Finding aid for the Herman J. Schultheis collection of international photographs, 1927-1950
Finding aid created by Los Angeles Public Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
Los Angeles Public Library
2018
630 W. 5th Street
Los Angeles, California 90071
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Title: Finding aid for the Herman J. Schultheis collection of international photographs, 1927-1950
Dates: 1927-1950
Collection Number: GPC b52-b73
Creator/Collector:
Schultheis, Herman.
Extent: 21 boxes totaling 10.5 linear feet
Repository:
Los Angeles Public Library
Los Angeles, California 90071
Abstract: The Herman J. Schultheis Collection of International Photographs, 1927-1950 is comprised of original photographic prints documenting
Schultheis' various travels to the Mediterranean region, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the eastern half of the
United States.
Language of Material: English
This collection is stored on-site at the Central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library. It is open for research on an appointment
only basis.
Any reproduction, redistribution, publication, or other use, by any means, without prior written permission is prohibited.
Photocopies, copy prints and digital images can be provided. With the proper fees and permissions, many images can be used
in commercial and non-profit applications. For personal and commercial uses of the Library's images, the Library will send
to the user a Commercial Use Agreement which states access rights to images and copyright restrictions. This agreement must
be returned to the library before the order will be processed. It will also state proper credit to be used for the product
whenever photographs are used in commercial or non-profit situations. Further information regarding Use and Reproduction may
be found on the Library's website: http://www.lapl.org/catalog/photo_order_info.html
Finding aid for the Herman J. Schultheis collection of international photographs, 1927-1950. Los Angeles Public Library
Gift of Howard Lowery, December 1991.
Biography/Administrative History
Herman J. Schultheis was born in Aachen, Germany in 1900, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s after obtaining
a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. He married Ethel Wisloh in 1936, and the pair moved to Los Angeles the following
year. He worked in the film industry from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, most notably on the animated features "Fantasia"
and "Pinocchio." His detailed notebook, documenting the special effects for "Fantasia," is the subject of a 14-minute short-subject
included on the film's DVD. In 1949, he started employment with Librascope as a patent engineer. Schultheis was an avid amateur
photographer who traveled the world with his cameras. It was on one of these photographic exhibitions in 1955 that he disappeared
in the jungles of Guatemala. His remains were discovered 18 months later.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of original photographic prints, generally sized at 3x5" or smaller, documenting Schultheis' initial
immigration voyage from Germany to the United States in 1927, the 1933 Mediterranean cruise where he first met Ethel Wisloh,
and various world travels. Locales represented in the collection are detailed in the Container List, and cover the Mediterranean
region, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the eastern half of the United States. The Mexico portion of the collection
consists of 4x6" copy prints struck by nitrate negatives that have since been discarded.
There are limited additional images of friends, family, and Disney co-workers along with nudes and still lifes.
Schultheis, Herman.
Schultheis Collection photographs