Victor Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr., Collection, 1941-1980s
approximately 114 photographs in 1 album, 1 diary, 1 VHS tape, assorted paper files
approximately 114 photographs in 1 album, 1 diary, 1 VHS tape, assorted paper files
The Victor Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr., collection contains an assortment of materials including a diary, photograph album, paper files, and a VHS tape, all of which pertain to U.S. Army Air Corp pilot 1st Lt. Victory Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr.’s service in the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron during World War II.
The diary (15 x 8.5 cm) contains entries written by Rushfeldt, Jr., during the year of 1941. In the first entry on New Year’s Day, Rushfeldt, Jr., expressed a desire to join either the United States Army or Navy as a pilot and wondered “where I will be next New Years?” After failing his physical service exam with the Navy due to “crooked teeth,” he decided to first finish securing his private pilot’s license before sending applications to the Army Air Corps on January 31. On March 8 1941, Rushfeldt, Jr., attended a physical exam for flying cadets at Fort Snelling where again he was told that they would not “O.K. my teeth” but was instructed to send a plaster dental cast to Washington, D.C. On March 21, he traveled to Abilene, Texas, before heading for San Diego, California by car on March 25. After hitchhiking to Los Angeles on April 4 he subsequently sought job opportunities in the area while staying at the home of a local couple, including applying for a position at the Lockheed Aircraft Co. and interviewing with the Vega Airplane Co., the latter of whom he felt he could’ve obtained employment with “except for the fact that I will probably be drafted soon.” On April 20, Rushfeldt, Jr., began hitchhiking back to Albert Lea, noting stops in Nevada, Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa before arriving home April 27. On August 12, he recorded having completed his U.S. Army Air Corps physical exam while on August 15 he took his flight test for “Stage C of the secondary C.P.T.” Towards the back of the diary there are several phone numbers and addresses listed for friends and acquaintances as well as a “Brief History of My Flying Course” listing the duration and type (dual or solo) of Rushfeldt, Jr.’s training flights in Albert Lea from October 8 1940 to February 20 1941. Also of note are numerous entries involving women that Rushfeldt, Jr., was dating.
The photograph album (26 x 34 cm) contains approximately 114 images and is string-bound with brown covers. The album begins with a series of photos showing various young women, American servicemen in uniform, and older adults interacting at what appears to be a wedding reception. Subsequent photographs of interest include a portrait of fellow pilot Jerry Smith holding a large camera; images of various aircraft; portraits of various officers identified by pen inscriptions including “Lt. Connely,” “Lt. Everhardt,” “FO Luther,” “Lt. Raymer,” “Lt. Gireau,” “Capt. Lake,” “Lt. Thye,” “Lt. Riddle,” “FO Stone,” “Charles Enoch,” “Lt. Smith,” “Lt. Glenn Jensen,” and numerous photos (including group portraits) of Victor Rushfeldt, Jr.; images of campsites, barracks, and other buildings possibly in Nadzab, New Guinea; several images documenting the wreck of an F-7B aircraft nicknamed “Idle Curiosity” which crash landed on the Biak Island airstrip while Rushfeldt, Jr., was onboard; and several photographs of indigenous Papuans (including pictures of nude women and women breastfeeding animals). Also present are twenty-one images showing painted illustrations on the sides of various aircraft, many of which were designed Cpl. Al G. Merkling. Numerous illustrations involve nude or scantily clad women posing suggestively. Nicknames of documented planes include “The Wango Wango Bird,” “Photo Queen,” “Cherokee Strip,” “TS Sympathy Remembrance,” “I’ll Be Around,” “American Beauty,” “Hangover Haven,” “Little Joe,” “Round Trip,” “Liberty Belle,” “Patched Up Piece,” “Ready Willing and Able,” “Idle Curiosity,” “Pappy’s Passion,” “Sweet Sixteen,” “St. Louis Blues,” “V…-Sure Pop,” “The Rip Snorter,” “Bourbon Boxcar,” “Ole’ Tomato,” “Mission Belle,” and “Tail Wind.”
The paper files include an envelope of informational materials from the “Reunion Project Office b-24/50th Anniversary” related to the planning of a 1989 reunion event; an overseas document file case containing three souvenir buttons from the first and second 20th Combat Mapping Squadron reunion events in 1982 and 1984, several empty letter envelopes addressed to Rushfeldt, Jr., a register of Rushfeldt, Jr.’s vaccinations and other medical data from December 28 1941 to Jan 27 1945, and an official notice from March 7 1943 declaring that Rushfeldt, Jr., qualified as “Marksman” with a .45 caliber pistol after achieving a score of 106; and a vertical file containing numerous materials related to 20th Combat Mapping Squadron reunions, events, newsletters, and other documents, including a draft of “A Pictorial History of the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 6th Photo Group that Served so Honorably in the Southwest Pacific Area During WW II” consisting of photocopies of images donated by former squadron members and compiled by Maj. Lawrence E. Thibault, Sr.
