GUIDE to the
ROBERT E. CUNNINGHAM OKLAHOMA HISTORY COLLECTION, 1856-1997
ROBERT E. CUNNINGHAM (1906-1991). Collection, 1856-1997.
35.2 cubic feet (32 glass plate boxes, 1 lantern slide box, 2 record boxes, 14 document boxes, 6 flat boxes, 15 photo binder boxes, 2 filmstrip boxes, 5 microfilm boxes, 1 ferrotype box, 3 file cabinet drawers, 10 oversized folders).
Location: 0085-0110; Negative Cabinet 3; Flat File 2; Audio Visual Storage Area.


Introduction:

Cunningham, photograph collector and Stillwater photographer, chronicled the development of Oklahoma through his historical acquisitions and personal photographs. Cunningham's collection records Oklahoma's development from 1883 through the 21st century. The collection contains an extensive assemblage of negatives, photographs, documents and other archival materials.

This diverse negative and photographic collection reflects the work of such notable photographers as W. S. Prettyman, Andrew Alexander Forbes, Vince Dillon, G. B. Cornish, I. H. Bonsall, D. S. Mitchell, and C. P. Wickmiller. The largest portion of the collection consists of more than 500 images produced by Stillwater, Oklahoma frontier photographer Henry Madison Wantland. Later Stillwater pharmacist, hunter and amateur photographer Vince Dillon befriended many Native Americans to document life on the plains during the early 1900s. His images record life on the 101 Ranch, Bliss, Oklahoma, and Native American chiefs and tribal life within Oklahoma. Some of the most prolific frontier photographers within the collection are C. P. Wickmiller, D. S. Mitchell, Andrew Alexander Forbes, W. S. Prettyman, and I. H. Bonsall. Seven original Wickmiller prints provide a photographic record of Captain David L. Payne, Captain William L. Couch and the "Boomers" entering and leaving Indian Territory in 1883. I. H. Bonsall, apprentice under Mathew B. Brady, recorded 1860s Civil War portraits, structures and cities. In the 1870s he traveled to Arkansas City, Kansas and photographed Couch and Payne parties before departing for Oklahoma Territory. D. S. Mitchell recorded the 1889 land run and growth of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Of the most famous and widely duplicated historical photographs in the collection are Prettyman's (1858-1932) and Forbes' images of the 1893 Cherokee Strip opening. Other Oklahoma historical subjects within his collection document Guthrie, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University (A & M College), Oklahoma homesteading, and oil drilling within the state.

Historically significant records within the collection include the Guthrie, Oklahoma Charter Convention Meeting Minutes ledger (June 7, 1889-July 8, 1889), the transcribed diary of Simon Peter Duck, (October 22, 1861- March 27, 1865), Civil War veteran of the Fourth Iowa regiment, letters from artist Augusta C. Metcalfe to Cunningham's Stillwater Engraving Co. (1958-1961), and pendants from A & M College, and 101 Ranch. Additional files contain clippings from Cunningham's Stillwater New-Press, newspaper articles, manuscripts, and research notes.

Biography:

Born in 1906, Cunningham moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1923, when he enrolled as a freshman at Oklahoma A & M College, now Oklahoma State University. While living in Stillwater, he worked for Smith's Studio, a local photographic studio detailing the development of A. & M. College and Stillwater. Leaving college for a five-year period, Cunningham edited the newspapers at Geary and Hinton, and worked as an assistant pressman for Lakeside Press in Chicago, Illinois. He returned to A & M and finished his college career by acquiring Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in 1931 and 1932. After serving in both World War II's European and Pacific theaters from 1942 to 1946, Cunningham returned to Stillwater, where he operated a photoengraving business, Stillwater Engraving Company.

He was an avid collector, meticulous researcher, and prodigious writer. Among the books he wrote were 50 Years Of Oklahoma A & M, Indian Territory: A Frontier Photographic Record, and Trial By Mob, all published in 1957; Stillwater, Where Oklahoma Began, 1969; Perry: Pride Of The Prairie, 1973; and Stillwater Through The Years, 1974. He also worked for the Stillwater News-Press and wrote articles for Daily Oklahoman Sunday Supplement on Oklahoma history and early settlements. Cunningham died in 1991, but the fruits of his collecting and research, which form his legacy, are being preserved and made available to the public.

