Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
October 1997
Revised by Emily Comstock
28 July 2005
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
One photograph album |
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COLLECTION |
ca. 1916–1920 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Geoffrey J. Agism, San Pedro, CA, 1989 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
1989.0472 |
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NOTES: |
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The album contains clues but no definitive answer regarding the identity of the individual who took or assembled the photographs. Evidence suggests that either Amzi O. Admire or Herbert K. Clemens may have made the album. Purdue University alumni directories show that Admire and Clemens lived in Los Angeles, Hollywood, and San Gabriel, California, respectively, from the 1930s to the early 1980s. The Indiana Historical Society purchased the album from a dealer in San Pedro, California, in 1989.
Admire or Clemens may have made the album because these two men are among the seven individuals in the electrical engineering class of 1919 whose names do not appear in the album. Creators of personal collections usually identity photographs of themselves by date and place rather than by name. The subjects of most snapshots in this album are identified by name in white ink below each photograph. However, approximately twelve snapshots of one young man are identified by location, date, description, or a self-debasing comment.
Finally, photographs in the album refer to “our thesis” on deep water well pumps. As of 1934, Admire worked for the Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles, and Clemens worked in the materials department of the Standard Oil Company, Los Angeles.
Sources: Materials in the collection.
Polk’s Indianapolis City Directory. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk, 1919. F534.I55 A18 1919.
Purdue University Alumni Directory. Lafayette: Purdue Alumni Association, 1934: 150, 153. LD4672.3 P8 1934.
Purdue University Alumni Directory. Lafayette: Purdue Alumni Association, 1961: 3, 77. LD4672.3 P8 1961.
Purdue Alumnus 9, (June 1922): 22.
The album contains 218 snapshots, primarily of identified students at Purdue University from 1916 to 1919. Snapshots of the electrical engineering class of 1919 dominate the album. Young men pose outside buildings, on playing fields, and in boats on the Wabash River. Annotations below particular snapshots indicate that the creator of the album was a member of this class. Approximately twelve photographs show an unidentified young man posing with other students. This young man is the only individual in the album not identified. He often poses with Clarence K. Eiler and two young women, one of whom is identified as Eleanor Laverene Frye.
Eleanor Frye lived at 921 Fletcher Avenue, Indianapolis. She may have dated and possibly married the individual who created the album. Images of Miss Frye date from 1918 to 1920. Other photographs in the album include views of the Purdue University campus, the burning of the “old armory” in 1916, and portraits of men wearing United States Navy uniforms.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Purdue University Electrical Engineering Class of 1919 Photograph Album |
Album Storage, PAB |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0465).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.