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Finding Aid to the Lonnie H. Wilson Photograph Archive, approximately
1950-1985
BANC PIC 1992.029
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Lonnie H. Wilson photograph archive
Creator:
Wilson, Lonnie H.,
1917-1988
Creator:
Tribune Publishing Company (Oakland,
Calif.)
Identifier/Call Number: BANC PIC 1992.029
Physical Description:
115,000 photographs
100 boxes (approximately 115,000 items, chiefly negatives and 300
photographic prints)
: chiefly b&w, some color
; various sizes
Date (inclusive): approximately
1950-1985
Abstract: Documentary photography by
photojournalist Lonnie Wilson, chiefly comprising news negatives from Oakland, Berkeley, and
other locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Physical Location: For current information on the location
of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language of Material:
English
[Identification of item], Lonnie H. Wilson photograph archive, BANC PIC 1992.029, The
Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Documentary photography by photojournalist Lonnie Wilson, chiefly comprising news negatives
from Oakland, Berkeley, and other locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, arranged by year
and month of assignment. Subjects include: accidents, crime, local events, politics,
schools, sports, fashion, parades, labor strikes, protests and student activism of the
Vietnam War era, and other images recording local news. Also present are negatives taken
beyond the scope of Wilson's Oakland Tribune work, such as Parade Magazine news and human
interest stories, work for or about the Oakland Department of Parks and Recreation,
Republican Party images (in particular, the William F. Knowland campaign and bus tour of
1958), both the Democratic and Republican national conventions of 1960, and apparent
freelance work for Perma Bilt Homes Inc. promoting suburban housing developments. In
addition, there are photographs apparently shot out of personal interest, including
woodworking images, family and friends, some travels, and other subjects.
While most images are black and white negatives, there are some 35mm color slides. There is
a miscellany of large format photographic prints, including Oakland mud flats, Children's
Fairyland, children petting animals, famous people, and other assorted subjects.
Biographical / Historical Note
Paraphrase from Wilson's obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday, October 15,
1988: Lonnie Wilson, an award-winning photographer for the Oakland Tribune for 47 years,
died October 14, 1988. He was 71. A native of Georgia's Henry County, Mr. Wilson joined the
Tribune in 1940 after working as a wire photo operator for Associated Press. When he retired
in January 1988, he had long been chief photographer for the Tribune. "Lonnie Wilson was an
indefatigable warrior, an inspiration to his colleagues," said Robert C. Maynard, editor and
president of the Tribune. "The work and presence of this great veteran will be sorely
missed." Mr. Wilson grew up in Atlanta and attended the Georgia Evening School of
Technology. After joining the Tribune, he was drafted into the Army in 1941. He served as a
photographer for Yank magazine, traveling to Guadalcanal, Fiji, Okinawa, Samoa and other
areas in World War II. During his career, he won awards from the National Press
Photographers Association, San Francisco Press Club, California Press Photographers and
numerous other groups.
NEGATIVES and SLIDES: RESTRICTED. Available for use by appointment only. Inquiries should
be submitted to Bancroft Reference via the Reference Inquiry form.
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS: UNPROCESSED. UNAVAILABLE FOR USE. Inquiries regarding these materials
should be submitted to The Bancroft Library via the Notice of Interest in Unprocessed
Collections form.
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
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Lonnie H. Wilson.
Processed by Bancroft Library staff in 2014-2020 and 2023.
Sleeve (or news story / job) descriptions are transcribed from very cursory notes made by
the photographer on paper sleeves containing negatives. These notes are often illegible and
contain many abbreviations. Little attempt has been made by the library to interpret or
expand upon these annotations.
Note that there are 93 negative boxes (NEG boxes), but they are nnumbered 1 through 85, with some numbers having been split
into multiple boxes such as 29a, 29b, etc.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
News photographs -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Oakland (Calif.)
San
Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
California -- Politics and government
California--Social life and customs
Sports -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Photographs -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area
Photographs -- California -- Oakland
Wilson, Lonnie H.,
1917-1988
Knowland, William F. (William Fife),
1908-1974