Walter Reuter photographs, 1950-1975

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Reuter, Walter
Abstract:
Walter Reuter (1906-2005) was a German-born Mexicon photojournalist. He fled war in Europe in 1942 for Mexico, where using modern photojournalistic techniques, he began, among other projects, documenting Mexico's indigenous people. This project eventually consisted of over 35,000 photographs of twenty different ethnicities. In addition to still photography, Reuter produced a number of full length films, both documentary and dramatic. It is estimated that Reuter produced close to 97,000 negatives during his career; he lost possession of his first archive when he fled Germany, and his second when he fled Spain. The Walter Reuter photographs consist of 145 photographs created by Walter Reuter between 1950 and 1975, documenting the indiginous the people of Mexico, daily life, religious ceremonies, and Mexico's leading artists, to name a few subjects. The collection was assembled by a collector.
Extent:
1.29 Linear Feet 1 box; 145 photographs
Language:
Spanish; Castilian .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Walter Reuter photographs, Collection no. 0514, Boeckmann Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Background

Scope and content:

The Walter Reuter photographs consist of 145 photographs created by Walter Reuter between 1950 and 1975, documenting the indiginous people of Mexico, daily life, religious ceremonies, and Mexico's leading artists, to name a few subjects. The collection was assembled by a collector.

Biographical / historical:

Walter Reuter (1906-2005) was born in Germany. He fled Germany in 1933 for Spain, and in 1936 he joined the Republican forces fighting Franco, while also working as a photo correspondent for several wire services. After Franco gained power, Reuter fled to France, where he was placed in a concentration camp. He escaped the camp, fled to Morocco, was recaptured by French authorities, escaped again, and managed, along with his wife and son, to escape on a boat heading to Mexico where they arrived in 1942. He established himself in Mexico City, where, using modern photojournalistic techniques, he began, among other projects, documenting Mexico's indigenous people. This project eventually consisted of over 35,000 photographs of twenty different ethnicities. In addition to still photography, Reuter produced a number of full length films, both documentary and dramatic. It is estimated that Reuter produced close to 97,000 negatives during his career; he lost possession of his first archive when he fled Germany, and his second when he fled Spain.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Bolerium Books, November 2008.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Walter Reuter photographs, Collection no. 0514, Boeckmann Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900