WILLARD NELSON HANDSAKER:

An Inventory of His Albums and Slides at the Minnesota Historical Society

Sound and Visual Collection

Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Handsaker, Willard Nelson, 1887-1987.
Title:Handsaker Annual family albums and slides collection.
Dates:approximately 1932-1973, 1979-1981
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Annual photograph albums created, written, and illustrated by a St. Paul man who worked as a bridge inspector that document his family, friends, vacations, Northern Pacific Railway job, work trips, local places and events, and major national and international news. Variously titled Handsaker’s photographic annual or Handsaker's annual of photography, the albums begin in 1932 and each cover the course of a year with special sections of "Fifty Years Ago" and "Forty Years Ago" starting in 1950. Notes on photographic equipment and printing processes are often included. Collection also contains a selection of slides, taken between approximately 1940 and 1969, that were used in the albums and contain similar views and events with annotations on the mounts.
Quantity:9.0 cubic ft (9 boxes containing 44 volumes) and 1.0 cubic ft (6 boxes containing approximately 3200 slides) : black and white, color, film, mounted on cardboard, metal, and glass ; 2 x 2 inches.
Location:III.56 : See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Handsaker self-portrait, 1952. Willard Nelson Handsaker was born in 1887 and grew up in Washington state. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota shortly after marrying his wife, Bertha, in 1918. They built a house in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood and raised three children; Elizabeth (Betsy), Penelope (Penny or Peggy), and William (Bill). Handsaker worked for Northern Pacific Railway and was a hobbyist photographer. He attended art school for two years and was trained in drafting. Handsaker retired from Northern Pacific Railway in 1955 and continued to travel and take photographs. All of his children attended the University of Minnesota and his daughters moved out west later in life. When his wife passed away in 1975, Handsaker moved downtown St. Paul where he lived the rest of his life, continuing to travel and visit family. Handsaker passed away at 100 years old in 1987.


Return to top

Expand/CollapseSCOPE AND CONTENTS

Images capture a range of subjects with family activities and portraits; weddings; bridge inspections; the building of Bay Bridge in San Francisco, construction of Dayton's in downtown Saint Paul; work on the Mendota Bridge near Fort Snelling; the Century 21 Exposition or Seattle's World's Fair in 1962 and more. Beyond family, the subject most extensively covered is travel with trips made for work and for pleasure to mostly Washington, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Other places include but are not limited to Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Louisiana, Canada, and Europe. Various local places and events are covered including Como Park, Split Rock Lighthouse, the St. Paul Winter Carnival, Minnehaha Falls, Lake Pepin, the St. Croix River, the Mississippi River, the North Shore and more. Major national and international news are also documented with St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch headlines and front page images accompanied by photographer's own commentary and images.


Return to top

Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Handsaker, Willard Nelson, Handsaker Annual family albums and slides collection. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: AV2015.74

Processing Information:

Processed by: Karen Obermeyer-Kolb, June 2017

Catalog ID number: 008813171


Return to top

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Expand/CollapseALBUMS

Expand/CollapseSLIDES

Slides are arranged in original order provided by the photographer, mostly chronologically.


LocationBox
III.5610Miscellaneous, undated, approximately 1940-1949.
LocationBox
III.5611Smokies vacation and other travels, 1955 and 1959.
Views include a vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains in 1955 and travels in 1959 including but not limited to Rockport, Massachussetts; Los Angeles; the '49 trail; Berkeley; Marin County; Laguna; Mount Wilson; and Raudenbush.
LocationBox
III.5612 1959-1961.
Views include but are not limited to Glacier; Jasper, Alberta, Canada; Seattle; the Sierras; and the Handsaker home.
LocationBox
III.5613 1962-1965.
Views include but are not limited to trips out west; images around Minnesota; and visitors to the Handsaker home.
LocationBox
III.5614Europe, 1964.
Views include but are not limited to trips to England; Scotland; Denmark; Belgium; Germany; Austria; Italy; France; Spain; and Switzerland.
Box contains a partial key to slide arrangement and subjects.
LocationBox
III.5615 1966-1969.
Views include but are not limited to trips out west; images around Minnesota; and visitors to the Handsaker home.

Return to top

Expand/CollapseCATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:
Bridges -- Design and construction -- Photographs.
Christmas cards.
Families -- Photographs.
Photograph albums -- Minnesota.
Persons:
Handsaker family
Handsaker, Willard Nelson, 1887-1987. -- Handsaker annual.
Organizations:
Marjorie McNeely Conservatory (Saint Paul, Minn.) -- Photographs.
Northern Pacific Railway Company.
Meetings:
St. Paul Winter Carnival -- Photographs.
Places:
California -- Description and travel -- Photographs.
Europe -- Description and travel -- Photographs.
Fort Snelling (Minn.) -- Photographs.
Minnehaha Falls (Minn.) -- Photographs.
Minnesota -- Description and travel -- Photographs.
Saint Croix River (Wis. and Minn.) -- Photographs.
Washington (State) -- Description and travel -- Photographs.
Yellowstone National Park -- Photographs.
Document Types:
Photograph albums.
Scrapbooks.
Slides (photographs).

Return to top

To search within this finding aid,
expand all and use 'ctrl+f' (PC)
or 'cmd+f' (Mac)

Overview
Biographical Note
Scope and Contents
Administrative Info
Detailed Description
Catalog Headings
Finding Aids, A-Z
New Finding Aids
Search Library & Archives Catalog
Search Collections
Library FAQ
Copy Services
Research Services
Take-Down Procedure
Library Facebook
Collections Management Toolkit