State University.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Portraits of Weniger, family photograph album and unidentified photographs, circa 1870-1920Return to Top
This series consists of portrait photographs of Weniger from about 1901 to 1914; a photograph album from the late 19th century containing childhood photos of Weniger, his family and friends; unidentified portraits, group shots of people, and homes; and St. Luke’s hospital. Unidentified images that are glass negatives are numbered P081:562-563, 566 and 570.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2.1 | Portrait photographs of Willibald Weniger 7 images, including 2 duplicates
|
circa 1901-1914 |
| 2.2 | Photograph album containing photos of Weniger as a child and likely of his family and friends of his family 36 images, many of which are albumen prints
|
circa 1870-1900 |
| 2.3 | Unidentified portraits and group shots 14 images
|
circa 1890-1920 |
| 2.4 | P081:562: Unidentified homes 4 images (6 prints)
Two images may be of St. Luke's hospital.
See Box 4 for two additional images. Modern prints made from nitrate negatives.
|
|
| 2.4 | P081:570: Unidentified people 10 images
See Box 4 for one additional image. Modern prints from nitrate negatives.
|
|
| Box | ||
| 4 | P081:562: Unidentified houses 2 images
|
|
| 4 | P081:563: Bridge and town; hill in background says Charles N. Hancher diamonds in large letters
This could be jeweler and watch maker Charles N. Hancher in Wheeling, West Virginia.
|
|
| 4 | P081:566: Woman dressed in a kilt 3 images
|
|
| 4 | P081:570: Boy or young man standing in an orchard |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6.1 | P081:562: Unidentfied homes
4 nitrate negatives
|
|
| 6.1 | P081:570: Unidentfied people
10 nitrate negatives
|
|
| 6.1 | Children playing
2 nitrate negatives
|
|
| 6.1 | Campsite
2 nitrate negatives
|
|
| 6.1 | Group having picnic
1 nitrate negative
|
Series 2: University of Wisconsin, Madison and vicinity, circa 1901-1908Return to Top
This series includes images taken or collected by Weniger while a student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Included are images of University of Wisconsin buildings, the city of Madison, landscape views from around campus and Madison, and views of lakes Mendota and Monona. Many of the images are unidentified; only selected images are described below. The images are prints mounted in an album and individually numbered 1-134. Images 129 through 134 may document Weniger’s trip from Wisconsin to Corvallis. Two of the images in this series have corresponding glass negatives.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 1 | P081:001: Bascom Hall
The dome of this building was destroyed by fire in 1916.
|
circa 1905 |
| 1 | P081:002: Willow Creek and bridge |
circa 1905 |
| 1 | P081:005: Wisconsin Historical Society building |
|
| 1 | P081:006: Wisconsin Historical Society library reading room |
circa 1905 |
| 1 | P081:007: Museum display cases
The cases may be at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
|
circa 1905 |
| 1 | P081:012: Horticulture, Dairy and Agriculture Buildings |
|
| 1 | P081:013: Agriculture Hall |
|
| 1 | P081:014: Dairy Barn |
|
| 1 | P081:017-P081:019: Lakes
P081:019 is Lake Mendota.
|
|
| 1 | P081:020: University Drive in the snow |
|
| 1 | P081:026-P081:029: Lakes |
|
| 1 | P081:033: Canoes on a rocky beach |
|
| 1 | P081:035-P081:038: Lakes |
|
| 1 | P081:045: Sailboat on a lake |
|
| 1 | P081:061-P081:066: Laboratories |
|
| 1 | P081:070: Dairy Building (Hiram Smith Hall) and the central heating plant |
|
| 1 | P081:072: Dane County Courthouse in Madison, Wisconsin |
|
| 1 | P081:073: Sailboat on a lake |
|
| 1 | P081:076-P081:080: Ice sailing on Lake Mendota, adjacent to the University of Wisconsin |
|
| 1 | P081:081-P081:086: Aerial views of the University of Wisconsin campus and Madison |
|
| 1 | P081:087-P081:093: Sailboating on Lake Mendota |
|
| 1 | P081:094: Rock formation near Camp Douglas?
This could be part of the Castle Rock formation.
|
|
| 1 | P081:095: Wisconsin Dells
Witches Gulch?
|
circa 1906 |
| 1 | P081:096-P081:097: Dam on a river |
|
| 1 | P081:098-P081:104: Wisconsin Dells
P081:101 is of the Larks Hotel and boat landing.
|
|
| 1 | P081:107: Willibald Weniger standing on a dock |
|
| 1 | P081:109: Willibald Weniger standing in water next to a dock |
|
| 1 | P081:113: Boat on a beach
Next to the boat is a makeshift clothesline with clothes drying, and in the background is a pier.
|
|
| 1 | P081:114: Boat in a small canal |
|
| 1 | P081:116: Woman and three children in the woods |
|
| 1 | P081:118: Building under construction
University of Wisconsin?
|
|
| 1 | P081:119: Residential street
Madison, Wisconsin?
|
|
| 1 | P081:120: Dredging machinery on a lake or river |
|
| 1 | P081:121: Residential Street
Madison, Wisconsin?