The VHS tape purportedly contains footage of the "Idle Curiosity" crash on the Biak Island airstrip. Rushfeldt, Jr., was aboard this aircraft at the time of the crash.
approximately 114 photographs in 1 album, 1 diary, 1 VHS tape, assorted paper files
27 photographs in 1 album
Views of Early St. Louis contains 27 photographs of scenes from St. Louis, Missouri, between 1840 and 1895 that were assembled by German American photographer Emil Boehl during the late-1890s, including several photographic reproductions of various works by other artists such as Daguerrean photographer Thomas M. Easterly.
The album (35 x 45 cm) has red leather covers with “Views of Early St. Louis” stamped in gold on the front. Of the 27 photographs included in this album, 15 are pasted-in while 12 were printed directly onto the album pages. Images vary in size, with some taking up nearly an entire album page.
The following list represents the album’s contents in order of appearance and includes image titles (with supplied titles appearing in brackets), additional captions, various forms of Emil Boehl’s photographer credits, image descriptions, and original sources for images known to have been photographically reproduced by Boehl:
1 volume
The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Trip album contains 296 photographs taken along a railroad line in Tennessee and on an unidentified beach in the 1890s. Each item is a Kodak No. 2 circular print, mounted onto the pages in groups of 6; two are pasted on top of other pictures. The photographs are numbered 577-863. The volume has leather covers with the title "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front.
Most of the album's images are scenes from a railroad trip in Tennessee, beginning with views of the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia, and including pictures of passengers, tracks, trackside scenery, depots, and small towns. The album also contains pictures of people walking along a beach, displaying captured fish, preparing to launch a rowboat, and shooting small birds. Additional groups of items show a large Victorian house, people disembarking from a boat, and bathers diving into a large partially covered swimming area.
1 volume
This album (13cm x9cm) contains 16 carte-de-visite and 13 tintype photographs taken in Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland circa 1870s-1880s. Most items are individual portraits, with three exceptions: a carte-de-visite of two women, a tintype of a woman holding an infant, and a tintype family photograph of six people, mostly children. The majority of the tintypes and at least two of the cartes-de-visite have hand coloring. One photograph of an infant is identified as Estelle Simcoe. The volume's brown cover has a raised geometric design, and the title "Album" is stamped in gold on the spine.
approximately 195 photographs in 1 album
The Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts photograph album contains approximately 195 photographs depicting the travels and leisure activities of an unidentified Brooklyn-based family in various locations in Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. The album (28 x 40 cm) has black cloth covers, with the front cover being detached. Images of interest include a series of photographs documenting an 1898 trip to Richmond, Virginia, including views of the Capitol, City Hall, St. John's Church, and other landmarks. Also present are 17 photographs showing Fort Monroe, Virginia, with an additional 11 images showing Old Point Comfort hotels, docks, a street view of Phoebus, Virginia, and waterfront views of the Hampton Roads region. New York-related photographs include views of carriage-driving and horseback riding at the Brooklyn Riding & Driving Club, and a summer home at Lake Mahopac, with views of people sailing, swimming, taking carriage rides on country roads, and women golfing. Massachusetts-related photographs include 12 images taken in Boston during 1899 including views of the Public Library and Faneuil Hall and three street views of Commonwealth Avenue.
approximately 195 photographs in 1 album
1 volume
The Vistas de Guantánamo photograph album (17 x 19 cm) contains 43 views of Guantanamo, Cuba, probably taken during or just before the Cuban Revolution of 1895-1898. Included are many images of military encampments and forts, as well as an image of a military hospital. Also several views of Guantanamo, local sugar production, and railroads (including a photograph of railroad workers and image of a derailed train). Each mounted print has a printed caption pasted below. The album has a black cloth cover with gilt title "Fotografias. Vistas de Guantamano." The printed title page reads: "Escalante y Hermano. Fotografos. Concha alta núm. 7. Guantánamo."
2 volumes
The Wabash (Ind.) family photograph albums (both 14cm x 10cm) contain tintype and carte-de-visite studio portraits of men, women, and children in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The first volume contains 19 tintypes and five cartes-de-visite, and the second volume contains 16 tintypes and nine cartes-de-visite; an index of subjects in included at the back of the second album. Some of the tintypes have raised decorated borders on their cardstock frames, and many include hand coloring. Most items are individual portraits, though some men and women posed in pairs. One man appears in a Masonic sash and apron. Each album has a brown leather cover with a raised geometric design and floral patterns stamped in gold.
21 photographs in 2 albums
Although these two albums were purchased together as a single lot from the same source, it is unclear if or how the individuals who are represented in each respective album are related. For conservation and preservation reasons, the original photographs have been removed from these albums and replaced with facsimile scan copies. The original photographs have been housed alongside the albums.
Volume 1:
This album (10 x 12 cm) contains four cartes de visite and six tintypes, all of which are formal studio portrait photographs. The album is made of pebbled black leather covers with a leather closure and has “Album” stamped in gold on the spine. The ownership stamp of “Lon. Fickas” (likely Benjamin Alonzo Fickas) appears twice in the album. “Warrens Brug (sic) Johnson Count Mo” is inscribed on a page near the back cover.
Eight or nine African American individuals are depicted in these photographs, some of whom may be identified through inscriptions on the photograph versos and/or inscriptions made directly onto the album pages. However, it appears that these photographs may have been moved around at some point as some of the album inscriptions do not seem to match up with subjects. Several images have hand-painted details including gold jewelry.
Pg. 1 of this album contained a carte de visite portrait of an African American man bearing a verso inscription that reads “Warrens Brug (sic) Mo march 11 1875 Less Will Wis 25 years old march 1”; there is also an inscription on the album page that reads “Renie (or Remi?) Hatton.” Pg. 2 held a tintype of an African American woman wearing a light blue ribbon that was colored by hand. Pgs. 5 and 11 both contained copies of the same carte de visite portrait of an infant African American child being held in place by a hidden mother; an inscription on pg. 5 reads “Lewis ?” while an inscription on pg. 11 reads “John Butler.” Pg. 7 contained a tintype of a young African American woman that includes a paper flower scrap with printed text reading “Charity” pasted at the top of the photograph sleeve. Two locks of women’s hair were stored in the album, one between pgs. 8 and 9 and the other between pgs. 12 and 13. Pg. 9 contained a full-length tintype portrait of an African American woman that bears a verso inscription reading “John Butler Warrensburg Mo,” while an inscription on page 10 also reads “kizher? Butler Was 27 year old June 1 1876.” This inscription may possibly be referencing a woman named Kizzie Butler who was recorded as living with her husband John Butler in Warrensburg in the 1870 census and was later included in Dawes Act Rolls under “Choctaw Freedmen.” Pg. 13 contained a tintype of an African American woman seated while holding a book (likely a bible). Pg. 15 contained a half-length portrait tintype of an African American man, while pg. 16 contained a tintype of an African American woman (possibly the same woman represented in the tintype from pg. 9) seated while wearing a white dress and hat. A small loose unmounted gelatin silver print portrait of an African American girl was also present between pgs. 16 and 17.
Volume 2:
This album (14 cm x 10 cm) contained eleven studio portrait photographs, nine of which are tintypes. The album has brown leather covers with a metal closure and has a floral motif rectangle around the word "Album" all stamped in gold on the front cover. None of the subjects represented in this album are identified, and none of these portraits appear to depict any of the individuals who are represented in Volume 1.
Most of the portraits that were housed in this album are of unidentified white men, women, and children. Also present is a group portrait tintype showing a family of possible African and/or Native American descent and a carte de visite portrait of a young African American girl taken by “Simpson 424 E Wash St.” (possibly William Simpson of Indianapolis). Also of note is a carte de visite portrait taken by J. F. Ryder of Cleveland of a white actress (possibly a burlesque dancer) leaning on a chair.
1 volume
The Washington & Jefferson College Student album (13cm x 18cm) contains 79 cartes-de-visite, 1 tintype, and 1 lithograph. The original brown leather cover, now detached, has a partially raised geometric design and two metal clasps; a floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. Most items are individual portraits of young men, though a few pictures of women and children are also present, including a group portrait of four women and three men. One carte-de-visite has a decorative border printed directly on the card backing.
Many of the individuals pictured signed their photographs and wrote brief notes; several of the men photographed in Washington and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, mentioned their membership in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A large number of photographs are attributed to George C. Gillett of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the album contains a portrait of University of Michigan professors Alonzo Benjamin Palmer, Samuel Glasgow Armor, and Corydon L. Ford; and a lithograph of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. A number of the other portraits taken in Ann Arbor are signed by men who took courses in medicine at the University of Michigan during the 1860s. The volume includes one portrait of a young child that may have been taken postmortem and one carte-de-visite with artificial coloring.
1 volume
The Weld-Grimké Family Album is a 12.5 x 16 cm bound cartes de visite photograph album with some tintypes and gem tintypes interspersed. The album has a brown leather cover with gilt clasps. The photographs all appear to date from the 1860s to the 1870s but there is no precise date for individual photographs listed. The album has a printed title page that reads "Photographs/Boston/Roberts Brothers." The album is 50 pages with each page containing a single slot for a photograph, though some pages have multiple photographs tucked into the same slot. There are 52 photographs in the album, 46 of which are cartes de visite. There are also 6 tintypes, 2 of which are gem tintypes. The photographs are almost all studio portraiture of individuals ranging from infanthood to old age. One exception to this is a photograph of a satirical drawing of an unidentified individual playing some sort of instrument (loose photograph on page 49). Some of the individuals in the album have been tentatively identified with the majority unidentified. One photograph (on page 24) has been speculated to be a portrait of Charlotte Brown, an African-American servant of the Weld-Grimké family, but this has not been confirmed.
In addition to this finding aid, the Clement Library has created a Photographer Index for the album, containing the names of all the photographers in the order that they appear in the album. This index also records any handwritten inscriptions that were found on the photographs.