Sunderland (Clyde) Photograph Collection, approximately 1925-1965

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Summary

Title:
Clyde Sunderland photograph collection
Dates:
approximately 1925-1965
Creators:
Sunderland, Clyde, Clyde Sunderland Studios (Oakland, Calif.), and Clyde Sunderland Commercial and Aerial Photography (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract:
Aerial photography of the San Francisco Bay Area and photographs of aviation, chiefly in the 1930s.
Extent:
5000 photographs (in 1 carton, 3 boxes, 5 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 9 volumes, and 17 boxes (negatives))
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Clyde Sunderland photograph collection, BANC PIC 1993.004, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Background

Scope and content:

Aerial photography of the San Francisco Bay Area and photographs of aviation. Noteworthy subjects include Pan American Airlines' "clipper ship" seaplanes of the 1930s, construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate International Exposition, the Pacific International Air Races and the Naval School of Photography at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.

Biographical / historical:

Clyde Sunderland (1900-1989) was an aerial and aviation photographer based in Oakland, California. He was first listed in the Alameda County (Oakland) directory as a commercial photographer (and motion picture photographer) in 1928. By 1929 he was making aerial photographs. Sunderland served in the US Naval Reserve from 1932. He had an active photography career until his 1966 retirement, focusing on aviation, oblique aerial photographs, and vertical aerial photographs for mapping. He covered news events for the the Oakland Tribune in the 1930s, and his work appeared in other Bay Area newspapers as well. Among his most-circulated views are those of other aircraft in flight, such as the Pan-American airline's trans-Pacific "clipper" seaplanes, and Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra, and his views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge under construction.

Sunderland's business name and credit lines varied over the years, as found on printed ephemera and his ink stamps on photographs. Variants observed include: Clyde Sunderland Studios, Clyde H. Sunderland Photographs, Clyde H. Sunderland Commercial and Aerial Photographs, and Clyde Sunderland Commercial and Aerial Photography. After his retirement, a successor to his business was Pacific Aerial Surveys of Oakland, who retained a substantial archive of Sunderland's work.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Josephine B Sunderland (Mrs. Clyde Sunderland).
Processing information:

Processed by Bancroft Library staff in 2024.

Arrangement:

The collection has been arranged by Library staff by format. Series 1-4 are loose photographic prints, 11x14 inches and smaller, and ephemera. Each of series 1-4 is a different subject, with further breakdowns by the photographer's code followed by subject of folder contents. Series 5 is oversize photographic prints and ephemera, approximately 20x24 inches and 16x20 inches. Series 6 includes albums of photographic prints and ephemera. Lastly, Series 7 is photographic negatives.

Clyde Sunderland used a variety of alphabetic and numeric codes that are in evidence in the collection, and noted in this finding aid, but they are not fully understood by Library staff. Below is a list of alphabetic codes observed, and staff's assumption about what they mean.

ABV: Berkeley-El Cerrito aerial

AC: Clouds?, aerial

ACT: Richmond aerial. Includes the waterfront and refinery.

ADN: Macon and Akron airships (dirigibles) arond the San Francisco Bay area

AF: Richmond refinery [includes American Can Company (Canco)]

AFE: Rural building on fire, from air

AGGB: Golden Gate Bridge, aerial

AGV: Aerial views. Includes East Bay-Oakland to Richmond, watersheds and national parks

AHH: Homes and hospitals, aerial

AIR: Aerial views of the San Francisco Bay Area, from a very high elevation

ALA: Alameda County, aerial

AM: Mountains?, aerial

AOAV: Oakland aerial

AOT: Oakland army base; Oakland mole aerial

AP: Clipper ships and airplanes, mainly Pan American Airways, aerial

APN: Naval aircraft? around the San Francisco Bay area

AS: Ships, cable laying, Oakland Estuary, moth balled fleet in Suisun Bay, aerial

ASC: Schools and colleges, aerial

ASFB: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, aerial view

ASFV: San Francisco, aerial

ASN: Navy fleet , aerial

AUCB: UC Berkeley campus aerial

CC: Contra Costa County (Richmond, Concord, Walnut Creek)

GAP: Parachute jumper

GB: Freighter under Golden Gate Bridge.

GBA: General Bay Area

GGIE: Golden Gate International Exhibition

GSFB: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, ground view

GSGB: Golden Gate Bridge, ground view

GSV: Ground views (various?) Includes: Oakland skyline, SF Chinatown, ferry building, Fisherman's Wharf, etc. 'for Pacific Telephone'. Also one print of lava formation, north of [Bend?], Arizona.

GSW: Ship aground off San Francisco (item GSW-1)

MRN: Marin County

PER: Personnel/People. Includes portraits of US military personnel.

SC: Santa Clara

SF: San Francisco

SM: San Mateo

A/A: Air to air shot

A/G: Air to ground shot

CC: China Clipper (Martin M-130, NC 14716)

PC: Philippine Clipper (Martin M-130, NC 14715)

HC: Hawaiian Clipper (Martin M-130, NC 14714)

PAC: PAC Pan American Clipper (Sikorsky S-42, NC 823M)

Physical location:
Many Bancroft Library collections are stored off-site and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Physical facet:
: chiefly black and white photographic prints and negatives
Dimensions:
; various sizes
Rules or conventions:
DACS

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Bancroft Library staff
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-06-18 23:34:49 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

GLASS and SAFETY FILM NEGATIVES: RESTRICTED. Available for use by appointment only.

NITRATE NEGATIVES: CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESTRICTIONS.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For additional information about the University of California, Berkeley Library's permissions policy please see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Clyde Sunderland photograph collection, BANC PIC 1993.004, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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