A prodigious amount of photographic materials within the collection are from frontier photographer, Henry Madison Wantland. Born in Springfield, Illinois on April 4, 1864, Wantland with his wife, Edith, and two children, Fred and LeRoy, moved from Eureka, Kansas, to Stillwater, Oklahoma Territory in 1891. In spite of his lack of knowledge about photography, Wantland bought W. A. Flower's Stillwater photographic studio in 1897 and called it The Peoples Photo Studio and later, Wantland's Art Studio. In that year, as well, Ella Fay, his only daughter was born. For the next 20 years, Wantland made hundreds of exposures on glass plates of men, women, and children of Stillwater and produced cabinet cards that he sold to these pioneers at $1.50 per dozen. Following a divorce in 1909, Wantland became more of a miserly recluse. His photographic business began to languish due primarily to the emergence of amateur photography facilitated by cameras and film produced by Eastman Kodak. In 1916, Wantland married Emma Berg, his darkroom assistant, and by September 1918, he quit the photographic business and entered the army at Fort Sill. But, World War I ended in November and he was discharged in January 1919. Upon his return to Stillwater, his marriage to Emma, and lifestyle declined.

While he earned money by buying and selling junk furniture, Emma maintained the home by selling her needlework. She died in December 1931, having suffered ill health, the consequences of privation and financial destitution. Wantland remarried in 1937. At the age of 88, he died in 1953 at his home on Husband Street in Stillwater.
Cunningham acquired Wantland's collection of glass plate negatives, neglected for 35 years, at an estate auction.

Scope & Content Note:

Subject Files, 1890-1984 includes a 1917 A & M College, Stillwater, Oklahoma, Commencement Week Program listing all 1917 graduates, 1949-1950 student handbook, 1928 Kloran or Ritual of The Women of the Ku Klux Klan official publication outlining the creed and ceremonies [39/22], a 1892 dedication service program from the First M.E. Church, Stillwater, Women's Christian Temperance Union [39/22], First District Convention, 1st Methodist Church, Stillwater, 1892 flyer, and dance card from the Masque Ball, Tecumseh Dancing Club, November 28, 1894 [39/22].

Photographs, 1856- ca. 1970s contain sub-series Dry Plate Negatives [glass plate negatives and lantern slides,] Nitrate & Safety Negatives, Cabinet Cards, Photographic Prints, Ferrotype, and Stereoscopic Cards; each sub-series has been detailed below. Individual photograph and negative information can be accessed on the Research Center’s in-house database. No published container list exsists for this series except for the first 367 photographs found within the subject files.

Dry Plate Negatives:
Boxes 01-33; Location: 085-095
The collection of Dry Plate Negatives under Series 2: Photographs, dated 1893-1918, consist of glass plate negatives and lantern slides. Individual dry plate negatives can only be accessed on the Research Center's in-house database; at this time, no published dry plate negative container list exists. Catalog numbers 2000.005.2.0001-2000.005.2.0352, 2000.005.3.0001-2000.005.3.1011, 2000.005.4.001-2000.005.2.140, and 2000.005.5.01-2000.005.5.65 reference glass plate negatives. 2000.005.6.01-2000.005.6.061 refers to the Series' lantern slides. Dry Plate Negative photographers include pioneer photographers I. H. Bonsall, G. B. Cornish, De Goff, Vince Dillon, A. A. Forbes, and Professor L. A Holmes, D. S. Mitchell, G. W. Parsons, William S. Prettyman, J. C. Van Griethuysen, and Henry Madison Wantland. The majority of the collection is Henry M. Wantland's 1895-1918 glass plate studio portrait negatives originating from Stillwater, Oklahoma with the remaining collection created outside of Oklahoma. Professor L. A. Holmes glass plates' originated in Brooklyn, Iowa, between 1898-1901, while Bonsall's negatives were largely from Kansas. Another smaller group of glass plate negatives were an unidentified 1900s lecture slide series from Sears, Roebuck & Co. and 1893-1900 city series by an unknown photographer.

