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Arthur Schuh photographs and negatives

 Collection
Identifier: Coll. 4268

Scope and Content note

The photographs in this collection were taken in Portland, Me., between 1942 and 1949, and consist of both prints and negatives. Many photographs document activities at the US naval yard in Portland during WWII, including images of a captured Italian submarine. Additional subjects depicted in the photographs include a wedding, local residential areas, the Portland Country Club, Swearingen Motors, Thomas P. Beals Furniture Co., and a Christmas party at the Zonta Club.

Dates

  • Creation: 1942 - 1949

Creator

Access

Unrestricted.

Copyright

The photographs in this collection are in copyright. The donor has granted permission for MHS to digitize and distribute reproductions of photographs, but Arthur Schuh should be credited.

Access to collections at Maine Historical Society is not an authorization to publish. Rights and reproduction requests may be submitted in writing to the MHS Image Services Coordinator or Research & Administrative Librarian, subject to format.

Biographical note

Arthur Schuh (1917-1997) was a photographer, a US naval officer, and an entrepreneur. Born in Quincy, Mass., Schuh received his BA and MBA from Harvard, graduating in 1940. In 1943, Schuh married Jean Alice Kennedy and they had two children, Joanne and James.

Schuh served in the US Navy during WWII and was stationed in Portland, Me., from 1942 to 1949. During Schuh’s years in Portland, he took photographs of the city and of events at the navy yard. Many of his photographs depict rarely seen images of local life and activity during the war.

After leaving the navy, Schuh worked as president of Hospital Picture Services Corporation, a camera manufacturer, and founded Hospital Picture Services of New England, a baby picture service for hospitals.

Extent

0.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Provenance

Gift of Joanne Schuh Smith, April 14, 2021 (acc. no. 2021.095).

Related Materials

The Schuh photograph collection was dispersed to several repositories, including the Historical Society of Old Newbury, Mass., Owls Head Transportation Museum, Me., Department of the Navy Records at the National Archives, Harvard University Archives, Mass., and Yarmouth Historical Society, Me.

Processing note

Upon receipt, the collection consisted of two photograph albums and negatives in sealed and labeled envelopes. Two archivists worked in succession to process the collection.

Loose prints were removed from photo albums labeled 15 and 27, and identifying information was transferred from the page to the print versos before sleeving. Prints made from collection negatives that were commissioned by the donor to replace missing images in the albums were also sleeved and housed.

Negatives were removed from their envelopes and sleeved. Label information was transferred to box dividers. Some of the collection’s negatives showed signs of significant deterioration. These negatives have been separated from the collection and are housed in cold storage.

Title
Guide to the Arthur Schuh photographs and negatives
Status
Completed
Author
Jordis Rosberg; processed by Henry Caiazzo, MHS Digital Archivist and Content Manager, and Jordis Rosberg, MHS Archivist, October - November 2023
Date
November 16, 2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Maine Historical Society Repository