Peter Palmquist collection of Humboldt County, California, male photographers
Collection
Call Number: WA MSS S-2670
Scope and Contents
The collection includes information about and examples of the work of male amateur and commercial photographers, studio assistants, photographic processors, colorists, photojournalists, film makers, and film theaters collected by Peter Palmquist from 1971 until his death in 2003. The collection documents the practice and occupation of photography in Humboldt County, California, from the incorporation of the county in 1853. This collection consists of biographical files collected by Palmquist for over nine hundred men and businesses involved in photography and photographic materials that represent the work of nearly three hundred individuals and firms. A database http://palmquist-humboldt.beinecke.library.yale.edu/ provides individual name access to men with biographical files, as well as any available information regarding their aliases, working locations, life dates, and work dates. Individual photographers with significant quantities of material in the collection include Ray Jerome Baker, Augustus William Ericson, Amasa Plummer Flaglor, Alexius Alexander Holmes, N. B. Strong, and Joshua P. Vansant. Firms with substantial groups of material in the collection include the Arcata Union newspaper, Art-Ray Company, Freeman Art Co., and Seely Studio.
Dates
- [circa 1850]-2003
- Majority of material found within 1973 - 2003
Creator
- Palmquist, Peter E. (Collector)
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Boxes 148-160: Restricted Fragile Materials.For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Boxes 148-160: Restricted Fragile Materials.For further information consult the appropriate curator.
Conditions Governing Use
The Peter Palmquist Collection of Humboldt County, California, Male Photographers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Peter E. Palmquist on the Frederick W. and Carrie S. Beinecke Fund for Western Americana, 2000.
Arrangement
Organized into two series: I. Biographical Files, 1971-2003. II. Photographic Materials, circa 1850-2003.
Extent
53.12 Linear Feet ((160 boxes) + 3 broadside folders)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The collection includes information about and examples of the work of male amateur and commercial photographers, studio assistants, photographic processors, colorists, photojournalists, film makers, and film theaters collected by Peter Palmquist from 1971 until his death in 2003. The collection documents the practice and occupation of photography in Humboldt County, California, from around the incorporation of the county in 1853. This collection consists of biographical files collected by Palmquist for over nine hundred men and businesses involved in photography and photographic materials that represent the work of nearly three hundred individuals and firms. Individual photographers with significant quantities of material in the collection include Ray Jerome Baker, Augustus William Ericson, Amasa Plummer Flaglor, Alexius Alexander Holmes, N. B. Strong, and Joshua P. Vansant. Firms with substantial groups of material in the collection include the Arcata Union newspaper, Art-Ray Company, Freeman Art Co., and Seely Studio.
Peter E. Palmquist (1936-2003)
A photographer, collector, and historian of photography, Peter Eric Palmquist was born in Oakland, California on September 23, 1936. In 1944, he moved with his family to Ferndale, California, and he spent most of his life in Humboldt County. During adolescence, Palmquist trained himself in photography. He served in the United States Army as a photographer from 1955 to 1959, mainly with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Paris, France. Palmquist worked briefly as a photographer for the state government of California from 1959-1961. From 1961 until his retirement in 1989, Palmquist worked as a staff photographer for Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, where he also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art in 1965.
From 1971 until his death, Palmquist collected textual materials and hundreds of thousands of photographic items documenting the practice and occupation of photography from its beginning through the turn of the twenty-first century. He had particular interests in early California photographers, photographers of the American West, and women photographers.
A self-trained researcher and historian of photography, Palmquist organized more than a hundred exhibitions and wrote more than three hundred articles and a hundred monographs. He was a founding editor of The Daguerreian Annual ; president of the National Stereoscopic Association.
Palmquist died January 13, 2003, in Oakland.
From 1971 until his death, Palmquist collected textual materials and hundreds of thousands of photographic items documenting the practice and occupation of photography from its beginning through the turn of the twenty-first century. He had particular interests in early California photographers, photographers of the American West, and women photographers.
A self-trained researcher and historian of photography, Palmquist organized more than a hundred exhibitions and wrote more than three hundred articles and a hundred monographs. He was a founding editor of The Daguerreian Annual ; president of the National Stereoscopic Association.
Palmquist died January 13, 2003, in Oakland.
Processing Information
The biographical information in this finding aid is derived mainly from word processing files originally created by Palmquist and his assistants.
- Art-Ray Company
- Baker, Ray Jerome, 1880-1972
- Biography files
- California -- Pictorial works
- Ericson, A. W. (Augustus William), 1848-1927
- Flaglor, Amasa Plummer, 1848-1918
- Freeman Art Co
- Holmes, Alexius Alexander, 1865-1922
- Humboldt County (Calif.)
- Humboldt County (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
- Negatives (photographs)
- Palmquist, Peter E.
- Photograph albums
- Photographers
- Photographers -- Bio-bibliography
- Photographers -- Biography
- Photographers -- California
- Photographers -- History
- Photographers -- Miscellanea
- Photographers -- Pictorial works
- Photographers -- West (U.S.)
- Photographic prints
- Photography -- Bio-bibliography
- Photography -- California
- Photography -- West (U.S.)
- Photography, Artistic
- Seely Studio
- Slides (photographs)
- Strong, N. B.
- Transparencies
- Union (Arcata, Calif.)
- Vansant, Joshua P., 1861-1950
- West (U.S.) -- Pictorial works
- Title
- Guide to the Peter Palmquist Collection of Humboldt County, California, Male Photographers
- Author
- by Matthew Daniel Mason
- Date
- November 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.