Nitrate Negatives:
Box 34; Location: 095, [2 x 3 & 4 x 7 inch negatives] 2000.005.8.001-2000.005.8.051, .094
Negatives reflect the years 1893-1940s on various subjects. Locations and events covered in the negatives include the development of Oklahoma towns Perkins, Perry, and Stillwater; Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (Oklahoma State University); 1907 college athletic events and parades, Whittenberg Hospital, Stillwater; Yost Lake recreation; 1918 World War I War House dedication and draftees leaving for Camp Pike, Arkansas; 1923 Armistice; American Legion Hall dedication; Boomer Lake construction, Fireman Jim O'Leery's and World War I military funeral of soldier Dawson, and a photograph of S. P. Duck's Civil War diary. Individual nitrate negatives can only be accessed on the Research Center's in-house database; at this time, no published nitrate negative container list exists.

Box 35; Location: 096, 2000.005.8.052 - 2000.005.8.093
Negatives in box 35 encompass negatives dated 1918-1940s. Contents within the box cover a variety of subject matters: 1937-1938 school students from Stillwater schools of Jefferson, Lincoln, Stillwater Junior High, and Stillwater High School; construction of the Ingalls memorial to dead Marshalls; 1938 County Fair displays; Oklahoma State University fraternities of the 1930s; Stillwater War Memorial dedication of 1935, Lake Blackwell construction; 1940s Stillwater show home of Miller, Bryan, McNutt & Beltz, and photograph negatives of Stillwater families Caldwell, Cleverdon, Gilbert, Hixson, Hoke, and Linsenmeyer.

Safety Negatives:
Location: Negative cabinet #3/ Drawers 4, 5 & 6. Individual safety negatives can only be accessed on the Research Center's in-house database; at this time, no published safety negative container list exists.

Drawer 4: [4 x 5 & 5 x 7 inch negatives] 2000.005 .7.0001- 2000.005.7.0641
Drawer 5: [5 x 7 inch negatives] 2000.005.7.0642- 2000.005.7.0650, 2000.005.7.0710 - 2000.005.7.0733, 2000.005.7.0735, .0736 & .0738
Drawer 6: [8 x 10 inch negatives] 2000.005.7.0651 - 2000.005.7.0709, 2000.005.7.0734, and 2000.005.7.0737

Cabinet Cards:
2000.005.17.0020-2000.005.17.0034 are described in the Series 2: Photograph series Container List and housed in box 37.
2000.005.17.0001-2000.005.17.0004 are described on the in-house data base and are four portraits ca. 1890s: Capt. Couch, Mrs. Cynthia Couch, Chief Washunga of the Pawnees, and a group of unidentified Native Americans. Individual cabinet cards 2000.005.17.0001-2000.005.17.0004 can only be accessed on the Research Center's in-house database; at this time, no published container list exists on these four cabinet cards.

Photographs:
Photographs 2000.005.9.0001-2000.005.9.2384 relate Oklahoma's development from Indian Territory through the 1970s. Subject areas include Captain Payne & Couch Boomer, pre-land run, 1889 & 1893 land runs, the settlement of Guthrie, Perry, Stillwater, and towns throughout the territory, the establishment of Oklahoma State University through the 1950s, outlaws within Oklahoma, 101 Ranch of Bliss, Oklahoma, Indian encampments and life, oil fields of Glenn Pool, Sauk, & Paradise, "Cimarron" movie stills, and portrait photographs by photographer Henry Wantland.

3-ring binders house the majority of photographs within the collection. The subject and location information of the binders are listed below. Individual photograph information can only be accessed on the Research Center's in-house database; at this time, no published photograph container list exists on the 3-ring binder photogarphs.

2000.005.9.0001-.0386 photographs were processed separately and therefore, are described on the published Container List. The photographs are located in box #37.

Ferrotype:
2000.005.17.0005-2000.005.17.0019 dated ca. 1860s-ca. 1870s and are described in detail on the in-house database. At this time no detailed pubished container list exsists for the ferrotypes. The images are male, female, and infant portraits. One ferrotype portrays two military men in uniform.

Stereoscope Cards:
Location: Negative Film cabinet #3/ Drawer 5
Stereoscope Cards 2000.005.15.001- 2000.005.15.186 from Brady & Co., Continental Art, Griffith & Griffith, Kawin & Company, Kent Stereoscopic View Company, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Series, and Quaker Oats Company comprise the collection's acknowledged card producers. Further detailed information on the stereoscopic cards can be obtained by accessing the Research Center's in-house database.

