Collection Guide
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Harry Dring Photographs, 1870-1983
P91-015
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Title: Harry Dring Photographs,
Date (inclusive): 1870-1983
Collection: P91-015
Creator: Harry\personal Dring
Extent:
6014 items (14 linear ft.).
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Calif.).
Historic Documents Department
Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason, San Francisco,
California 94123
Language:
English.
This collection is open to the public.
The San Francisco Maritime NHP possesses physical property
rights through ownership of the materials. However, copyright
may reside with the individual or corporate body responsible
for the creation of the materials, or with their heirs. It is
the user's responsibility to respect the provisions of the
copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States
Code). Permission to reproduce or publish from this
collection must be secured by the user from the copyright
holders.
[Item description], [Location within collection
organization identified by Collection Number/Series
Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], Harry Dring
Photographs, 1870-1983, San Francisco Maritime National
Historical Park.
Harrison (Harry) Joseph Dring began collecting the
photographs and negatives as manager of restoration and
maintenance of California's historic ships in 1954. He
continued the collection when the ships were turned over to
the Golden Gate National Recreation in 1977 and up to his
retirement in 1982. He documented this work by photographing
or hiring photographers as well as collecting images of the
fleet and other non-National Park Service (NPS) historic
vessels. These materials were transfered from his office on
the Eureka wheelhouse and accessioned into Golden Gate
National Recreation Area's museum collections in 1986. The
fleet and collection were subsequently turned over to the San
Francisco National Maritime Historical Park in 1989.
Processed by Tami Suzuki.
Completed in 10 May 1999
Completed in 10 May 1999
As Ships' Manager and Supervisor of Restoration at Hyde Street
Pier under the State of California, Harrison (Harry) Joseph Dring oversaw
the ongoing restoration of the museum's historic ship fleet from 1954 to
1982. Dring was responsible for the fleet of historic ships at the
National Maritime Museum in San Francisco where he managed the fleets'
restoration and maintenance. He documented this work by photographing or
hiring photographers as well as collecting images of the fleet and other
non-National Park Service (NPS) historic vessels.
After doing restoration work on the Balclutha in 1954, Dring
became the ship's manager and supervisor of restoration for California's
historic ships. He was named "Conservator of Ships" for the NPS
in 1977 upon transfer of the fleet to the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area.
The collection primarily documents the restoration and
maintenance of the historic vessels at San Francisco Maritime National
Historical Park from 1954 to 1982. The bulk of the collection holdings
consist of black-and-white photographs and negatives created or collected
by the ships' manager Harry Dring from 1957 to 1976. Other items include
photo albums and motion picture film. Along with restoration and
preservation of the vessels, the collection documents daily activities at
Hyde Street Pier.
Of particular note are the 1,689 negatives documenting the
fleet's restoration and maintenance.
Organized into the following series: 1. Negatives, file units 1-
8 as follows: 1.1. Alma; 1.2. Hercules; 1.3. C.A. Thayer; 1.4. Eureka;
1.5. Wapama; 1.6. Park & Pier; 1.7. Miscellaneous Vessels; 1.8.
People; 2. Albums (classified), subseries 1-3 as follows: 2.1. Park
Fleet; 2.2. Park & Pier; 2.3. Other Vessels/Miscellaneous/People; 3.
Albums (not classified), file units 1-25 as follows: 3.1. Alma #1; 3.2.
Alma #2; 3.3. Alma #3; 3.4. Eureka #1; 3.5. Eureka #2; 3.6. Eureka #3;
3.7. Hercules; 3.8. C.A. Thayer #1; 3.9. C.A. Thayer #2; 3.10. C.A.
Thayer #3; 3.11. C.A. Thayer #4; 3.12. C.A. Thayer #?; 3.13. Wapama #1;
3.14. Wapama #2; 3.15. Wapama #3; 3.16. Wapama #4; 3.17. Wapama #5; 3.18.
Wapama #6; 3.19. Fleet #F1; 3.20. Miscellaneous; 3.21. MS #1; 3.22. MT
#1; 3.23. MT #2; 3.24. P; 3.25. From Eureka Wheelhouse; 4. Loose
Photographs, organized into file units 1-11 as follows: 4.1. Eppleton
Hall; 4.2. Eureka; 4.3. Wapama; 4.4. Hercules; 4.5. Alma; 4.6. Balclutha;
4.7. C.A. Thayer; 4.8. Miscellaneous 4.1; 4.9. Miscellaneous 4.2; 4.10.
Oversized; 4.11. Film; 5. Photographs transfered from the Harry Dring
textual records, HD 648. The negatives in Series 1 were further organized
by item utilizing an existing classification scheme. Series 2 photos are
a corresponding subset to the Series I negatives.
Dring's classification scheme was maintained for the negatives
in series 1 and the photograph albums in series 2. The vessels appear to be
arbitrarily arranged within this classification scheme. The series 2 albums are
arranged by subject. Series 3 photographs were arranged by vessels in albums,
then chronologically within the file units. Series 4 photographs were arranged
by vessel. Series 5 photographs maintain the arrangement found in HDC 648.