Scope and Content Note
The Carlos H. Elmer Photographs consist principally of work created by Elmer during his career as a commercial photographer in Arizona. The collection also contains a small amount of work by other photographers acquired by Elmer.
Elmer's emphasis has been in photographing scenic views. A great deal of the material is from Arizona and many images have been reproduced in Arizona Highways. The Elmer Photographs also include images from other portions of the United States and from many other nations. The collection consists of 35mm, 6x7cm, 6x9cm, 2x3", 4x5", and 2x7" panorama photographs, principally negatives and transparencies; the collection also contains prints of many of these images.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1938-1988
Language of Materials
Material in English
Access Restrictions
Some images may be refrigerated to prevent deterioration and are available to patrons only by appointment.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.
Biographical Note
Carlos Hall Elmer, son of Charles Percival and Dorothy Winslow (Hall) Elmer, was born on July 22, 1920 in Washington, D.C. He took his baccalaureate at UCLA in 1947 and served as a civilian employee of the United States Navy at the United States Naval Ordnance Test Station (now the United States Naval Weapons Center) in China Lake, California, from 1947 to 1957. He was a instrumentation salesman from 1957 to 1972.
Elmer began making travel photographs in 1940, working in China Lake, California, and in Scottsdale and Kingman, Arizona. He was chairman of the Ninth International Conference on High Speed Photography in Denver, Colorado in 1970. Elmer is also a Fellow in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, a member of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and a member of the American Society of Magazine Photographers.
Elmer has worked as an author and photographer for Arizona Highways magazine and other publications since 1940. In 1967 he published his first book, Carlos Elmer's Arizona, and is the author of eight additional books on Arizona and the Southwest.
Elmer married Wilma Virginia Hudson (1920-1986) in 1943 and the couple had two children, Frank Hudson and Elizabeth Anne. Frank has worked with his father in the photography business. Carlos Elmer died on May 22, 1993.
Full extent
29 Box(es)
Full extent
15 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Carlos H. Elmer Photographs consist principally of work created by Elmer during his career as a commercial photographer in Arizona. Other images depict different parts of the United States and foreign countries.
Arrangement
This collection consists of twenty-nine boxes divided into four series:
- Series I: Mounted Transparencies
- Series II: Photographic Prints and Negatives
- Series III: Unmounted Transparencies
- Series IV: Slides and Other Images
Preservation Note
Many of Elmer's photographs were made on Ektachrome film and show significant color shift towards the magenta. Some images may be refrigerated to prevent further deterioration; these images are available to patrons only by appointment.
It is possible to digitize individual images and correct the color shift by computer, although the accuracy of the restored color cannot be guaranteed. The Department does not offer this service, but will work with patrons who require it.
Provenance
Mr. Carlos Elmer, Mrs. Wilma Elmer, and Ms. Mary Lou Moore donated these photographs in multiple accessions between 1992 and 1996.
Alternative Form Available
Some photographs from this collection have been individually cataloged in ASU's Special Materials Index. These photos can be found by searching the index for Elmer, Carlos.
Processing Information
Series I, Series III, and Series IV have been arranged using image numbers originally assigned by Elmer; Series II was organized using Elmer's original subject groupings and numbered by Department staff.
Geographic
- Arc de Triomphe (Paris, France) -- Pictorial works
- Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah) -- Pictorial works
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- Carmel (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
- Chiricahua National Monument (Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Pictorial works
- Copenhagen (Denmark) -- Pictorial works
- Davis Dam (Ariz. and Nev.) -- Pictorial works
- Death Valley National Park (Calif. and Nev.) -- Pictorial works
- Dixie National Forest (Utah) -- Pictorial works
- Dominican Republic -- Pictorial works
- Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) -- Pictorial works
- Germany -- Pictorial works
- Grand Canyon National Park (Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- Great Britain -- Pictorial works
- Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.) -- Pictorial works
- Japan -- Pictorial works
- Laughlin (Nev.) -- Pictorial works
- London (England) -- Pictorial works
- London Bridge (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- Malmaison (Rueil-Malmaison, France) -- Pictorial works
- Mexico City (Mexico) -- Pictorial works
- Mission San Xavier del Bac (Tucson, Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- New England -- Pictorial works
- New York (N.Y.) -- Pictorial works
- Northwestern States -- Pictorial works
- Petrified Forest National Park (Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- San Francisco (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
- San Francisco Peaks (Ariz.) -- Pictorial works
- Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.) -- Pictorial works
- Southwestern States -- Pictorial works
- Sweden -- Pictorial works
- Switzerland -- Pictorial works
- Yosemite National Park (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
- Zion National Park (Utah) -- Pictorial works
Topical
- Title
- Carlos Hall Elmer Photographs
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Richard Pearce-Moses, Curator of Photographs, 1992.
- Date
- 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide encoded in English.
Repository details
Part of the Greater Arizona Collection Repository
Contact
Arizona State UniversityP.O. Box 871006
Tempe AZ 85287-1006 United States
(480) 965-4932
archives@asu.edu