Lester R. Armstrong Photographs

Collection

Identifier: WCMss-067

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Lester R. Armstrong photographs consist primarily of negatives documenting portraits, family events, and scenes of Walla Walla, Washington, dating from circa 1917 to 1957. Notably, there are scenes from the United Service Organization (U.S.O) events, and McCaw General Hospital, which depict activities during World War Two. While the bulk of the collection was produced from Lester's professional photography studio, Armstrong Photos, portions of the collection are dated from before and after he was operating this business.

Dates

Creation: circa 1917-1957

Creator

Armstrong, Lester R. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Lester Randall Armstrong was born on July 30, 1894 in Farnhamville, Iowa. He moved to Walla Walla in 1900 with his mother and two siblings, after his father died. During World War I, he served with the 1st Division at Fort Lewis.

Armstrong married Myrtle Zimmerman in 1926, and operated a sign business in town for 14 years. He also worked at the McCaw General Hospital during World War Two. When the war ended, Armstrong opened up a photography business, Armstrong Photos, out of his house, which he operated until 1951. Then, he worked as a photographer for the Walla Walla Office of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Lester Armstrong died on May 2, 1955.

Extent

6.3 Linear Feet (5 record cartons, 2 manuscript boxes, 1 small flat box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Lester R. Armstrong was a professional photographer who operated out of Walla Walla, Washington. This collection contains his negatives, dating from circa 1917 to 1957, which primarily document life in Walla Walla, including portraits, town events, and buildings.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives in 1978. There is no known accession information associated with this collection.

Processing Information

In 1996, archives staff transferred the negatives out of their original housing into archival envelopes. It is presumed that archives staff transcribed the original negative titles onto the envelopes, which we maintained in this finding aid created in 2020. We did not verify the contents against the envelope titles for accuracy, but in some cases, archives staff did add additional description in brackets to enhance discoverability. It is important to note that although Lester died in 1955, some of the negatives are dated through 1957. It is unclear if this was a transcription error, or if several photographs created by someone else were added to the collection at some point.

Some negative titles contained offensive terminology describing race. Language that comes from the original archival material can provide information about the people who created it, so the original titles were left on the envelopes. However, in order to create more respectful and inclusive description, the language was updated in the finding aid. Any modifications by archives staff appear in brackets.