Irven I. Freyman photographs

Collection – Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0091

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Irven I. Freyman collection consists of eighty-three glass plate negatives and six copy negatives made from original nitrate negatives. Prints for each negative are also included in this collection. All of the negatives depict scenes and events occurring in the small northwest Ohio town of Portage, during the early part of the twentieth century.

Dates

Creation: 1907-1920s

Extent

0.46 Cubic Feet (1 legal archive box)

Creator

Freyman, Irven I., 1884-1956 (Photographer, Person)

Scope and Contents

The Irven I. Freyman collection consists of eighty-three glass plate negatives and six copy negatives from original nitrate negatives. Most of the negatives are of events and scenes in Portage, Ohio. The time period of the collection is between 1907 and the 1920s, with approximately two-thirds of the negatives being taken in 1910.

Events and scenes documented by these negatives are of the 1910 flood, Decoration Day parade, indoor and street scenes, and oil industry scenes. These negatives provide excellent documentation on structures, interior decorations, clothes, vehicles, and social events during the early part of the twentieth century.

The glass plate negatives are in good condition and are housed in separate envelopes with their series number marked in the left-hand corner. Negative number forty-five is damaged, having a broken off and missing section. A copy print has been made of each negative, and these prints are stored following the negatives. The nitrate negatives have had copy negatives made. The negatives have been arranged in numerical order, with the date, location, and description marked on each envelope.

Biographical / Historical

Irven I. Freyman was born in Portage, Ohio, in 1884. After attending school, he secured a job as a teller with the local bank and eventually became bank manager. He married (Ethel M.) in his early twenties, and they had one child, a girl. Other jobs he held were office manager at Froney's Department Store, Bowling Green, Ohio; agent for the State Bank Department; and appraiser for the Veteran's Administration. He died in 1956 at the age of seventy-two.

Freyman took up photography as a hobby while a young man. His subjects were the usual events occurring in a small town: local parades, social events, street scenes--and also those events considered of historical importance such as natural disasters. While only an amateur, his photographs captured various aspects of life in small northwestern Ohio communities during the early part of the twentieth century.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Processing Information

This finding aid was compiled by Teel Slike, graduate student, Bowling Green State University, and completed by Ann Bowers, Assistant Director, in March 1987.