University of Oregon
University of Oregon Libraries
University of Oregon Photograph Collection

Historical Photograph Collection
The Lee D. Drake collection, ca. 1910-1957

 

Collection number: PH 021

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Biographical Sketch:

Lee D. Drake (1882-1957) was born May 5, 1882, to James Adelbert Drake and Josephine Georgette Ann (Dolsen) Drake. The family lived on Bear Creek in the Blue Mountains of southern Umatilla County, Oregon, relocated to a farm on Birch Creek that adjoined the reservation of what is now the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and then moved to another farm on Stewart Creek. In 1888 the Drakes moved to Pendleton and began operating a hotel, restaurant and feed yard. Lee Drake was married to Francis M. Hager from 1904 until her death in 1953. Drake had a brother, Fred, who resided in San Carlos, California, and a son, James Robert Drake, of Poulsbo, Washington.

Lee Drake used his administrative and technical expertise to support several newspapers, worked with some of the most influential men in Oregon journalism history, and helped advance the unified action of Oregon newspapers through service with regional organizations. He was also an active civic promoter, serving on several Chambers of Commerce, assisting with political campaigns, helping found and support the Pendleton Roundup and the Happy Canyon pageant, playing in several bands, serving in the National Guard and running civil defense, managing baseball teams and creating leagues, and taking leadership in the Elks. In the words of the Albany Democrat-Herald obituary, "It is safe to say that the name of Lee Drake will long be remembered in Oregon." Click here for more biographical information.

Scope and Contents:

Lee Drake was a collector as well as an amateur photographer. The collection consists of approximately 1,500 negatives and 850 gelatin silver photoprints. Some images are of high quality and others appear to be the product of amateur darkroom experimentation. Other photographers represented in the collection include Walter S. Bowman, O.G. Allen, and Lee Moorhouse.


The images are arranged in broad subject groupings. Primary subjects include photographs of the Drake family; the Pendleton Roundup; and the Umatilla Reservation, home of the Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla tribe represented in the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. A series of the tribal portraits are hand-colored by the photographer, whose autobiographical notes state: "1951: Started taking pictures of all the prominent Indians, enlarging and coloring them."
The quality of Drake's own images varies widely but the tribal portraits demonstrate an appreciation for the subject.

Extent: 3 linear ft. (7 containers)

Provenance:

Donated by James Robert Drake, son of the collector, in 1958.
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Lee D. Drake collection, PH 021-[item number], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299.

Access restrictions: None.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lee D. Drake collection, PH 021-[item number], Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299.

Related collections:

This collection forms part of the Pendleton Group, a series of photograph collections from the Pendleton area, 1880s-1940s. Images from certain photographers, such as Bowman, may be found in many of these collections. The Pendleton Group includes the Lee Drake photographs (PH 021), the Lee Moorhouse photographs (PH 036), the Charles W. Furlong photographs (PH 244), the Walter S. Bowman photographs (PH 004), and the Electric Studio/O.G. Allen photographs (PH 033). Related images are also held in the Print Collection (PH 035) and the Park Weed Willis photographs (PH 288). The Library also holds the Lee. D. Drake papers (Ax 21).

Publication rights:

Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish images must be submitted to the Photographs Curator of Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

 

Processed by: Normandy S. Helmer
Date Completed: February 2004


For a listing of some of the other digital collections or projects being undertaken by the Libraries, please visit the UO Libraries Digital Collections Home Page.

Support for this project was generously provided to the Libraries through a gift from Margaret and Thomas Hart.

 

Last Modified: August 4, 2008
Comments and questions to Digital Collections Administrator
Metadata Services & Digital Projects, University of Oregon Libraries