Advertising Cards, 1893-ca. 1930s contain unique cards such as custom standing and flat colored black cat advertising card for Black Cat Hosiery; Chicago-Kenosha Hosiery Company, Floyd Lease '(Pretty Boy) Floyd' political card "Not a bank robber but a trouble shooter;" 1893 Payne County Fair, 1907 "Guthrie, The Capital of Oklahoma" advertising booklet printed by State Capital Company; duplicated photographs by Armantrout Bros.; J. L. Calvert advertising card from Perry, Oklahoma land run era; and numerous colored advertising cards from The Buzza Company.

Clippings, 1893-1983 are local newspaper articles written by Cunningham, ca. 1960s - ca. 1980s, or articles referencing Cunningham's photograph and negative collection [boxes 74, 75, & 76.] Stillwater New-Press and the Daily Oklahoman were the principle publishers of Cunningham's historical articles. Additional newspaper clippings may be found within Subject Files, box 38 & 40 processed by Chuck Rand previous to the total collections processing.

Journals, 1889 of the City of Guthrie Charter minutes, 1889, [box 38, Oversized materials], and Journal Ledger, Guthrie, 1889: Commercial, Merchants, & M. Neal Little Bank, Occupational Tax, Special Collections, Police, Judge payments, Real Estate Purchase Records, [box 45, Oversized materials.]

Magazines, 1891-1968 contain University publications and national magazine publications dating from 1891, boxes 41, 45, & flat box 74. Also within the collection are two university publications from the 1890s. The history of Oklahoma A & M College (Oklahoma State University,) featured article in the College Mirror, Vol. 2 No. 8, April 15, 1896 magazine, and The Normal Philomath, Vol. 1 No. 5, May, 1897 from the University of Central Oklahoma, previously known as Central State University. The Normal Philomath relates information about the commencement exercises for the Normal School, A & M College, (Oklahoma State University) and the University (University of Oklahoma.) The national publications of Cosmopolitan, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly and Midland Monthly contain articles about western frontier America. The container list outlines the magazines' specific article topics.

Newspapers, 1893-1974 within the collection are for the most part local Oklahoma newspapers. Rare copies of Oklahoma Review, Enid, Oklahoma, 1897, Oklahoma Farmer, Oklahoma City, 1893, Home Field and Forum, Guthrie, Oklahoma, 1893 and 1894, 1897 Perry, Oklahoma newspapers,and The Citizen newspaper from Taloga, Oklahoma, 1893 are preserved through photocopying. Newspapers in advance deterioration were destroyed, if alternative sources of preservation were located. Please refer to Appendix B for a complete listing of Oklahoma newspapers found within the collection, and alternative archival reference locations.

Notebooks, 1890-1997, & n.d. are Cunningham's interview and resource notebooks.
Notebooks, folder 1, n.d.:

#01: Hy-grade Premium notebook, n.d. The first section of the notebook focuses upon the life of John Juregien [sic] as a WW II German (Nazi) soldier - deployments and surrender to Tito partisans, his escape, capture and second escape back to Germany. Juregins settled in Stillwater, Oklahoma after World War II. The majority of the notebook contains notes about the history of oil drilling in Oklahoma, and the product's commercial application, and development. Many Oklahoma towns are referenced in the notes: Bartlesville, Glenn Pool, Cleveland, Tulsa, Cushing, the Osage allotment, Red Fork, and Oklahoma City. A five-page manuscript excerpt of Chapter III, Clayton oil town, and secondary source notes regarding oil industry development, oil companies and oilmen conclude the notebook's reference notes.

#02: n.d. The notebook consists of a historical reference book list, and concludes with pioneer interviews of Louie Geiser and Jno. Renworthy dated 1960. Antidotes and stories of Oklahoma pioneers are covered in last nine pages of notes.

#03: Hy-grade Premium notebook, n.d. The first part of the notebook reflects Cunningham interview notes relating to early day Oklahoma photographers Henry M. Wantland, and Jaques Moreau. Additionally, the notebook documents interview notes relevant to pioneer life and events; names of partial references include Governor Steele, Coopers, Jim Williams, and Les Thatcher. The notebook concludes with secondary source notes from the Chronicles of Oklahoma, and Harpers Weekly¸Vol. 33, 1889.

