Oliver family photograph collections, circa 1880-circa 1920s

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Summary

Creators:
Oliver, William Letts, 1844-1918 and Oliver, Roland L. (Roland Letts)
Abstract:
The Oliver Collection consists of approximately 2700 glass plate negatives and photographic prints taken mainly by amateur photographer William Letts Oliver and his son, Roland L. Oliver. Subjects include maritime and yachting scenes, views of California and San Francisco Bay area, University of California at Berkeley, mining, logging, the Bohemian Grove, and the Oliver family.
Extent:
circa 2700 glass plate negatives and photographs 2047 digital objects
Language:
Collection materials are in English

Background

Scope and content:

The Oliver Collection consists of approximately 2700 glass plate negatives and photographic prints taken mainly by amateur photographer William Letts Oliver and his son, Roland L. Oliver. The photographs date from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Subjects include maritime and yachting scenes, views of California and San Francisco Bay area, University of California at Berkeley, mining, logging, the Bohemian Grove, and the Oliver family. Also of note are earlier photographs of Chile and Peru dating from 1860 to 1867.

Photographs are attributed to William Letts Oliver, his son Roland Letts Oliver, and occasionally other members of the Oliver family. Other notable photographers represented in the collection include W. H. Lowden and Gabriel Moulin.

Also present are professionally produced lantern slides of images by various photographers, and a magic lantern projector and small number of magic lantern slides with illustrations from children's stories.

Biographical / historical:

According to a written statement by his son Roland L. Oliver, William Letts Oliver "was born in Valparaiso, Chile, August 6, 1844. [He] was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, graduated from Edinburgh University as a mining engineer, and then went back to Chile. [In 1861, he went] to Peru, then to San Francisco in 1868 in time for the big earthquake of that year." His experience with nitrates led him to establish the California Cap Company, an explosives business in the East Bay (of the San Francisco Bay Area). In addition, he also owned a company that manufactured the Doak stationary engine used to power pumps on horse-drawn fire engines. He resided Oakland until his death in 1918.

Oliver "belonged to both the S[an] F[rancisco] Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club taking a very active part in both." As the Maritime series of this photograph collection demonstrates, he was an avid sailor, and participated in, and won, may yacht races in the Bay Area.

He was also a member of the Bohemian Club and the Pacific Coast Amateur Photographic Association.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Note:

Curator of the Bancroft Pictorial Collection: Jack von Euwe

Access and use

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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