Carlson (H. Leroy) Collection of Photographs from New Guinea and the Philippine Islands, approximately 1930-1960, bulk 1944-1945

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Summary

Title:
H. Leroy Carlson collection of photographs from New Guinea and the Philippine Islands
Dates:
approximately 1930-1960, bulk 1944-1945
Creators:
Carlson, H. Leroy
Abstract:
A collection of 447 photographs and other material related to the U.S. Navy in the Philippines and New Guinea during World War II.
Extent:
4.42 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. H. Leroy Carlson collection of photographs from New Guinea and the Philippine Islands, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of 447 photographs in two albums and other material related to the U.S. Navy in the Philippines and New Guinea during World War II. The photographs were made by commercial photographer and sailor H. Leroy Carlson, who created the albums as an inventory of his images for sale as souvenirs and postcards. A printed catalog with descriptive captions accompanies the albums. The first volume contains photographs taken in Finchhaven, British New Guinea (April 1944), and Hollandia and vicinity, Dutch New Guinea, from 1944 to 1945, including Japanese prisoners of war. The second volume of photographs were taken in the Philippines (1945), with scenes in Mindoro, Manila, Luzon, Tacloban, San Antonio, and a U.S. Navy receiving station. Images depict New Guinea and Filipino people in portraits and daily activities, along with street scenes, shops, rural villages, houses, tropical gardens, wedding celebrations, fishing, and other activities. Images in the Philippines include bombed-out buildings, schools, churches, a Chinese cemetery, indigenous Mangyan people, and Javanese (Indonesian people). U.S. military personnel are seen working, in barracks, on navy ships, and participating in recreational activities. Three of Carlson's 16mm motion picture films are also part of the collection: one of the naval Seabees Camp in New Guinea during World War II; and two home movies of Carlson family trips to New York, Nicaragua, Yellowstone, and Canada. Other personal materials are: a volume of clippings (1947-1949) of Carlson's photographs published in Lake Tahoe, California newspapers; the Cine-Kodak Magazine 16mm movie camera used to shoot the films; and several snapshots, negatives, color slides, and miscellaneous ephemera related to Carlson and his family. A hand-held Airequipt automatic 35mm slide changer (1950s?) for viewing color slides is also part of the colleciton.

Biographical / historical:

H. (Harry) Leroy Carlson (1906-1963) was born in Illinois and was living in Sacramento, California when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943. He served in the Navy Seabees during World War II, spending part of his time in New Guinea and the Philippines. After the war, he and his wife, Fern Anderegg Carlson, and their son, Allen (born 1943), re-located to Lake Tahoe, where Carlson worked as a commercial photographer. He died at age 57, in Sacramento.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Julie Sze and Sasha Abramsky, November 2019.
Processing information:

Processed by Suzanne Oatey in October 2021.

Physical / technical requirements:

Box 4: Negatives, slides and film reels housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required. Film reels not available for viewing until reformatted to digital surrogate. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Suzanne Oatey
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-10-15 14:56:49 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. H. Leroy Carlson collection of photographs from New Guinea and the Philippine Islands, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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