Repository

Heinz History Center

Title

Royal Kane Photographs

Collection Number

PSS 73

Extent

6 Linear Feet 11 boxes and 3 o/s folders

Extent

56 Megabytes

Date

c. 1950-1984

Abstract

The Royal Kane Photographs contain images used in advertisements for Western Pennsylvania-based and national companies during Kane's career as a commercial photographer. This collection also includes portraits of individuals taken by Kane.

Language

English .

Author

The guide to this collection was written by Bryan Brown.

Publisher

Heinz History Center

Address

1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical / Historical

Royal "Roy" Marvin Kane was born on May 11, 1923, in Brooklyn, New York to Wilhelmina Lowndes and David Kane. Kane attended the Pratt Institute and Rochester Institute of Technology. Following graduation, Kane began his photographic career working at his father's Manhattan photographic studio. While father specialized in portraiture and antique photograph restoration, Kane handled product shots for corporate clients. When family friend William Richards, who owned an industrial photography business in Cleveland, visited the studio, he recognized the talent of the younger Kane and offered him a job. After a short stint in Cleveland, Kane was sent to Pittsburgh in 1957 to open a branch of Richards' business. Within a year of his arrival, Kane had transformed a loft on 3rd Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh into a modern photography studio. Kane's images appeared in print ads, catalogs, and product packaging for regional companies including Westinghouse, Alcoa, U.S. Steel, and Kaufmann's Department Store.

On May 23, 1945, Kane married June Remson in Manhattan. Together the couple had two sons, Damon and Douglas. Kane passed away in his Schenley Heights home on October 18, 1976, at the age of 53, after presiding over his Pittsburgh studio for two decades. A posthumous exhibit of his images held at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh's Undercroft Gallery.

Scope and Contents

The Royal Kane Photographs contain images used in advertisements for local and national corporations. This collection also includes portraits of individuals taken by Kane, images of Kane and his family taken by Kane and his children, materials related to an exhibition after his death, and Kane's personal papers. This collection contains photographic prints, slides, and negatives. This collection contains oversized materials.

Arrangement

The Royal Kane Photographs collection are arranged into three series and further arranged into subseries:

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Copyright may be retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Sean and David Kane in 2020. Archives Accession 2020.0051

Processing Information

Collection processed by Bryan Brown in 2020.

Preferred Citation

Royal Kane Photographs, c. 1950-1984, PSS 73, Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center

Existence and Location of Copies

A selection of images from the Royal Kane Photographs can be found online at https://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/royal-kane-photographs

Container List