Collection Guide
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Cleveland (Robert C.) papers
LSC.1808
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Robert C. Cleveland papers
Creator:
Cleveland, Robert C.
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1808
Physical Description:
9.4 Linear Feet
(47 shoe boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1918-1990
Abstract: Robert C. Cleveland, noted architectural, interior design, and commercial photographer based in Pacific Palisades, California.
The collection contains items spanning his military and professional career including photographic prints, negatives, books,
book manuscripts, and publications featuring his work.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Robert C. Cleveland papers (Collection 1808). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift Patricia Bloomfield and Russell R. Cleveland, 2008.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
Processed by Julian Yoko Prentice and Nina Scholtz in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance
from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, 2009 and 2010.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by the Arcadia Foundation.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9963622723606533
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Robert Charles Cleveland was born on April 4, 1918 in Rochelle, Illinois to Orva Myrtle Cleveland and Ralph Charles Cleveland.
He attended Beloit College and was enlisted to the First Motion Picture Unit during World War II. As photographer for the
97th Bombardment (heavy) group, he photographed a tour through Italy and the Middle East.
From his home studio in Pacific Palisades, Cleveland began a career as an architectural and commercial photographer. He wrote
one of the first books about architectural photography entitled
Architectural photography of house: how to take good pictures of exteriors and interiors in 1953. He photographed architecture in and around Los Angeles for homeowners, architects, the Los Angeles Times Home Magazine,
Architectural Digest, and Perfect Home among other publications. His extensive commercial work included clients such as the
Portland Cement Association, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Monsanto, and Fansteel.
Cleveland died on December 12, 1991.
The collection contains Cleveland's personal papers, including World War II negatives and prints, elementary school documents,
correspondence during World War II, and personal photographs. Photographic prints and negatives from his military career are
also included in the collection with a series of photographs of the Middle East and Europe from 1944-1945.
While the collection is comprised mostly of Cleveland's architectural and interior design photography in Southern California,
he also has several series of photographs taken in Canada, Hawaii, and the South. Clients included architect A. Quincy Jones
and actors James Cagney and Groucho Marx. Private homes, public buildings, and military sites are some of the most common
subjects of his photography. Commercial clients included Fansteel, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Hollowform, and the Portland
Cement Association. Some of his works involve the use of female models, many of which are portrayed provocatively. One publication
in particular, The Chemical Peddler, graphically shows popular attitudes towards women in the 1960s.
The collection is arranged into seven series:
- I: Personal Papers
- II: Photographic Prints
- III: Negatives, Transparencies, and Slides
- IV: Magazines and Brochures
- V: Research for Travel Work
- VI: Writings
- VII: Books
For both the photographic prints and negatives, the numbering system follows the original system developed by Cleveland to
keep track of projects and clients. Not all of his projects are included and there are gaps in both the photographic print
and negative series.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographic prints.
Negatives (photographs).
United States. Army -- Photographers -- Archives.
Magazines and Brochures
Architecture photographers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archives.
Cleveland, Robert C. -- Archives