Notebooks, folder 2, 1890-1997:

#01: Hy-grade Premium notebook, 1997. The notebook contains an index of Cunningham photographs using a code system developed by him: A=A & M College, 15 photos; B-Opening 1889, 10 photos; C-Opening 1893, 23 photos; Opening 1892, 13 photos. Additionally, it contains an outline of Osage history throughout the Territory referencing Guthrie Leader, Chandler Leader, Norman Transcript, Oklahoman, Kansas City Star newspapers, and secondary sources.

#02: Hy-grade Premium notebook, n.d. Quotes from letters received from the erritory to the Department of Missouri, Government Office in 1892, and notes relating to specific photographs compose the notebook's material.

#03: Hy-grade Premium notebook contains a variety of resources notes and interviews pertaining to Indian Territory: resource notes from unidentified secondary sources describing the land run, interview notes with 89ers George Fleming and Ralph Oyster, and Bill McClure, notes from telegraph and government military correspondence in relation to Indian Territory, 1890-1899, and George B. Cornish's 1902 journal notes on Vince Dillon, Oklahoma photographer.

#04: n.d. Within the notebook are biographical notes on photographer William Prettyman, Cunningham's secondary source notes, 1897 & 1898 Gazette newspaper quotes, and general notes on Osage Indian settlement.

Postcards, ca. 1900-ca. 1940s cover a diversity of topics: Oklahoma cities and towns, Oklahoma universities, Churches, Indian portraits, Oil, and Frank Eaton, "Pistol Pete" [box 53, 2000.005.16.001-.157].

Scrapbook Albums, 1882-1984 consist of lithograph advertising cards and magazine portraits [Boxes 72 & 73, Scrapbook #1 & 2]. Inscription in Scrapbook #2 - "Lou Young, Nov. 1882, Fredonia, Kansas."

Souvenir Edition Opening of Oklahoma 50th Anniversary - 1893-1984 contains numerous clippings related to historical events. Clippings found within the book cover historical events within Oklahoma: research material clippings used by Cunningham for his published pamphlet Trial by Mob, 1957; clippings from the State Capital newspaper, 1893-1897, regarding events in Oklahoma Territory & Indian Territory; citizen's war between Pond Creek and Round Pond (Enid), O. T. regarding the Rock Island railroad's depot location; general discussion about Oklahoma Territory town development; the Dalton Gang; Tom King; Dynamite Dick; Cherokee Bill; Bill Cook; Oklahoma statehood question as addressed by O. T. newspapers; disagreement between William Mathewson and Bill Cody regarding the name Buffalo Bill; Dawes Commission; Kansas City Star article recalling Quantrell's life; and 1893-1897 KKK (Whitecaps) disturbances.

Sheet Music, 1906 contains the Cover of Iola sheet music published by Jerome H. Remick & Company [box 74].

Audio Visual, n. d. is the "The Oklahoma Story," filmstrip written by Cunningham, and used as an educational filmstrip for elementary school classrooms. Box 40, file folders 7 & 8 contain Cunningham's original storyboards of the filmstrip.

Pennants, n. d. of the 101 Ranch, 2000.005.18.0001 and Oklahoma A & M, 2000.005.18.0002 are of an undetermined age [flat file #2].

Negative & Ferrotype Sleeves & Notes, ca. 1860s-1970s are the sleeves and notes from the the collection's safety and nitrate negatives [boxes 42m 43m & 44]. One ferrotype sleeve is housed in box 44.


Organization:

Original order was maintained in Subject Files, and Photographs. For ease of research, subject and material organized the remaining series. Historical accuracy through chronological order was instituted when appropriate.

Subject Terms:

Personal Names:
See Appendix A for a modified name list; a detailed personal name list is available in-house.

Corporate Names:
Cheyenne Lance Society
First Territorial Convention
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Guthrie Arbitration Board
Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College
Oklahoma Band Association
Oklahoma Highway Patrol
Oklahoma State University

