Inventory of the Forest History Society Photograph Collection, circa 1890 – Present
Descriptive Summary
Abstract: The Forest History Society (FHS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational institution that links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources -- timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values. Through programs in research, publication, and education, the Society promotes and rewards scholarship in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history. FHS houses a comprehensive compilation of materials related to forest history in the Alvin J. Huss Archives, which contain the records of industry and conservation organizations worldwide, and the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Library, which contains than 9,000 volumes.
The collection includes black-and-white photographic prints originating with the United States Forest Service, the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, and the American Forest Institute; these photographs document the work of these organizations in a broad range of activities. Also includes photographs donated by other forest products companies, conservation organizations, and individuals, as well as photographs collected for the editorial purposes of the Forest History Society's quarterly Journal of Forest History. The bulk of the collection is post-1940, but there are a number of earlier images and a few portraits of prominent lumbermen and foresters dating from the late nineteenth century. Some negatives are included. Most images are in black-and-white print format, date from the 1920s to the 1960s, and pertain to the United States, although some images document activities in other countries. Scenes of the U.S. Pacific Northwest are more numerous than images of other regions. The Auxiliary Collections section includes lantern slides used by forestry professors in South Carolina, Arkansas, and Nebraska to illustrate their class lectures (circa 1910-1930) and photo albums created by several individuals that illustrate various aspects of forestry, the forest products industry, and conservation work.
Title: Forest History Society Photograph Collection, circa 1890 - Present
Creator: Forest History Society, collector
Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives
Call Number: 3300
Language of Material: Material in English
Extent: 170.0 linear feet (over 25,000 photographs, slides, negatives, plates, and films)
Historical Note
The Forest History Society (FHS) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational institution that links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources -- timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values. Through programs in research, publication, and education, the Society promotes and rewards scholarship in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history. FHS houses a comprehensive compilation of materials related to forest history in the Alvin J. Huss Archives, which contain the records of industry and conservation organizations worldwide, and the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Library, which contains than 9,000 volumes.
Collection Overview
The collection includes black-and-white photographic prints originating with the United States Forest Service, the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, and the American Forest Institute; these photographs document the work of these organizations in a broad range of activities. Also includes photographs donated by other forest products companies, conservation organizations, and individuals, as well as photographs collected for the editorial purposes of the Forest History Society's quarterly Journal of Forest History. The bulk of the collection is post-1940, but there are a number of earlier images and a few portraits of prominent lumbermen and foresters dating from the late nineteenth century. Some negatives are included. Most images are in black-and-white print format, date from the 1920s to the 1960s, and pertain to the United States, although some images document activities in other countries. Scenes of the U.S. Pacific Northwest are more numerous than images of other regions.
The Auxiliary Collections section includes lantern slides used by forestry professors in South Carolina, Arkansas, and Nebraska to illustrate their class lectures (circa 1910-1930) and photo albums created by several individuals that illustrate various aspects of forestry, the forest products industry, and conservation work.
The Forest History Society Photograph Collection began in the 1960s through major gifts from the Weyerhaeuser Corporation and the American Forest Institute. Subsequent gifts from the American Forestry Association (now known as American Forests), Miller-Freeman Publishers, the National Forest Products Association, the Society of American Foresters, the U.S. Forest Service, the University of Nebraska, Harold Weaver, Robert K. Winters, and many smaller donations have rounded out the holding to its current size. New gifts are added to the collection as they are accessioned.
Collection Arrangement
- Photographs, Slides, Negatives, Plates, and Films, late 19th and 20th centuries
Subject Headings
- American Forest Institute
- Forest products industry -- United States -- History
- Foresters -- Portraits
- Forests and forestry -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 19th century
- Forestry schools and education -- Lantern slides
- Forests and forestry -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 20th century
- Forests and forestry -- United States -- History -- 19th century
- Forests and forestry -- United States -- History -- 20th century
- Journal of forest history
- Lantern slides
- Lumber trade -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 19th century
- Lumber trade -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 20th century
- Lumber trade -- United States -- History -- 19th century
- Lumber trade -- United States -- History -- 20th century
- Lumbermen -- Portraits
- Nature conservation -- Societies, etc. -- History -- 19th century
- Nature conservation -- Societies, etc. -- History -- 20th century
- Photograph albums
- Photographs
- United States. Forest Service
- Weyerhaeuser Timber Company
Detailed Description of the Collection
1. Photographs, Slides, Negatives, Plates, and Films, late 19th and 20th centuries.
The FHS Photo Collection Guide [PDF] lists folder headings and provides brief descriptions of the Auxiliary Collections. Some images have been digitized and are searchable in an online image database.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the Forest History Society's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Forest History Society claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Forest History Society Photograph Collection, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.
Processing Information
Processed by Staff
Encoded by Amanda Ross, May 2009
Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.
