TITLE: E. D. Newcomer Photograph Collection DATE RANGE: 1920’s – 1970’s CALL NUMBER: PP PC #196 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 35 linear feet (105 Boxes) PROVENANCE: The collection was donated by the Arizona Republic. COPYRIGHT: Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be addressed to the Arizona Historical Society, Tempe Library & Archives. RESTRICTIONS: There are no restrictions on access to this collection. Access to nitrate or glass plate negatives require advance notice to archives staff. CREDIT LINE: E. D. Newcomer Photograph Collection, PP PC 196, Arizona Historical Society-Papago Park PROCESSED BY: re-processed by Benjamin Findley and Rebekah Tabah, 2013 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: E. D. Newcomer (1896 – 1973) arrived in Arizona from Denver in the late 1910’s for reasons of health. He became Arizona’s first full-time press photographer when he joined the staff of the Arizona Republican, forerunner to the Arizona Republic, in Phoenix in 1928. He stayed in that position for forty years. One of Newcomer’s first assignments with the Republican was an aerial pictorial survey of the state, conducted in 1928. He and pilot, Bill Kingsley, flew throughout the state on a tour that lasted 40 days and resulted in 165 photographs. Newcomer’s professional work is supplemented by photographs from trips to the Hopi and Navajo reservations in Northern Arizona and to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. His work has not only appeared on the pages of the Arizona Republic but also in exhibits at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and throughout the country. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: E. D. Newcomer’s photographs include images of: people, cities and towns, Native Americans, and military subjects, primarily in Arizona, along with cities and towns in Mexico, from 1926 to 1970. The photographs are black and white and taken with a large- or medium format camera. The collection also includes a negatives, small amount of color transparencies. A minimal amount of manuscript material, primarily documenting the photographs, is also available. The E. D. Newcomer photographic collection is significant for its images of Arizona and Mexico spanning more than forty years. The collection is particularly valuable for its early aerial views of Arizona and for its images of Native Americans in the northern part E. D. Newcomer - 1 of 44 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] of the state. The aerial photographs, taken from a biplane in 1928, cover the entire state of Arizona and are some of the earliest aerial views of the state known to exist. These images can be located under the series identified as Aerials, 1928. The images of Native Americans include life on the Hopi and Navajo Reservations as early as 1926. Some of these images were captured during extended stays at the Hubbell Trading Post and at Goulding’s Lodge, as well as during visits in the homes of Native Americans themselves. These photographs are found in the series identified as Subjects – Indians. In his position with the Arizona Republic, Newcomer took extensive photographs of cities and towns throughout Arizona. These can be located under the series identified as Arizona Places. Additionally, Newcomer took many photographs of mines, ranch life, early airplane transportation in the state, and businesses, including many images of the agricultural industry located in Phoenix during the middle part of the twentieth century. These can be located under the Subject series. Further, Newcomer’s photographs of people include, Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt; sports figures Knute Rockne and Jack Dempsey; entertainers, Will Rogers, Jack Benny, and Eddie Albert; along with criminals, Winnie Ruth Judd and Eva Dugan. Also of note are Newcomer’s military photographs, including extensive images of both the Arizona Air and Army National Guards, the majority from the 1950’s and 1960’s. These can be located under the series identified as Military and Aeronautics. Finally, of note are Newcomer’s photographs of Mexico. These images consist mostly of life in coastal towns and cities, but also include Nogales a missions in Sonora. These photographs can be located under the series identified as Mexico. Note that not all negatives have corresponding prints. There are was an early effort to print and make available those negatives deemed most significant. However, there are still many more negatives that have not been printed. The collection is organized into Fourteen Series: Series I: Military & Aeronautics Contains photographs of Arizona Air and Army National Guard, Air Bases, the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force units, and U.S. Navy ships. They are arranged alphabetically. Series II: Native Americans Contains photographs of Apache, Havasupai, Hopi, Navajo, and Tohono O’odham life and people. This series is arranged alphabetically by tribe. Series III: Pictorial Survey Contains photographs taken throughout Arizona, and Mexico during the 1928 pictorial survey. All photographs were taken from a biplane for the Arizona Republican. They are arranged alphabetically by place. E. D. Newcomer - 2 of 44 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] Series IV: Places Contains photographs of various cities and towns throughout Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Mexico, military tours of various Pacific Islands and Antarctica. Images of Phoenix are subdivided by various airports, buildings, businesses, and schools. This series is arranged alphabetically by name of the town, city, state or country. Series V: Portraits Contains photographs of people, including Jeff Adams, Thomas E. Dewy, Barry Goldwater, Emil W. Haury, Emery Kopta, H. R. Spicer, and Frank Lloyd Wright. This series is arranged alphabetically by last name. Series VI: Subjects Contains photographs of a variety of subject matters around Arizona including: animals, lumber and lumbering, mines and mining, ranches, agriculture, sports, transportation, and utilities. This series is arranged topically, then alphabetically within. Series VII: Oversized Photographs Contains oversized photographs similar to the previous series. They are arranged by subject then alphabetically and chronologically. Series VIII: Negatives Contains 35mm negatives taken by E.D. Newcomer. Not all negatives have corresponding prints. They are arranged by subject, then alphabetically within. Series IX: Negatives (5x7) Contains medium format negatives. Not all negatives have corresponding prints. They are arranged by subject, then alphabetically within. Series X: Negatives (8x10) Contains large format negatives. Not all negatives have corresponding prints. They are arranged by subject, then alphabetically within. Series XI: Color Negatives & Transparencies Contains color transparencies and slides of places and subjects similar to above series. They are arranged by subject, then alphabetically within. Series XII: Glass Plate Negatives Contains glass plate negatives taken by Newcomer. These are very fragile. They are arranged by subject. Series XIII: Nitrate Negatives Contains nitrate negatives and movie film shot by Newcomer. For preservation concerns this material is stored in the freezer. Advance notification is required to view this material. E. D. Newcomer - 3 of 44 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] Series XIV: Personal Papers Contains a small amount of manuscript material, including some biographical and exhibit information on Newcomer himself, correspondence about his photography, and some notes on stories which Newcomer prepared about his photographs. Arranged by type of material. CONTAINER LIST: Series I: Military & Aeronautics Box Folder Title Dates 1 1 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1949 – 1958 Arizona Air National Guard 2 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1961 – 1963, Arizona Air National Guard N.D. 3 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1949 – 1953 Arizona Army National Guard 4 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1954 – 1956 Arizona Army National Guard 5 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1957 – 1961 Arizona Army National Guard 6 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1965 – 1966 Arizona Army National Guard 7 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1967 – 1968, Arizona Army National Guard N.D. 2 1 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, N.D. Arizona Army National Guard 2 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1954 – 1966 Arizona National Guard N.D. 3 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1955 – 1962, Armed Forces Day N.D. 4 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1949 Civil Air Patrol 5 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, N.D. Distant Early Warning Line System 6 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1963, N.D. Luke Air Force Base 7 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, Pinal Airpark 1954, N.D. 8 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, Rockets 1955 9 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1931 United States Air Corp. 10 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1956 – 1957 United States Air Force 11 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1957 – 1963 E. D. Newcomer - 4 of 44 Arizona Historical Society at Papago Park, 1300 N. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281 Phone: 480-929-0292 ext. 174, Email: [email protected] United States Air Force 12 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, 1964 – 1967 United States Air Force 13 Photographs: Military & Aeronautics, N.D. United States Air Force