Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
William L. Finley Papers, 1899-1946
Date(s)
- 1899 - 1946 (Creation)
Extent
11.0 Cubic Feet; 277 photographs; 18 boxes, including 1 oversize box and 1 map folder
Name of creator
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
William L. Finley's papers primarily document his work as a wildlife conservationist, author, lecturer, photographer, and filmmaker from about 1900 to 1940. The collection also documents the work his wife Irene Finley and photography partner Herman Bohlman. The collection consists of published and unpublished manuscripts, lecture and field notes, reports, correspondence, photographs and motion picture films.
An addition to the collection (Accession 2014:062) is made up of correspondence and newspaper clippings documenting the wildlife conservation work of William and Irene Finley. Among the topics addressed in the correspondence include: song bird protection laws in Oregon, requests to Finley for use of his photographs, the forming of an Oregon Fish and Game Commission, biological surveys conducted by Finley, legislation in California repealing meadowlark protection, and letters by Finley to various organizations regarding the presentation of one of his lectures. A highlight among the correspondence is a thank you letter from Finley to President Theodore Roosevelt for his establishment of wild bird reservations. The clippings are newspaper articles written by Irene and William Finley about encounters with wildlife, nocturnal bird sounds, and their filming of wildlife at Paulina Lake. The four articles all appeared in editions of the "Oregon Sunday Journal."
System of arrangement
The collection is arranged into ten series: I. Manuscripts; II. Publications; III. Correspondence; IV. Lectures; V. Trip Notes; VI. Organizations and Issues; VII. Personal Materials; VIII. Motion Picture Films; IX. Photographs and Painting; and X. Oversize Materials.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Collection is open for research. Original motion picture films are restricted; researchers are to use VHS or DVD reference copies.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Citation: William L. Finley Papers (MSS Finley), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Pack, Arthur Newton, 1893-1975 (Subject)
- Finley, Irene (Subject)
- Finley, William L. (William Lovell), 1876-1953 (Subject)
- Finley, William L., Jr. (Subject)