|
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| 1 | P081:124: Girl on roller skates in front of a house |
|
| 1 | P081:125: Willibald Weniger (right) and unidentified man standing in front of a shrub |
|
| 1 | P081:126: Willibald Weniger (left) and unidentified man sitting |
|
| 3 | P081:118: Building under construction
University of Wisconsin?
|
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| 3 | P081:124: Girl on roller skates |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6.1 | P081:116: Woman and three children in the woods
nitrate negative
|
Series 3: Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis and vicinity, and the Northwest, circa 1908-1940Return to Top
This series includes images of Oregon Agricultural College buildings, grounds, and faculty; Corvallis and the surrounding area including the Marys River and Marys Peak; and landscape views of unidentified locations in the northwestern U.S. Many of the images are unidentified; only selected images are described below. Some of the unidentified images may be student outings. Most of the images are prints adhered to an album and are individually numbered 135-556; a few of the album images have corresponding glass negatives. Two sets of images are numbered 282-287; they are designated “a” and “b”. This series also includes two copy prints of images from the album and a small number of non-album images, including a color transparency of Weatherford Hall mounted as a lantern slide and 10 images pertaining to Weniger’s work at General Electric during World War I on monocular and binocular field glasses (P081:567-569)
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 1 | P081:143: Landscape view with Marys Peak in the distance |
|
| 1 | P081:146: Landscape view with Marys Peak in the distance |
|
| 1 | P081:147: Mechanical Hall from lower campus |
|
| 1 | P081:148-P081:152: Snow on the OAC campus
P081:150 shows the Administration Building (Benton Hall) and nearby trees covered in snow.
|
|
| 1 | P081:153-P081:157: Outing on the Marys River |
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| 1 | P081:158-P081:171: Outing to Marys Peak |
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| 1 | P081:172: Railroad track
Possibly line to Monroe with Marys Peak in background.
|
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| 1 | P081:176: Railroad tracks in the mountains |
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| 1 | P081:177-P081:181: Flood, Willamette River
Images 180-181 show the Marys River bridge.
|
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| 1 | P081:182: Armory under construction
Now McAlexander Fieldhouse.
|
1909 |
| 1 | P081:183: OAC electrical engineering lab? |
|
| 1 | P081:184: Hydroelectric powerhouse destroyed by fire
Possibly in California.
|
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| 1 | P081:186: Log hut and camp |
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| 1 | P081:188-P081:191: Marys Peak |
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| 1 | P081:206: OAC faculty
Includes Weniger (standing on right), George Peavy (standing third from left), John Fulton (standing third from right) and John Horner (sitting second from left).
|
circa 1910 |
| 1 | P081:207-P081:211: Oregon coast
Image 207 is probably Yaquina Head.
|
|
| 1 | P081:217-P081:219: Camp scenes |
|
| 1 | P081:225;P081:227: Boat under construction |
|
| 1 | P081:242;P081:245: Willibald Weniger |
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| 1 | P081:249-P081:250: Laboratories |
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| 1 | P081:258: Willibald Weniger sitting on a wooded hillside |
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| 1 | P081:262: Sign on fence, "Trespass notice, College students! & town kids keep off." |
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| 1 | P081:266: Sawmill |
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| 1 | P081:270-P081:272: Picnic group |
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| 1 | P081:273;P081:278: Canoeing |
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| 1 | P081:280: Marys River dam |
|
| 1 | P081:283a.: Abandoned trolley
Used for the Occidental Hotel in Corvallis.
|
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| 1 | P081:284a.-P081:285a.: Young woman canoeing |
|
| 1 | P081:282b.-P081:283b.: Ferry crossing on the Willamette River |
|
| 1 | P081:284b.-P081:294: Flood
Includes scenes of flooded streets, shooting ducks on flooded lower campus, First Presbyterian Church with Corvallis schools in background.
|
|
| 1 | P081:295: Willamette River and Southern Pacific railroad line
About 7 miles south of Eugene.
|
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| 1 | P081:304-P081:316: Snow scenes in the mountains and forest |
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| 1 | P081:317-P081:319: OAC buildings in snow
Mechanical Hall and the Administration Building (now Kearney Hall and Benton Hall).
|
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| 1 | P081:320: View of Corvallis from hills to the northwest |
|
| 1 | P081:322: Armory
Now McAlexander Fieldhouse.
|
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| 1 | P081:323-P081:324: Airplane next to Mechanical Hall |
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| 1 | P081:333; P081:336: Canoeing |
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| 1 | P081:372-P081:376: Speedboat |
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| 1 | P081:378: Speedboat being hauled to the Willamette River ferry crossing near Van Buren |
|
| 1 | P081:382: Agriculture hall, south wing under construction |
1913 |
| 1 | P081:384: Mechanical Arts Building |
|
| 1 | P081:385: Stock judging pavilion and the Farm Mechanics Building
The Farm Mechanics Building is now Gilmore Hall.
|
circa 1913 |
| 1 | P081:386: Dairy Building? under construction |
|
| 1 | P081:408-P081:409: Lightning |
|
| 1 | P081:421: Science Hall, OAC
Now Furman Hall.
