A guide to the Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show, 1991 May 17
Processed by: Amy Croft, August 2012..
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
2012
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: 415-561-7030
Fax: 415-556-3540
SAFR_Historic_Documents@nps.gov
URL: http://www.nps.gov/safr
A Guide to the Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show
P92-108
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service2012, National Park Service
Title: Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show
Date: 1991 May 17
Identifier/Call Number: P92-108 (SAFR 23342)
Creators:
Olmsted, Nancy and
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Agency : U.S.)
Physical Description:
81 items.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: The Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show, May 17, 1991, (SAFR 23342, P92-108) is comprised of 80 black-and-white slides
and a VHS 1/2 in. videocassette, color with sound, of a slide show held in the J. Porter Shaw Library on May 17, 1991. The
slides are photographs in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park collection, created by the Park's Photo Lab
for Nancy Olmsted 's slide presentation. The collection has been processed to the collection level and is open for use without
restrictions.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other
case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
A digitized copy of the VHS video is available.
Note on Description: Dates refer to when the slides were presented, not the date the slides were created or the date the photographs
were taken. The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such
sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material
and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors
in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.
[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], P92-108 (SAFR 23342), Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
SAFR-00620
The materials were received as a field collection from the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park's Photo Lab on
December 22, 1992. It was formally accessioned on January 14, 1993.
Historical or Biographical Note
Nancy Leigh Olmsted (born January 4, 1927) is a sociologist, historian and writer. She received her B.A. in Sociology from
San Francisco State University. She lived in Kentfield, CA for many years, as well as in San Rafael.
She was married to Roger Robertson Olmsted (September 9, 1927-August 6, 1981) who was a historian, preservationist, writer
and curator of the San Francisco Maritime Museum (SFMM). Nancy also served as an advisor and researcher to the SFMM . Roger
and Nancy collaborated on several books about San Francisco Bay Area history. The couple also served as historical and cultural
resource consultants in the San Francisco Bay Area; their work included projects on the city's waterfront.
Some of the books that Nancy worked on include: "To Walk with a Quiet Mind: Hikes in the Woodlands, Parks and Beaches of the
San Francisco Bay Area (A Sierra Club Totebook)"(1975);"Gold Rush ship in Levi's Plaza"(1980); "Vanished waters: A history
of San Francisco's Mission Bay"(1986, revised 2010); "Scow schooners of San Francisco Bay"(1988); "The Ferry Building: Witness
To A Century Of Change, 1898-1998"(1998); and "Simple pleasures begin with ferryboats"(1999).
In 1996, Nancy worked on a Waterfront Transportation Project Historic and Interpretive Signage Program in collaboration with
the artist Michael Manwaring, which was installed along 2.5 miles of The Embarcadero in San Francisco. This was funded by
a grant from Americans for the Arts, and California State's Transportation Enhancement Activities."The project includes 22,
13 foot high posts, vertical history stations and bronze inlays. The metal black-and-white-striped pylons are imprinted with
photographs, stories, poetry in several languages and drawings commemorating the waterfront's historical significance." ("Embarcadero,"
2012)
Sources:
Roger Olmsted obituary. San Francisco Chronicle, August 8, 1981, p. 14.
Unknown author. (2012, August 21). Embarcadero Interpretive Signage and Walkway. Art and Architecture " San Francisco: Accessible
Art and Architecture In the San Francisco Area. Retrieved September 4, 2012. http://www.artandarchitecture-sf.com/tag/nancy-leigh-olmstead
The Nancy Olmsted scow schooner slide show, May 17, 1991, (SAFR 23342, P92-108) is comprised of 80 black-and-white slides
and a VHS 1/2 in. videocassette, color with sound, of a slide show held in the J. Porter Shaw Library on May 17, 1991. The
slides are photographs in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park collection, created by the Park's Photo Lab
for Nancy Olmsted 's slide presentation. The collection has been processed to the collection level and is open for use without
restrictions.
Contains 72 black-and-white slides used in a lecture about scow schooners of the San Francisco Bay Area and a videocassette
of this 2 hour slide presentation. The slides are reproductions of photographic material found in the San Francisco Maritime
National Historical Park collection and the slides were created by the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park's Photo
Lab on December 22, 1992. Many (or all?) of the photographs can also be found in the book "Scow Schooners of the San Francisco
Bay" by Roger Olmsted; as edited by Nancy Olmsted. There are also 8 slides in this collection that were not used during the
presentation.
The presentation was given by Nancy Olmstead and also features scow schooner historian Bob Cleek. Nancy brought Bob Cleek
in to speak because he knows technical details about how scow schooners were built and why they were built in particular ways.
Olmsted mentions that Cleek is a lawyer and also builds models of scow schooners that are in yacht clubs in the Bay Area.
During the presentation Nancy focuses on the historical background and influence on scows and Bob supplies supplementary commentary
about technical details.
Slides in original order; the order they were presented in the slide show.
Related photograph and media collections:
The ALMA Sails! videocassettes (SAFR 23206, P91-061) Consists of (4) videocassettes containing the film "The ALMA Sails!:
The Last Scow Schooner" in various stages of the editing process. Color video with sound. Contains footage of ALMA (built
1891; scow schooner) under way on San Francisco Bay, California in 1991. Also contains footage of historic black-and-white
photographs showing ALMA, other scow schooners, and the San Francisco Bay area. Ken Lewin, Captain of ALMA, and Tom Savage,
First Mate, are interviewed. Narration discusses the use of scow schooners on San Francisco Bay. Research: Nancy Olmsted.
