The Herb Ferguson Photograph Collection documents the entire run of the Oakland newspaper
produced by the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC) as well as represents
Ferguson's wider body of work as a photographer and filmmaker, including his official work
for the University of Pittsburgh, work completed for various clients as a freelancer, and personal photographs, motion picture films and
audio recordings. Items include 2x2 and 4x3 slides, finished photographs and prints, 35mm black and
white negatives, transparencies, contact sheets, gelatin silver prints, copies of each issue of the
Pittsburgh Pleasures event calendar series, motion picture reels, VHS tapes, audiocassette
tapes, posters, vinyl albums, motion picture equipment, and notes, receipts, inventories, research
materials, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, and published materials (e. g.,
newspapers, magazines, booklets). Items date from approximately 1950 through 2010. Materials in the collection are
generally organized by subject and by location, with some photographs organized by year or
decade.
Language
English
.
Author
Miriam Meislik.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman) Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Acquisition Information
Gift of Herb Ferguson on December 1, 2011.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by topic with the exception of the series containing materials related to the Oakland newspaper which is arranged chronologically by year and month of publication. This series contains a copy of each Oakland newspaper issue, 127 issues in total and approximately 11,716 photographic images present in the form of photographic prints in varying sizes (4x5, 5x7, 8x10), 35mm negatives, and contact sheets. Notes, correspondence relating to the production of the individual issues is also present. The extent of the audiovisual content organized by topic include over 100,000 photographic images, 159 motion picture films, 44 audio formats, and 14 video cassettes along with published materials created or including Ferguson's work, correspondence, and some buisiness records.
Biography
Herbert "Herb" Davis Ferguson (August 24, 1931 -January 26, 2021) was an American photographer especially known for his work in Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, and University of Pittsburgh communities. Ferguson worked as a photographer for Alcoa (1959-1962), the Director of Medical Media for the University of Pittsburgh (1963-1979), the Head of Medical Photography for the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the principal photographer for the Oakland newspaper (1988-1997), and as a photographer for the University of Pittsburgh's University Center for Instructional Resources. Fergusion retired in 1996 from the University of Pittsburgh. Ferguson's notable projects include documenting a university-sponsored childhood immunization campaign in El Salvador and Costa Rica in 1967; working on The Polish Phoenix, a multi-screen slide show with Pitt's Eastern European Studies program and which was shown around the United States; serving as a photographer at the university's Spring 1984 Semester at Sea program; and making the photography book, Pittsburgh: Fulfilling Its Destiny, and the Pittsburgh Pleasures event calendar series. Ferguson also operated his own studio, FPEPhotography covering both commercial, industrial, natural, and medical subjects, while also producing over 150 films, including Randy at Bat, the story of a young boy recovering from Polio who wants to play baseball. Ferguson received a BS in Photographic Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a Masters in Educational Communications from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BS in Zoology and Entomology from Penn State University.
Related Material
Ham, Clifford C. (Clifford Carmichael), and Marilyn P. Ham. Historic Oakland, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania : Articles from The Oakland Newspaper, 1989-1995. Oakland Planning and Development Corp., 2007.
History
In his capacity as a photographer and documentary filmmaker for the University of Pittsburgh and Alcoa, Herb Ferguson compiled thousands of photographs and dozens of films covering the Greater Pittsburgh area and the University of Pittsburgh as well as areas around Pennsylvania, the United States, and the world. Notably, Ferguson contributed to Polish Phoenix (c. 1985), a multi-screen slide show on Polish history; Pittsburgh Pleasures, a local calendar series; and the book Pittsburgh: Fulfilling Its Destiny (1986).
The Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC) began in 1980 as spin-off of the Oakland Plan, a community planning process that existed from 1976 to 1980. OPDC's mission was, and continues to be, identifying and meeting community needs through initiatives pertaining to housing and residential improvements, employment, economic development, development of cooperative projects, and building relationships with residents, businesses, civic leaders, and educational institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh.
The newspaper Oakland was published monthly by the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC) from 1988-1999; the inaugural issue was published in June 1988. Articles covered events, community development issues, people, businesses, and issues impacting the Pittsburgh neighborhood. Construction and redevelopment of space were frequent topics. Herb Ferguson served as its principal photographer. Between 1989 and 1995, Clifford C. Ham, OPDC Treasurer, wrote well-crafted articles to help residents and others learn more about this historic neighborhood; they were frequently illustrated with photographs taken by Ferguson.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Miriam Meislik in June 2013.
Scope and Content Notes
The Herb Ferguson Photograph Collection documents the entire run of the Oakland newspaper produced by the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC) as well as represents
Ferguson's wider body of work as a photographer and filmmaker, including his official work
for the University of Pittsburgh, work completed for various clients as a freelancer, and personal photographs, motion picture films and audio recordings. Items include 2x2 and 4x3 slides, finished photographs and prints, 35mm black and white negatives, transparencies, contact sheets, gelatin silver prints, copies of each issue of the
Pittsburgh Pleasures event calendar series, motion picture reels, VHS tapes, audiocassette tapes, posters, vinyl albums, motion picture equipment, and notes, receipts, inventories, research
materials, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, and published materials (e. g.,
newspapers, magazines, booklets). Items date from approximately 1950 through 2010. Materials in the collection are
generally organized by subject and by location, with some photographs organized by year or
decade.
Photographs related toOakland are located in boxes 1-2 and housed in folders representing work completed on the respective month's issue. Folders are arranged chronologically by the month and year in which the issue was published. Not all photographs contained in each folder were used in publication of the issue for which they were taken. Contact sheets and negatives are labeled with the relating issue and the date they were taken. Single prints have no identification.
Boxes 3-24 include photographic materials, primarily slides, papers from Ferguson's other projects and personal life, and audiovisual materials from the Polish Phoenix project. These are organized mainly by topic, but several boxes are also partially organized chronologically. Topics include the University of Pittsburgh and satellite campuses; Pitt sports; the Greater Pittsburgh area; photos of areas around Pennsylvania, the U.S., and the world; Chautauqua at Pitt; regional industrial, economic, and technological development; the Allegheny County Jail; Polish Phoenix; personal papers and photographs; and papers related to documentaries on regional history.
Boxes 24-44 contain photographic slides that are minimally processed and are organized by topic by Ferguson. This content is not organized chronologically. Slide topics include the Greater Pittsburgh area, the University of Pittsburgh, Ferguson's travels, Pitt sports, American Wind Symphony, Polish Phoenix, and Heinz Chapel.
Boxes 45-59 contain audiovisual recordings made or held by Herb Ferguson. Items are organized by format and by subject. Audiocassettes and videotapes are boxed. Motion picture film is stored in film cans unboxed. Topics include projects involving the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine, the American Wind Symphony, Pitt band and sports, Alcoa, Pittsburgh opera and ballet, 1960s protests in Harrisburg, and an interview with Eleanor Roosevelt, and retired oorgan pipes from Heinz Memorial Chapel.
Boxes 60-61 contain oversized items organized by subject and format. These include vinyl albums and poster-sized prints. Topics cover the American Wind Symphony, University of Pittsburgh sports, the Pitt Jazz Seminar, and the Cathedral of Learning.
Previous Citation
Herb Ferguson Photograph Collection, 1988-1997, AIS.2011.11, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Herb Ferguson Photograph Collection, 1950-2010, AIS.2011.11, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. 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.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
