Category: New Collections

New Acquisition: The Golden Age of Professional Wrestling

Photo from the Golden Age of Professional Wrestling acquisition by University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives

The sport of wrestling has become ubiquitous in the United States.  Few are able to deny the popularity and fanaticism inherent to the sport, the way intense physical competition draws impassioned reactions from spectators.  The origins of contemporary American wrestling are rooted in the first half of the 20th century, then swiftly expanding into an age where the sport and its athletes flourish.  A new acquisition by Special Collections and University Archives, The Golden Age of Professional Wrestling, captures this flourish, the Golden Age of wrestling in the era of the mid-20th century, centered in the historic city of Portland, Oregon.  The collection captures a unique component of history in wrestling and the state of Oregon, boasting wrestlers from a plethora of ethnic and minority groups, including Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans, Samoans, Hawaiians, Little People, among others.  Historical exclusionary practices regarding people of color on behalf of the state of Oregon render this collection a gem and a rarity in the documentation of the history of people of color in Oregon.

While the popularity of wrestling incubated in the early 20th century, with regions of the United States organizing titles and weekly matches, post-World War II society further fueled the esteem and intensity of the sport.  This growth in intensity birthed the formation of independent wrestling companies.  In Oregon the Pacific Northwest Wrestling/Portland Wrestling Company spawned, with its formation ultimately leading to the development of the National Wrestling Association.  National television broadcasting beginning in the 1950’s served as a catalyst for the growth in ubiquity and popularity of wrestling.  The Don Owen Productions of Portland Wrestling debuted in Portland, Oregon, on KPTV in 1952.  The broadcast later transitioned to Big Time Wrestling, and the weekly program withstood the test of time, broadcasting until the year 1991.  Big Time Wrestling was the first wrestling program to be shown by television in the Pacific Northwest.

The acquisition is comprised of original photographs, match reports, columnal clippings, documents, and magazines compiled by Portland, Oregon, sports columnist Frank Barst (1902-1974).  Barst wrote frequently and prolifically on the intricacies of the sporting world, demonstrating a keen interest in wrestling.  There are over 300 photographs of wrestlers and promoters, many of whom inscribed photographs with original signatures.  Prominent wrestlers featured in these photos include Lord Littlebrook, Haystacks Calhoun, Bull Montana, Prince Kuhio, Bing Ki Lee, Frenchy Robbierre, and Mad Dog Vachon.  Wrestlers Moose Norbeck and Farmer Vance are pictured in opposition on a notable poster contained in the collection.

The media collected in this acquisition document the careers of wrestlers who blossomed in the Golden Age of professional wrestling, whose careers often transcended decades.  Some include George “Catalina” Drake (d. 1972), whose namesake stems from his birthplace of Catalina Island, California, and who served in the 511th Airborne in World War II; Eric Tovey (b. 1929), alias Lord Littlebrook, who was 4 feet 4 inches tall, 108 pounds, and considered one of the greatest Midget wrestlers, his career spanning from 1949-1997; William Dee Calhoun (1934-1989), alias Haystacks Calhoun, who was the first super-heavyweight wrestler with a stature of 6 feet 4 inches and 665 pounds; Lenny Passaforo (1926-1992), alias Bull Montana, who fought an impressive 1158 matches in his career; Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (1937-2010), alias Hawaiian Prince Kuhio, famous for fighting 1307 matches; Philip Lee Hahn (1932-2011), known under the multiple aliases of Mexican Bing Ki Lee, White Avenger, El Santo, and El Principe Chino, packing 480 matches under his belt; and Maurice Vachon (1931-2013), alias French Canadian Mad Dog Vachon, who impressed with over 2100 matches fought in the decades of the 50’s and 60’s.

The breadth of the collection on the Golden Age of Professional Wrestling is stunning, and the history it preserves, invaluable.

Written by Alexandra Mueller (Special Projects Archivist)

New Acquisition: Music and Cultural Posters of the Portland Night Scene

Photo of posters from the Music and Cultural Posters of the Portland Night Scene acquired by University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives

Portland, Oregon, boasts a rich and expansive music and cultural scene, home to a myriad of quirky, trendy, and historic music and social venues, and musicians and musical groups.  University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives has recently acquired the Musical and Cultural Posters of the Portland Night Scene.  A collection of over 1,700 individual posters compiled by Glenn LaFontaine, gathered over a fifteen-year period from the late 1980’s to early 2000’s, exposes an aspect of Portland so inherent to its identity, drawing from familiar and fringe musicians unique and diverse, and gathering animated individuals under social causes and common interests.

