Guide to the Captain Alv Kulstad and George Kulstad Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Captain Alv Kulstad and George Kulstad Collection
Creator:
Kulstad, Peter Alv, 1895-1980
Identifier/Call Number: OCH.AGK
Extent:
7.41 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1916-2012
Abstract: The
Captain Alv
Kulstad and George Kulstad Collection
contains correspondence, 3D objects,
monographs, serials, ephemera, and research materials related to the maritime career of
Peter Alv Kulstad and the lives of his wife Helen (Nellie Thomas) Kulstad and children
George Kulstad and Olav E. Kulstad in Shanghai in the first half of the 20
th century. The bulk of the materials date from
1920-1949.
Language of Material: English,Norwegian
Biographical Information:
Captain Alv Kulstad was born Peter Alv Kulstad in Trondheim, Norway in 1895. He attended
Trondheim Navigation School, served in the Royal Norwegian Navy during World War I, and then
made his living working on a number of ships. He met Helen (Nellie) Thomas while in Shanghai
and the two were married in 1928.
Helen was an American born in 1899 in Chemulpo (Inchon), Korea to a Japanese mother and
American father. Alv and Helen had three sons together, Olav (Ollie) born in 1930, Peter
born in 1932, and George born in 1935. Peter died of dysentery in early childhood.
While living in Shanghai Alv Kulstad served in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps from February
1927 until 1935, when he began working as First Mate on the ship
Li
Liang
. In 1938 he was transferred to the dredger
Chien
She
. He was initially assigned the job of acting Captain of the
Chien She in 1940, but soon became Captain. During his tenure as
Captain, he and the rest of the ship's crew were interned on the
Chien
She
by the Japanese from 1942 to 1944. After World War II, Alv Kulstad worked on
the SS
George R. Holmes, the SS
Trans
Ocean
as a Captain, the SS
Grays Harbor, and the SS
Casa Grande.
While living in Shanghai, George and his older brother Ollie attended Catholic school
Saint Francis Xavier College. Ollie later went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
for an academic year, starting in 1948. When the Communists took over Shanghai in 1949,
Helen and George left China on the SS
General Gordon,
eventually settling in Stockton, California, where Ollie and Alv later joined them.
Scope and Contents
The
Captain Alv Kulstad and George Kulstad Collection contains
correspondence, monographs, serials, ephemera, research notes, and objects related to the
maritime career of Peter Alv Kulstad and the lives of his wife Helen (Nellie Thomas) Kulstad
and children George and Ollie. Collection materials provide insight to maritime life through
correspondence and ephemera related to Alv Kulstad's maritime career as well as American
culture in Shanghai through the personal papers of Helen Kulstad. The bulk of the materials
date from 1920-1949, with a significant amount of material from circa 1920-1929. The
Collection is divided into three series,
Alv Kulstad Maritime Career
Papers
(1935-1953),
George Kulstad Research Papers
(1922-2012), and
Personal Papers (1916-1964).
Series I,
Alv Kulstad Maritime Career Papers, documents the
seafaring career of Alv Kulstad through correspondence, employment applications, and
Kulstad's professional clothing. These materials are arranged chronologically.
Series II,
George Kulstad Research Papers, documents George
Kulstad's research regarding his family history, including his father's work on the dredger
Chien She and time with the Shanghai Volunteer Corps. There
are also copies of documents and research notes related to Kulstad's historical research
into the context of his early life in Shanghai pre-1949. This includes a significant number
of copies of archival documents regarding the Shanghai Municipal Police. Research papers are
arranged alphabetically by subject.
Series III
, Personal Papers, relate directly to Alv Kulstad,
Helen (Nellie Thomas) Kulstad, or the Kulstad family and primarily reflect their residence
in China, with a small number of materials related to their post-China lives. Personal
papers are arranged based on provenance, and then alphabetically.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Alv Kulstad Maritime Career Papers, 1935-1953
Series II: George Kulstad Research Papers, 1922-2012
Series III: Personal Papers, 1916-1964
Conditions Governing Access:
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) 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 owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
George Kulstad, 2016
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Mallory Furnier, 2017
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents
Photographs
Textiles
Series I: Alv Kulstad Maritime Career Papers,
1935-1953
Box 1, Folder 1
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1935
Box 1, Folder 2
Kulstad, Alv Correpondence,
1938
Box 1, Folder 3
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1940
Box 1, Folder 4
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1941
Box 1, Folder 5
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1942
Box 1, Folder 6
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1943
Box 1, Folder 7
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1944
Box 1, Folder 8
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1945
Box 1, Folder 9
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1946
Box 1, Folder 10
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1947
Box 1, Folder 11
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1948
Box 1, Folder 12
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1949
Box 1, Folder 13
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1950
Box 1, Folder 14
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1951
Box 1, Folder 15
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence and Employment Applications,
1952
Box 1, Folder 16
Kulstad, Alv Correspondence,
1953
Box 3, Item 2
Trans Ocean Corporation Headband
Box 3, Item 3
Whangpoo Conservancy Board Headband
Series II: George Kulstad Research Papers, 1922-2012
Box 1, Folder 17
Chien She Research and Whangpoo Conservancy Board Envelope,
undated
Box 1, Folder 18
Japanese Officers Execution Research,
2010-2012
Box 1, Folder 19
Shanghai Articles and Research,
1928, 1953, 2002
Box 1, Folder 20
Shanghai Municipal Police Reports,
1929-1940
Box 1, Folder 21
Shanghai Municipal Police Reports,
1922-1943
Box 1, Folder 22
Shanghai Municipal Police Reports,
1929-1943
Box 1, Folder 23
"The Council's Regulations and The Standing Orders of the Shanghai Volunteer
Corps" Photocopies,
undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Shanghai Volunteer Corps Research,
1934-1989
Box 2, Folder 2
Shanghai Volunteer Corps Research,
1922-2002
Series III: Personal Papers, 1916-1964
Box 2, Folder 3
Chinese Paper Currency,
1946-1949
Box 2, Folder 4
Golden Anchors Souvenir Photographs,
1946 September 19
Box 2, Folder 5
Kulstad, Alv Personal Papers,
1916-1951
Box 2, Folder 6
Kulstad, Helen (Nellie Thomas) Correspondence Culture Courses,
1922-1925
Box 2, Folder 7
Kulstad, Helen (Nellie Thomas) Personal Papers,
1920-1964
Box 2, Folder 8
Personal Family Files,
1924-1949
Box 4, Item 1
Alv Kulstad Dress Handkerchief,
ca. 1920-1939
Box 4, Item 2
Boy Scout, Lloyd Triestino, Missionary Youth, Firestone Tire, Jacinto Rubber
Co. Daylight Sport Shoes, and Rigugio Biella Dolomiti Pins
Box 4, Item 3
British Army Uniform Metal Insignia
Box 4, Item 4
Gold and Black Silk Rolls
Box 4, Item 5
Hakushindo Playing Cards Box
Box 4, Item 6
Indian, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese Lapel Pins and Buttons
Box 4, Item 7
Japanese Muslin Civilian Bags and Hachimaki
Box 4, Item 8
Norwegian and British Lapel Pins
Box 4, Item 9
Ship Officer Uniform Buttons
Box 4, Item 10
Sigemitu-Sakai Japanese Kitchen Knife and Box,
ca. 1920-1939
