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Benjamin B. Talley Photographs of the Southwest Collection

 Collection
Identifier: PICT-2017-007

Scope and Content

The collection is comprised of photographic prints taken by Colonel Benjamin Talley during a 1937 trip to New Mexico and the Southwest with Manila Talley. The subjects are primarily people and places. Portraits of people include formal poses and informal snapshots of groups and individuals, along with people in action (dancing, parading, competing, weaving, camping), with a number of photographs taken at the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, N.M. A few of the location views are identified, including structures and ruins of ancestral Puebloans at Bandelier, Chaco, Mesa Verde and Puye. Other locations include contemporary Pueblos and towns such as Acoma, Isleta, Laguna, and Taos. Views include general views of villages and closer views of structures. Many of the views are unidentified locations, and may include Hopi villages.

The collection is comprised of monochromatic prints, primarily silver gelatin prints in two formats: 5 x 7 inch stereo views and 3 x 4 inch prints.

Dates

  • 1937

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Copy Restrictions

Duplication of print and photographic material is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for copyright compliance. For more information see the Photographs and Images Research Guide and contact the Pictorial Archivist.

Biographical information

Benjamin B. Talley, born 1903 in Greer County, Oklahoma, was an engineer and army officer. After receiving engineering degrees from Georgia School of Technology (bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, 1925) and Graduate Engineering School of the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company (master’s in engineering, 1926), and working briefly for Westinghouse, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He served in Normandy and the Pacific during World War II, and supervised construction projects in North America and the Pacific, including mapping with photogrammetry. He retired from the Army in 1956 with the rank of brigadier general, and continued his engineering career in Alaska.

He was married three times -- to Grace Lattner (1925-1926, with whom he had a son Robert Emmett Lattner Talley in 1926,) Manila Davis Talley (1933-1973) and Virginia Talley. Benjamin and Virginia were active in the development of the 1986 documentary film “Alaska at War.” Talley died in Homer, AK, 1998.

Extent

151 items (1 Box) : 151 photographic prints ; stereo views: 5 x 7 in., prints: 3 x 4 in.

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Photographs taken by Colonel Talley during a 1937 family trip to the Southwest, focusing on Native Americans and scenes in New Mexico.

Collection Available Online

Images from the Benjamin B. Talley Photographs of the Southwest Collection are available online via New Mexico's Digital Collections.
Title
Finding Aid of the Benjamin B. Talley Photographs of the Southwest Collection, 1937
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Cindy Abel Morris
Date
© 2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is in English

Revision Statements

  • Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451