I see that the 60,000 piece Kendrick Photograph collection has now been sorted and is finally on it’s way to the Washington State Archives in Cheney. The following is an excerpt from the December 30, 2010 edition of the Ritzville Journal. If they are driving the collection to Ritzville, here’s hoping they are very careful, as I imagine the roads across northeastern Washington State must be very treacherous. The weather hasn’t been cooperating.
The Ritzville Public Library and numerous volunteers marked the completion of sorting, labeling and filing about 60,000 negatives and photographs in the Kendrick Collection with a time of recognition and contemplation the morning of Dec. 28.
Although the final transport of the collection to the state archives in Cheney was delayed a couple of days, the library recently feted several volunteers with a brief gathering.
Read the full article in the December 30, 2010 edition of the Ritzville Journal.
The following is from the Washington Digital Archives Website:
May 29, 2008 — A treasure trove of newly acquired photographs from the A. M. Kendrick Collection will offer a unique and compelling view of daily life in vast stretches of Eastern Washington and Idaho over a span of nearly 50 years.
The images depict early agricultural techniques in the Big Bend region, interiors and exteriors of retail and commercial businesses, towns, street scenes and Kendrick’s early photographs of the Northern Idaho wilderness and a look at general day to day life on the farm.
Kendrick was born in Northport, Washington on Aug. 23 1896, and moved to Ritzville in 1935. From 1935 until his death in 1976, Kendrick was the area’s main portrait and studio photographer. The majority of the collection consists of over 9000 4×5 and 5×7 negatives, and photo prints in various sizes. The images that pre-date 1930 are either copy negatives created by Kendrick after he arrived in Ritzville in 1935, or experimental photos taken by Kendrick in northern Idaho and northeast Washington as a teenager, 1912-1920.
The collection will be searchable on the Digital Archives in stages, beginning with the general historical part of the collection _ about 1,360 images _ that features farm scenes, towns, businesses, churches, and other material. The next phase will consist of Kendrick’s portrait work, including families, weddings, school sports, class graduations, choirs, and more. Before coming to the Washington State Archives in Cheney, WA, the collection was at the Adams County Rural Library District No. 2 (formerly Ritzville Public Library) in the city of Ritzville.
I haven’t been able to ascertain whether the the entire collection of 60,000 images is going to be scanned and be posted along with others of the Kendrick Collection at the Washington State Digital Archives site or not. If you know, you might post a comment…
