MS 1197 - Kemmer Family Photographs
MLA Citation
“MS 1197 - Kemmer Family Photographs.” Finding Aids. BGSU University Libraries, 20 Mar. 2014, lib.bgsu.edu/finding_aids/items/show/1381. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Tags
| Title | MS 1197 - Kemmer Family Photographs |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The photographic collection of the Kemmer Family of Northwest, Ohio consists of approximately 1 linear foot of family photo albums, loose pictures, and postcards with a few related printed items. The material was transferred to the Center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of David A. Kemmer on November 18, 2013. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection. Duplication may be permitted for the purposes of preservation and research. The register was prepared in December 2013 by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts. |
| Biographical Sketch | The Kemmer family collection centers primarily on photographs taken by Raymond Kemmer, the great uncle of the donor, David A. Kemmer, but also includes material related to his father, Warren Robert Kemmer and uncle Richard Kemmer. Raymond was born April 15, 1896 in Hamler Ohio, son of Adam F. and Permelia Bordner Kemmer. He went to Defiance College and taught school in Defiance, Ohio in his early years. He then served in World War I in the Chemical Warfare Service, being honorably discharged Dec 20, 1918. For many years during the 1920s Raymond lived in Toledo, Ohio while working as a chemist at Pinkerton Tobacco Company. He was an avid amateur photographer and took advantage of his surroundings to document things around the city. Most of the small size prints and all three albums were his work. He left Toledo sometime in the late 1920s since in both the 1930 and 1940 census he was listed as living in Holgate, with his mother, and his 1942 World War 2 draft card it also indicated he was working for Crimson Coach Tobacco Co. in Holgate. He never married and died June 27, 1969. Raymond’s brother William Howard Kemmer was born 16 April 1888. Married to Florence Baumberger on March 27, 1916, they had a family including Warren Robert and Richard Kemmer. William died on March 26, 1971 and Florence died March 20, 1981. Warren Robert Kemmer was born Feb 10, 1927. Working as a commercial photographer most of his life, many of the photographs in the collection taken during the 1950s and 1960s are probably his work. He lived in the Grand Rapids, Ohio area. With an interest in local history, a lot of the vacation photos taken by Warren include sites around the Midwest and Great Lakes with historic markers, reconstructions, and historical societies. Married to Joanne Wittes, they had children David A. (donor of this collection) and Denise. Warren died on June 5, 2013 |
| Scope and Content | The Kemmer Family Photograph collection consists primarily of photographs, both in albums and loose, as well as some negatives and a few printed items. Photographs taken during the 1920s and early 1930s by Raymond Kemmer are represented by the smaller loose 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch prints and those in the three albums. The majority of images, both in the albums and loose items are clearly identified, representing many locations around Northwest Ohio, but primarily centered on Toledo, Ohio. Notable among the images in the loose images and three albums are photos taken of the Maumee River in winter with ice floes, a Ku Klux Klan rally in 1927, street scenes around Toledo, Put-in-Bay, and at and around the Pinkerton Tobacco Company, where Raymond worked, including photos taken of baseball at Swayne Field, which was next to Pinkerton. He took other photos around Ontario at historic sites, and a few taken at the Indianapolis Raceway and Chicago during the 1934 World’s Fair. Warren R. Kemmer’s photos from the 1950s and 1960s are primarily the 3 1/2 x 5 inch prints in the collection. Also meticulously identified on the verso, the subjects range from vacation trips around Ohio, the Great Lakes region, Ontario, and Kentucky. Historic sites and markers are a particularly frequent subject, as are views of the area around Mackinac and the fort there, Kentucky, particularly sites associated with Lincoln, and Ohio prehistoric sites including Serpent Mound . There is also a series of photos showing the progress of construction in 1949-1950 on the school of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, in Grand Rapids where Kemmer lived. Of note in the older photos in the collection are one of a shoe repair shop exterior in Toledo around 1925 and also an Ayersville, Ohio stave or lumber mill. Neither of these photos can be positively attributed to one of the Kemmer family. |
| Series Description | PRINTED MATERIAL Series BROCHURES 1964, n.d. Informational brochures from a number of tourist locations, including Mammoth Cave, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, and other area attractions in Kentucky BOOKLETS 1964, n.d. Various souvenir booklets related to Shakers, historical forts, Lincoln and other topics POSTCARDS 1907-1964, n.d. Picture postcards from a variety of locations, addressed to various family members, including many related to Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky, places in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Canada, and other places PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL Series LOOSE PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS 1924-1950, 1960-1964, n.d. Loose snapshots, pictures from little photo portfolios, and photo/postcards, some sorted into topical groups, such as air-shows, Niagara Falls, Pinkerton Tobacco Company, where Raymond Kemmer worked as a chemist, some vacation photos by location, or places, such as Grand Rapids, Ohio. Photos from the 1960s are by Warren R. Kemmer, many of historic sites around the Great Lakes area and related to Anthony Wayne, the War of 1812, and early exploration and settlement of the area MOUNTED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS circa 1890, 1925 Photographs on cardboard mounts, showing a stave-mill in Ayersville, Ohio and the exterior of a shoe repair in Toledo, Ohio PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS 1890-1930, n.d. Three albums, compiled by Raymond Kemmer, well labeled and some images taken from high vantage-points; including views of ice on the Maumee River, summer vacation views around lakes in Michigan, views around Toledo, Ohio including street scenes, parades, a KKK rally baseball, Pinkerton Tobacco Company, Walbridge Park Zoo, snow in Ottawa Park and sledding; Holgate, Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington, D.C., a fishing camp in Ontario, St. Lawrence River and Thousand Islands area, numerous friends and family members. Albums located in oversize flat boxes PHOTONEGATIVES 1954-1962, n.d. Various personal photos, vacations, and people. Most without identification, but including some historical markers from locations around the Great Lakes |
| Inventory | Box 1 Folder
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Folder
Box 4 Folder
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