Booklets & Pamphlets:
50 Years of Oklahoma … at A & M 1907-1957
75th Anniversary 1895-1970 First National Bank of Cleveland
Almanac and Manual of Useful Information for 1923
Almanac and Manual of Useful Information for 1925
Almanac and Manual of Useful Information for 1927
Almanac and Manual of Useful Information for 1928
Alumni and Former Students Directory Issue 1891-1935, Vol. 32, No. 9, October 1935
Anniversary of Your Oklahoma State University
Assembly Territory of Oklahoma
Bibliographical Notes, A Preliminary Check-list of Nineteenth Century Oklahoma Book Publishers
Bradstreet's, Oklahoma, January
Cardui Song Book No. 3 & 4
Cardui Song Book No. 6
Catalogue of Cliff Dweller's Exhibit, World's Columbian Exposition, 1893
Cunard Cabin Channel Service New York to Plymouth , Cherbourg & London
Dr. Miles Weather Almanac
Dr. Miles New Weather Almanac and Hand Book of Valuable Information
Eleventh Annual American Indian Exposition, Anadarko, Oklahoma, August 19-20-21-22-23, 1942
Energy for America: The Story of Oil's First Century
The Founding of Oklahoma A. And M. College: A Memoir, Alfred Edwin Jarrel
Frisco Line Magazine, Vol. III, No. 5, May 1900
Glimpses of A. & M.
House Calendar Fifty-First Day Wednesday, March 4, 1903 Seventh Legislative
Interstate Migrations Among the Native White Population as Indicated by Differences Between State of Birth and State of Residence, A Series of Maps Based on the Census 1870-1930, United States Dept. of Agriculture
Libby Prison War Museum Ass'n.
Mac Donald's Farmers Almanac 1943
Mac Donald's Farmers Almanac 1944
Maps for Ready Reference
Miami by the Sea
Modes and Fabrics
Nature Notes from the Gulf States Vol. III, No. 1, Autumn 1952
New State: All the Facts and Figures about Oklahoma
Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, A Book of Photographs
Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College Yesterday & Today
Oklahoma Heritage: A Picture Story of Pioneers, Outlaws, Indians
Oklahoma Land of Opportunity
The Oklahoma State Capital Art Edition, 1889 & 1890
Oklahoma: The State that Oil Built, American Petroleum Institute
Oklahoma Visit, Travel Stamp Album & Guide Book
Our Presidents [Alka-Seltzer promotional booklet]
Paradoxes from Greek Philosophers Down to the Present Day, How to Entertain a Company [Lion Coffee promotional booklet]
Payne County Fair Association Premium List, Stillwater, Okla., Fifth Annual Exhibit, October 6,7,8 1897
Payne County Educational Directory, 1931-1932
Payne County Educational Directory, 1932-1933
Perkins Old Settlers 1938, In Memory of the Early Settlers of Perkins and Community
Premium List of the First Annual Fair of the Payne County Agricultural Fair Association, Stillwater Okla., September 30, October 1,2,3,4 1902
Profile of Perry
Protégé II The Register and Leader
Report of Agricultural and Mechanical College Exhibit "E" of Governor's Message to the Third Legislative Assembly of Oklahoma, January 8, 1895
Report of the Governor of Oklahoma to the Secretary of the Interior 1900
Souvenir Booklet Commemorating Fortieth Anniversary of the Discovery of Oil in the Cushing Area
Souvenir Edition Opening of Oklahoma 50th Anniversary
The Texaco Story: The First Fifty Years
Tradition The Monthly Magazine of America's Picturesque Past
Trial by Mob
What a country boy did with 200 pounds of type (Warren G. Harding story)
Window on the Past, Historical Sites in Oklahoma

Magazines:
The Beacon
The College Mirror
The College Paper
Cosmopolitan
The Daily Bang
Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly
I Was a Share Cropper
Life
The Mirror
The National Spectator
The Normal Philomath
Oklahoma A. & M. College Magazine
Rodeo Fans

Newspapers:
The Citizen
The Cleveland American
The Daily Gazette
The Daily Press
Home Field and Forum
Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News
The Morning Sentinel
Oklahoma Farmer
Oklahoma Neuigkeit
Oklahoma Review
The Perry Democrat
The Perry Republic
St. Louis Republic
The Stillwater Democrat
The Stillwater Gazette