The bulk of the posters are “gig” posters and pertain to punk, heavy metal, and Black musicians, whose music ranged from jazz to reggae to African-influenced.  Black musician “gig” posters feature Masta-Ace – The Chosen, Fiesta Dancehall Reggae, Cannon/Lion of Judah Band, Mikey Dread and the Fully Fullwood Band, Pablo Moses, African Kings, and Obo Addy.

Portland’s cultural scene comes alive in posters oriented to widely varied causes and interests, including LGBTQ groups, social activism, protests, women’s events, sex workers, dance performances, and varied social and cultural groups.  Events of significant history and following in Portland, such as Take Back the Night, International Women’s Day, Night of Gay Porn, Dos Lesbos, Swamp Mama, Lesbian Art Movement Show, Women’s March for Peace, Sex Worker’s Ball, Dyke March, Hypnotica, Futurism Extravaganza, Sweaty Nipples, and King Black Acid/Summer Solstice, are preserved and captured.

Night scene venues of obsolescence and continued notoriety in Portland are memorialized.  Emblazoned in ink are Satyricon, Bitter End Pub, Jasmine Tree, The Tonic, Berrati’s Pan, Crystal Ballroom, Ash Street Saloon, Paris Theatre, St. John’s Pub, Medicine Hat Gallery, Roselane Theater & Grill, Pine Street Theatre, The Otton, Mt. Tabor Pub, Cobalt Lounge, and more.

Collector Glenn Fontaine holds personal interest in the artistic and cultural value of the vast collection of posters.  A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, Fontaine is a gifted artist of diverse media that has been notably featured in museums and exhibits.  His gravitation towards the imagery of the posters initiated his collecting, tearing sheets from telephone poles and bulletin boards, a pattern of collecting that became a fifteen-year journey resultant in an abundant compilation of posters that speak the culture of Portland.

Photo of posters from the Music and Cultural Posters of the Portland Night Scene acquired by University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives

Written by Alexandra Mueller (Special Projects Archivist)

New Finding Aid | B.L. Aldrich photographs

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce an updated finding aid published for the B.L. Aldrich photographs (PH197). The finding aid is available on Archives West.

B.L. (Byron) Aldrich was a photographer active in the early twentieth century in Washington and Oregon. Aldrich had a photo studio, Aldrich Photo Company, in Tacoma, Washington from 1901-1916. Later, he had a studio in Portland, Oregon, the B.L. Aldrich Studio. The B.L. Aldrich studio photographed Jantzen Beach Amusement Park in 1934. The Aldrich studio also photographed a number of company and society picnics which were held at the park.

Big Dipper rollercoaster
[Detail from “Main Entrance and Gate” panorama, 1934, B.L. Aldrich photographs, PH197_026, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.]
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New Acquisition: Leaf Printed by William Caxton, 1482

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of an incunabula leaf from the Polychronicon printed by William Caxton (c. 1422-1491), the English printer who notably brought the first printing press to England in 1476.

Printed leaf in Gothic face with initials and paragraphs added by hand in red ink.
[D17 .H6 1482, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.]
The Polychronicon was a popular work written by Ranulf Higden (c. 1280-1364), a Benedictine monk of Chester, which chronicled the history of the world and was primarily adapted from the Bible. This newly acquired leaf is from the first edition of this work printed by Caxton at his press in Westminster after July 2, 1482. John of Trevisa (1342-1402) first translated the Polychronicon from the original Latin into English in the late fourteenth century, a text that has been useful in the study of the English language and medieval access to Biblical ideas through the vernacular. Caxton printed Trevisa’s English translation, but he also updated the text and “somewhat changed the rude and old English” to account for linguistic changes that had occurred over the century.

This leaf contains text from chapter 12 of book 4 of the Polychronicon, which recounts history during the life of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The leaf measures 11 x 8.25” and the text is composed of 40 lines in Gothic type with red rubrics and paragraph flourishes. The leaf also includes marginal annotations in a contemporary hand. Caxton’s printed leaf supports research in the material history of the book and printing in the West and joins other examples of early printing available in the rare book collection.

New Acquisition: World War I Vignette Collection

In recognition of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, we are highlighting a recent acquisition of two short sketched vignettes in watercolor documenting University of Oregon student life during and after World War I.

“Over Here: A Striking Scenerio [sic] of Present Day Events,” 1918 (18 pages)

A vignette of a day in the life of a young woman living in Eugene during World War I. The sketches depict a morning routine, Villard Hall, the Rex Theatre.

 

“When the Boys Came Home: A Scenario in One Act,” 1919 (11 pages)

Depicts the expectations and realities of soldiers returning to campus. Each page contains a perception of those on the home front and the actual scenario of soldier reintegration into civilian life. The sketches include Eugene City Hall, and Obak Amusement Co. (a student favorite for billiards and bowling).

 

—Lauren Goss, Accessioning and Processing Archivist