|
circa 1912 |
| 1 | P081:422: Military maneuvers in front of Science Hall, OAC |
circa 1912 |
| 1 | P081:423: Agriculture Hall and the Bandstand, OAC |
circa 1913 |
| 1 | P081:424: Newly completed Armory, OAC
Postcard published by Paxton; taken by Lavel.
|
circa 1910 |
| 1 | P081:425: Auto on the Corvallis and Alsea River Railroad
Photo by H.S.P.
|
|
| 1 | P081:426: Walkway on Lower Campus |
circa 1910 |
| 1 | P081:427: Willamette River at Corvallis
Postcard published by Paxton; taken by Lavel
|
circa 1910 |
| 1 | P081:428-P081:447: May Day pageant |
|
| 1 | P081:448-P081:449: Picnic group |
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| 1 | P081:477;P081:479: Observatory? |
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| 1 | P081:482: Observatory? |
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| 1 | P081:480: Footbridge over stream |
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| 1 | P081:494: Stream |
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| 1 | P081:496-P081:497: Stream |
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| 1 | P081:503: Barn |
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| 1 | P081:506-P081:513: Waterfalls |
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| 1 | P081:514: Radio Towers? |
|
| 1 | P081:517: Ford auto with 1915 Delaware license plates |
|
| 1 | P081:520a: Radio towers? |
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| 1 | P081:520b: Ford auto with 1915 Delaware license plates |
|
| 1 | P081:534: Train on trestle |
|
| 1 | P081:535: Bridge construction? |
|
| 1 | P081:537: Train yard (loading stone?) |
|
| 1 | P081:539: Train loading? |
|
| 1 | P081:540-P081:542: Motorcycle engine |
|
| 1 | P081:543-P081:545: Interior of a house |
|
| 1 | P081:555: Oregon Electric depot at Corvallis flooded |
Feb. 8, 1916 |
| 1 | P081:556: OAC Physics Department faculty |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 2.5 | P081:158: Copy print |
|
| 2.5 | P081:425: Copy print |
|
| 2.5 | P081:559: Laboratory |
|
| Box | ||
| 3 | P081:432: May Day pageant |
|
| 3 | P081:435: May Day pageant |
|
| 4 | P081:437: May Day pageant |
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| 4 | P081:440: May Day pageant |
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| 4 | P081:443: May Day pageant |
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| 4 | P081:445-P081:446: May Day pageant |
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| 4 | P081:480: Footbridge over stream |
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| 4 | P081:494: Stream |
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| 4 | P081:496-P081:497: Stream |
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| 4 | P081:534: Train on trestle |
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| 4 | P081:537: Train yard (loading stone?) |
|
| 4 | P081:539: Train loading? |
|
| 4 | P081:557: Unidentified dam |
|
| 4 | P081:558: Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River |
|
| 4 | P081:559: Laboratory |
|
| 4 | P081:561: Automobile 2 images
Two similar images are included in Box 6.
|
circa 1912 |
| 4 | P081:567: Charts and graphs pertaining to Weniger's war work at General Electric 6 images
|
|
| 5 | P081:567: Charts and graphs pertaining to Weniger's war work at General Electric 2 images
|
|
| 5 | P081:568: Man standing by marker |
|
| 5 | P081:569: Soldiers testing field glasses? |
|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6.2 | P081:428: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:429: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:430: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
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| 6.2 | P081:431: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
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| 6.2 | P081:434: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:438: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:447: May Day pageant
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:469: Woman sitting on log
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:500: Stream
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:501: Waterfall
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:502: Stream
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:503: Barn
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:506: Waterfall
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:511: Waterfall with structure
nitrate negative
|
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| 6.2 | P081:524: Man standing on rock overlooking stream
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:526: Man standing on rock outcrop
nitrate negative
|
|
| 6.2 | P081:561: Automobile 3 nitrate negatives
Two similar images are included in Box 4.
|
circa 1912 |
| 6.2 | P081:565: May Day pageant
2 nitrate negatives
|
|
| Box | ||
| 7 | P081:581: Southwest side of Weatherford Hall
Color transparency mounted as a lantern slide
|
circa 1940 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Boats and boating--Oregon.
- Boats and boating--Wisconsin.
- Coasts--Oregon.
- Floods--Oregon--Willamette River.
Personal Names
- Horner, John B., 1856-1933.
- Peavy, George Wilcox, 1869-1951.
- Weniger, Willibald, 1884-
Corporate Names
- Corvallis & Alsea River Railway Company.
- Oregon Agricultural College--Buildings.
- Oregon Agricultural College--Faculty.
- Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
- University of Wisconsin--Madison.
Geographical Names
- Corvallis (Or.)
- Madison (Wis.)
- Marys Peak (Or.)
- Marys River (Or.)
- Mendota, Lake (Wis.)
- Monona, Lake (Wis.)
- Willamette River (Or.)
- Wisconsin Dells (Wis.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Albumen prints.
- Cyanotypes (photographic prints)
- Glass plate negatives.
- Lantern slides.
- Nitrate negatives.
- Photograph albums.
- Photographic prints.
Finding Aid Authors: Lawrence A. Landis.
2017
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