Subject Headings:
101 Ranch--Historic District (Okla.)
Cowboys
Cowgirls
Fire fighters
Fire stations
Frontier and pioneer life--Kansas
Frontier and pioneer life--Oklahoma
Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.)
Guthrie (Okla.)--History
Indians of North America--Oklahoma
Indians of North America--Portraits
Lakes--Oklahoma
Oklahoma-History--Land Rush, 1889
Oklahoma-History--Land Rush, 1893
Oklahoma City (Okla.)--History
Oklahoma State University
Petroleum industry and trade--Oklahoma
Photographers
Public schools--Oklahoma
Railroads--West--History
Ranches--Oklahoma
Robbers and outlaws--West (U.S.)
Stillwater (Okla.)--Biography
Stillwater (Okla.)--Biography--Portraits
Stillwater (Okla.)--Church history
Stillwater (Okla.)--History
Stillwater (Okla.)--History Pictorial works
United States. Army Military life
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Portraits
West (U.S.) History
West (U.S.)--History, Military
Wild west shows
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1939-1945

Accession Information:

The Robert E. Cunningham Oklahoma History Collection was gifted to the Museum by Jane Mitchel and preserved until formal processing began in 2002.

Processing Information:

Chuck Rand of the Research Center processed the subject file series, dry plate negatives, and lantern slides previous to June 2002. Pam Bell processed the remaining series' in 2002 and 2003.

Subject Files, 1890-1984
Subject files maintain Cunningham's original order and titles arranged alphabetically and contain special "Indian" tribal file folders under the subheading Indian. Files of specific frontier photographers researched by Cunningham are located under "Photographers" at the end of the subject files. While rehousing the subject file folders, Chuck Rand segregated all photographs into a separate series, Series 2: Photographs. Original file titles were used in creating Series 2 file folders. Cataloged photographs 2000.005.9.0001-.0386 are the separated photographs from Cunningham's document files, preserved in box #37. The photographs are not cataloged in the database, which contain the balance of the Cunningham photograph collection.

Photographs, 1856-ca. 1970s
Cataloged within the database are photographs 2000.005.9.0387-.2384 which reflect the balance of the Cunningham's photograph collection. These photographs were rehoused and processed according to Cunningham's original order, utilizing his assigned subject headings. Original photograph containers included binders, boxes, envelopes with additional loose photographs found within the indicated subject headings. The "Title" field within the database contains Cunningham's original subject headings. Original container information is notated in the archival box subject heading dividers, and finding aid. Cunningham's notes on specific photographs were transcribed into the database's 'Notes/Summary' field. The photographs processed after June 2002 are preserved in archival photograph 3 ring binders.

Clippings, 1893-1983
Cunningham wrote numerous newspaper articles recounting Oklahoma history from pre-land run to the 1970s. His extensive photographic collection acted as a basis for many of the published articles. The Research Center's in-house database cross-references the photographs to the specific published articles. Most of the articles published between 1960 and 1974 are cross-referenced by subject and photograph. Specific persons referenced in clippings are cross-referenced to the Research Center's in-house database.

Newspapers, 1893-1974
All newspapers originally part of the collection are listed on Appendix B. Alternative archival sources were searched and only rare newspapers found within the collection were preserved. All original copies of the newspapers were destroyed after photocopy preservation.

Postcards, ca. 1900-ca. 1940s
Cunningham's original organizational grouping, place name and subject division was maintained. Groupings were arranged alphabetically from general category to specific subject image. Black & white postcards were separated from color cards within each subject heading. Identified church and school postcards are cataloged under the subheading of Churches and Schools.

Booklets & Pamphlets, 1889-1961
Booklets and pamphlets found within the subject files were separated and accessioned by Chuck Rand. Pam Bell created the container list at the end of collection processing.

Destroyed Materials:

Photographs, Nitrate Negatives
Six nitrate negatives were destroyed due to extreme deterioration. The negatives were part of 2000.005.8.0096A-I, Hoke Family.

Clippings
Photographic copies replace original clippings for preservation purposes. All original copies were destroyed at the end of processing.

Newspapers
Newspapers found within the Cunningham collection preserved in alternative archival repositories were destroyed at the end of processing. See the Newspaper Container list for a complete listing of holdings found within the collection.

Ownership & Literary Rights:

The Robert E. Cunningham Oklahoma History Collection is the property of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Literary right, including copyright, belongs to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with the exception of copyrighted artwork images and published literary works, which are the property of the respective copyright holders. It is the responsibility of the researcher, and his/her publisher, to obtain publishing permission from individuals pictured, relevant copyright holders, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Restrictions on Access:

This collection is open for research. Researchers are advised to discuss their research with staff prior to visiting the Center.

Preferred Citation:

Robert E. Cunningham Oklahoma History Collection, Box ##, Folder ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK.