Collection Guide
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Jorgensen (Victor H.) papers
MS.021
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Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Victor H. Jorgensen papers
Creator:
Jorgensen, Victor H., 1913-1994
Creator:
Jorgensen, Betty (Barbara Lee)
Identifier/Call Number: MS.021
Physical Description:
51 Linear Feet
198 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1938-1996
Abstract: This collection includes writings,
correspondence, photographs, transparencies, slides, negatives, and printed
material.
Language of Material:
English
This collection guide contains harmful language which was used by either the original
creators or the prior stewards of the materials in this collection. Library staff made the
decision to retain, repurpose and in some instances replicate this description because it
may provide important context about its creators, custodial history, and/or source. We are
committed to describing materials in a manner that respects those who create, are
represented in, and interact with the collections we steward, as well as preserving the
original context of collection materials. Ethically managing archival description is an
ongoing and iterative practice, and we welcome your feedback and questions at
speccoll@library.ucsc.edu.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Victor H. Jorgensen papers. MS 21. Special Collections and Archives, University Library,
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Barbara Lee Jorgenson Trust March 1997.
Victor Jorgensen was born in Portland, Oregon on July 8, 1913. He attended the University
of Oregon and Reed College before starting work at
The Oregonian, where he
rose from copy boy to night city editor. It was during that time he became interested in
photography as well as writing. Before the advent of World War II, he was on his way to
establishing himself nationally in the photography field.
He married Betty Price on June 17, 1935. Their first home was designed by Portland
architect John Yeon and built in the then rural area of Raleigh Hills.
In 1942, Jorgensen enlisted in the Navy and was selected by Edward Steichen as one of the
six original officer photographers designated to record the Naval Aviation's part of the
war. He served aboard aircraft carriers USS
Lexington in the Gilbert Islands,
fall 1943; and USS
Monterey in the Marianas, summer 1944; destroyer USS
Grant and shore duty in Borneo and the Philippines during McArthur's return
in late 1944; and the hospital ship USS
Solace off Okinawa, spring 1945. He
captured the day-to-day activities of the men - from boredom to anxiety, from terror to
utter exhaustion.
For ten years after the war, Victor and Betty Jorgensen traveled most of the world as a
photographer researcher team, doing stories for such magazines as
Fortune, Saturday
Evening Post, Collier's, Life,
and
Ladies Home Journal, among many
others. Victor Jorgensen was at one time president of the American Society of Magazine
Photographers, working to establish minimum pay scales and fair practices for the
photography industry.
In 1955 the Jorgensens' moved to Maryland, where Victor Jorgensen edited
The
Skipper
, a prestigious magazine for yachtsmen, for fourteen years. Two daughters,
Lee and Vicky, were born during this time.
Intending to retire, Jorgensen moved his family back to Portland in 1968. He looked
forward to spending more time in his woodworking shop, where he turned out fine furniture.
But he missed his editing work. So once again Victor and Betty teamed up to launch the
Telltale Compass, a newsletter reporting on the boating scene. The
newsletter was sold in 1989 and Victor finally returned to his beloved workshop.
A great many of Jorgensen's Navy photographs were published and exhibited immediately
after the war. Interest in the work of the Steichen unit was revived with the fiftieth
anniversary of World War II and many images were shown again. In spring 1994 Victor and
Betty, a photographer and researcher team for almost 60 years, selected the images and
prepared the captions for an Oregon exhibition of his Navy work.
Victor Jorgensen died of cancer on June 14, 1994, just before his 81st birthday.
Biography from "Return to Manila: An exhibition of World War II Navy photographs by
Lieutenant Victor Jorgensen, USNR". December 7, 1994 - Summer 1995, Columbia River Maritime
Museum, Astoria, OR.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection documents the photographic and writing career of Victor and Betty
Jorgensen. It contains biographical material, correspondence, research, news and human
interest stories, photographic material, press and clippings, albums and realia. The
collection spans pre-World War II projects in Oregon, Washington, and Canada; World War II
Naval projects with Edward Steichen in the Pacific Theater; post-World War II projects in
Africa, Europe and the United States, as well as Jorgensen's work for the American Society
of Magazine Photographers, and his work as editor for the
Telltale
Compass.
Suggestion for the researcher: For an initial overview of
Jorgensen's work, see the portfolio albums in boxes 193-196. These albums contain clippings
of published stories and photographs, which illustrate the topics and social issues that the
Jorgensens covered throughout their career.
Collection is arranged by series. The Jorgensens' original folder titles and physical order
were retained.
Faces of War: The Untold Story of Edward Steichen's WWII Photographersby
Mark D. Faram
MS 329 Horace Bristol Papers
This list contains detailed inventories of Victor Jorgensen's photographic prints.
- Biographical
- Navy, 8x10"
- Navy, 11x14"
- Africa, 8x10"
- Africa, 11x14"
- Europe, 8x10"
- Europe, 11x14"
- United States, 8x10", #1
- United States, 8x10", #2
- United States, 11x14"
Processed by Debra Roussopoulos in 2014.
Finding aid revision statement
This finding aid was revised in the Reparative Archival Redescription Project in 2021-2022.
Previous versions of this finding aid are available upon request.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographers -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 --
Photography
Photographs
Personal correspondence
Steichen, Edward, 1879-1973
Jorgensen, Victor H., 1913-1994 -- Archives
Jorgensen, Betty (Barbara Lee) -- Archives