Glen Fishback Papers and Photographs

Object Details

Photographer

Fishback, Glen Curtis, 1912-1976

Creator

Glen Fishback School of Photography.

Donor

White, Judy

Manufacturer

Ansco.

Kalart.

Eastman Kodak Company

Topic

Circuses (performances)

Photography of children -- 20th century

Photography, Industrial -- 20th century

Photographic industry -- 20th century

Photography, Advertising -- 20th century

Photography -- Schools -- 20th century

Trade schools -- 1970-1980

Photography of sports -- 20th century

Photography of the nude -- 20th century

Circus

Circus performers

Nudity

Nude in art

Airplanes

Clowns

Glamour photography -- 20th century -- United States

Sports -- 20th century

Children -- 20th century

Provenance

Collection donated by Fishback's daughter, Judy White, who, with her brother Kurt, inherited it on her father's death. Ms. White made the availability of the collection known on an Internet listserv, where the archivist saw the description and contacted Ms. White.

Photographer

Fishback, Glen Curtis, 1912-1976

Creator

Glen Fishback School of Photography.

Donor

White, Judy

Manufacturer

Ansco.

Kalart.

Eastman Kodak Company

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Glen Fishback Papers and Photographs

Biographical / Historical

Glen Fishback was born in Orange, California in 1912. He became interested in photography in the early 30s after his friend took a photograph of him diving. He bought his first camera, a 39 cent univex camera, in 1934. He began his professional career as a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee from 1937 until 1939. He owned his own portrait and commercial studio for the next 17 years; he sold the studio in the mid-1950s in order to devote his time to free-lancing. In 1958, flew over the Far East with the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general on a special assignment sponsored by U.S. Camera magazine, Ansco, Rolleiflex, and the Air Force. Fishback and his wife also established the Glen Fishback School of Photography in the 1950s. It was the only school at the time which taught how to become a freelancer. The school lasted until the 1990s, even after Fishback's death. Fishback also wrote technical and popular articles for photographic magazines and publications. Fishback won 10 first places in major national and international photography contests; at the time of his death, he had reportedly won more money in contests than any other photographer. He developed an accurate and reliable exposure system which Pentax included with each of their spotmeters. Fishback's system worked for both black and white and color photography. Fishback and his wife were friends with Edward Weston Fishback took photographs of Weston at Point Lobos. The two exchanged photos and correspondence. Fishback supplied his photos for a film on Edward Weston's Daybooks; He also wrote an article "Edward Weston, A Legend in His Own Time" for Petersen's Photographic. Fishback and his wife named their son, Kurt Edward Fishback, in honor of their friend.

Extent

27 Cubic feet (101 boxes, 6 map-folders)

Date

1930-1976

Archival Repository

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier

NMAH.AC.0714

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Annual reports

Magazines (periodicals)

Correspondence

Color prints (photographs)

Transparencies

Slides (photographs)

Photographs

Color slides

Citation

Glen Fishback Papers and Photographs, 1930-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Arrangement

Divided into twenty-two series. Series 1: Fishback Career and Biography Subseries 1.1: Writings and Personal Materials Subseries 1.2: Glen Fishback School of Photography Series 2: Photographs--Advertisements and Contests Series 3: Numbered and labeled envelopes in Glen Fishback's numbering system Series 4-17: Photographs by Subject Series 4: Air Force Series 5: Animals Series 6: Circus Series 7: Far East Subseries 7.1: Places Subseries 7.2: People Series 8: Landscapes and places Subseries 8.1: Architecture Subseries 8.2: Grand Tetons Subseries 8.3: Nature Series 9: Industrial Series 10: Kids Subseries 10.1: Babies Subseries 10.2: Children Series 11: Men Subseries 11.1: Glen Fishback Subseries 11.2: Other Series 12: Mixed Groups Subseries 12.1: Men and Women Subseries 12.2: Men, Women, and Children Series 13: Nudes Series 14: Sports Series 15: Stage Performers Series 16: Transportation Series 17: Women Series 18: Reproductions Series 19: Duplicates Series 20: Magazines Series 21: Ephemera Series 22: Slides Series 23: Audio Visual Materials

Processing Information

Processed by David Haberstich, 2005.

Rights

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Genre/Form

Annual reports -- 20th century

Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century

Correspondence -- 20th century

Color prints (photographs) -- 20th century

Transparencies -- 20th century

Slides (photographs) -- 20th century

Photographs -- 20th century

Color slides -- 20th century

Scope and Contents

Original photographic negatives, prints (black-and-white and color), and color slides and transparencies by Fishback, reflecting his career in advertising, calendar, and editorial photography; drafts of articles and correspondence by Fishback (typescripts), and incoming correspondence; copies of publications, such as magazines and annual reports, with reproductions. Lessons, assignments, outlines, and meeting minutes related to his school of photography. Subjects of the photographs include children, sports, circuses, stage performers, landscapes, the Far East, the Air Force, industrial, female nudes and glamour, etc. Many photos were used in advertisements for photographic manufacturers such as Ansco, Kodak, Kalart, Rolleiflex, etc. His photos appeared in articles and on covers of popular camera periodicals and in Life, Look, Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, and Holliday. Most of his pictures have cheerful, optimistic themes or subjects, such as his laughing daughter, Judy, posing with circus clowns.

Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Some materials are restricted until 2050 and are noted in the container list.

Record ID

ebl-1503510160775-1503510160794-0

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep89cd2ea0a-7df8-45ab-b21e-38d557c442d8