Related manuscript collections:
Roger Olmsted Master's thesis, November 7, 1955. San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, (SAFR 21393, HDC 1330) The
collection consists of Roger Olmsted's typescript copy of his Master's thesis from the University of Nevada, "The Scow Schooners
of San Francisco Bay, 1849-1949," from 1955. It contains the original glossy photographs.
Unprocessed collection. (SAFR-02218) Approximately 40 LF of research files created by Roger and Nancy Olmsted. Roger was a
historian and former curator of the San Francisco Maritime Museum. Files include photographs, manuscripts, publications, correspondence,
photocopies, etc.
- This material is located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Published works:
Olmsted, Roger R. Scow Schooners of San Francisco Bay. 1st ed. Local History Studies v. 33. Cupertino, Calif: California History
Center, De Anza College, 1988.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Shipping--California--San Francisco Bay Area--History
Scow schooners--California--San Francisco Bay Area--History
Cleek, Bob
Alma (built 1891; scow schooner)
San Francisco Bay (Calif.)--Harbor
Black-and-white slides
Videocassettes
Lectures
Video storage
Item No. 01. Videocassette of Slide show lecture on the topic of scow schooners given by Nancy Olmsted with Bob Cleek, 1991 May 17
Extent:
1 videocassette.
Physical Description:
1 VHS 1/2 in. videocassette, color with sound
Scope and Content Note
Slide show lecture on the topic of scow schooners given by Nancy Olmsted with Bob Cleek in May 1991. A slide show provides
photos of vessels and people. Running time is 1 hour and 55 minutes. Good audio quality.
Nancy starts the lecture by providing some background information about how she came to be involved with the history of scow
schooners. Her late husband Roger Olmsted wrote his Master's thesis from the University of Nevada, "The Scow Schooners of
San Francisco Bay, 1849-1949" in 1955. After Roger's death in August 1981, Nancy decided to publish his thesis as a memorial
to him. She applied to the Maritime Association for a grant to the California History Center; after 4 years, Glennie Wall
pushed them to give the money to the California History Center to publish the book. Two years later, in 1988, the book "Scow
Schooners of San Francisco Bay" was published. Nancy added a chapter on ALMA, because when Roger finished his thesis she was
still stuck in the mud flats in Alviso. Nancy also updated certain portions of the text including adding information about
where scows were built (based on Sanborn insurance maps) and things that Captain Fred Klebingat said, etc.
The bulk of the lecture is about the history of scow schooners and their history in the Bay Area. Nancy mentions that there
are not many letters, diaries or other written records from scow schooner captains, and that to learn about scows you need
to rely on oral tradition and photographs (which are hard to find, unlike ferry boat photos which are more common). Another
way to learn about scows is looking at them and seeing how they were built and/or altered.
Nancy went through the slide show and provided a historical background about the scows and photographs. When people in the
audience had technical questions about how scows were built or operated, Bob Cleek would interject and answer the questions.
Then, after the slide show was run through once, Bob Cleek ran through it again, talking about technical aspects of scows
in all the photographs.
Shared collection box
Item No. 02-73. Slides used in Nancy Olmsted's lecture on scow schooners, 1991 May 17
Extent:
72 photographs.
Physical Description:
72 black-and-white slides
Scope and Content Note
These slides were used in Nancy Olmsted's lecture on scow schooners. Includes photographs of Pop Anderson, Harry Dring, Erma
Olsen, Isak and Ole Olsen, Roger Olmsted, men unloading bricks of a scow schooner at the Fortin's Brick Yard, a hay wharf
in San Francisco, and the old ferry building circa 1885. Vessels include: ALBERTINE (scow schooner), ALMA (scow schooner),
ANNIE L. (scow schooner), CAROLINE (scow schooner), CHARLES W. (scow schooner), COVINA (scow schooner), EXPRESS (scow schooner),
JAMES BYRNES (scow schooner), MARY (scow schooner), MATILDA (scow schooner), MCKENNA (scow schooner), MONTEZUMA (scow schooner),
PORT COSTA (scow schooner), ROBBIE HUNTER (scow schooner), UNDINE (scow schooner), WAVELET (scow schooner), and WONDER (scow
schooner).
Many (possibly all?) of the slides in the presentation are the same photographs that can be found in Nancy and Roger Olmsted's
book "Scow Schooners of San Francisco Bay," which can also be found in the San Francisco Maritime NHP collections.
Item 21: copy of CLASSIFIED A12.3009nl
- Item 24: copy of CLASSIFIED C11.18563nl
- Item 25: copy of CLASSIFIED C7.4010n
- Item 28: copy of CLASSIFIED A12.5017n
- Item 29: copy of CLASSIFIED A12.136pl
- Item 37: copy of CLASSIFIED A4.5013p
- Item 43: copy of CLASSIFIED A4.4320pl
- Item 44: copy of CLASSIFIED A2.20683.1n
- Item 50: copy of CLASSIFIED B6.31027pl
- Item 57: copy of CLASSIFIED P88-010.1pl
- Item 70: copy of CLASSIFIED B7.112pl
Shared collection box
Item No. 74-81. Slides not included in Nancy Olmsted's lecture on scow schooners, 1991 May 17
Extent:
8 photographs.
Physical Description:
8 black-and-white slides
Scope and Content Note
These slides were not included in the presentation. Most of them have SFMNHP collection numbers written on them: A1.35,710nl;
A12.8638pl; B7.405n; B7.816pl; B12.8904n; P78-449a.1292gs; P88-069.070n.