Frederick Hoffman Wood photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P1037
Scope and Contents
The Frederick Hoffman Wood photograph collection consists of 35mm color transparencies and color prints taken by Fred Wood that document his participation in the 1955-56 Hatch-Eggert River Expedition. Named for head boatman Don Hatch and photographer/film maker Charles Eggert, the purpose of this summer-long river trip down the Green and Colorado Rivers was to photograph and film the river canyons before construction started on the dams at Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon. The voyage consisted of two separate sections: the Green River from Green River, Wyoming to Lees Ferry, Arizona, in the summer of 1955, and from Lees Ferry, Arizona, through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead in the summer of 1956. Box 1 contains color prints taken during the 1955 journey, from Wyoming to Lees Ferry. There are some that were apparently developed with a different process, or on a different film, that still retain good color, but, unfortunately, for the most part, these prints have faded. As donated, the prints were in small double photo albums. As the paper stock of the albums was acidic, the prints were removed and the albums discarded. Very few of the original prints were labeled; instead, small slips of paper were inserted to label a few of the prints. These are retained in their respective folders. Information found on any of these slips that identifies a particular photograph will be found in the register surrounded by quote marks ("___"). Any information that is evident from the context but not labeled on the photographs will be included in the register in brackets, [___]. Box 2 contains color 35mm transparencies of the 1956 leg of the expedition, through the Grand Canyon. In some cases, individual slides were identified, but most are unlabeled.
A small collection of correspondence, brochures, and memorabilia, is found in ACCN 1603. The 8mm color films that accompanied the collection are housed in A0692. VHS videtotape copies of the films are available for patron viewing.
A small collection of correspondence, brochures, and memorabilia, is found in ACCN 1603. The 8mm color films that accompanied the collection are housed in A0692. VHS videtotape copies of the films are available for patron viewing.
Dates
- 1955-1956
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
BIOGRAPHY OF FREDERICK HOFFMAN WOOD / HISTORY OF THE HATCH EGGERT RIVER EXPEDITION
Frederick H. Wood (b. 1904) was the owner of the Open Book bookshops in Bridgeport and Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1952, he took his family on a one-month car trip to visit relatives in California. It was on this trip that Fred Wood began his love affair with the American west. He read everything he could regarding the history of western settlement. When he saw an ad in the SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE seeking participants in a river expedition to film the Colorado River, Mr. Wood replied, was accepted, and became a member of the crew during the two-month, 1,000 mile journey. The first leg was from Green River, Wyoming to Lees Ferry, Arizona, where the low stage of the water made the leaders decide to postpone the Grand Canyon segment of the voyage until the next year. In 1956, Fred Wood was back for the last part of the trip, through the Grand Canyon. After that, he never returned to the American West, but built a library of books about the region. He sold his bookshops in the 1970s, and died in 1986. In 2002, at the suggestion of Charles Eggert, the Library contacted Ann Wood Smith, daughter of Fred Wood, with the result that she donated her father's papers, photographs, and films to the Special Collections Department.
The Hatch-Eggert Expedition grew out of a conversation held between Don Hatch and Charles Eggert during the Echo Park Dam controversy. Eggert, a film-maker, and Hatch, son of Bus Hatch, founder of Hatch River Expeditions, agreed to put together a river trip for the purpose of filming the river canyons of the Green and Colorado--following the course of John Wesley Powell's exploration in 1869 before the great dams were built. Photography and other personnel consisted of Charles Eggert, the photographer; his assistant, a student named Anthony Tuttle; and Fred Wood, Cid Ricketts Sumner, and Dr. Bob Parsons, all of whom were chosen by Eggert based on their answers to an ad he placed in the Saturday Review of Literature. Boatmen, besides Don Hatch, included at various times Les Jones, Bruce Lium, Clark Lium, Al Galloway, and Sylvester "Smuss" Allan. They started from Green River, Wyoming, in June 1955, in two boats, a 10-man raft and a pontoon. They reached Lees Ferry, Arizona, later that summer without serious mishap. However, by then the water had reached a low stage and Don Hatch judged that it was too low for a safe passage through the Grand Canyon. They agreed to meet again the next summer, when the water would be higher, to complete the journey through the Grand Canyon. Accordingly, they met at Lees Ferry in June 1956, with mostly the same people, although there were some changes. Fred Wood and Charles Eggert were the only two of the original members who made the complete trip through the Grand Canyon, which was, again, done without problems. They were accompanied through the Grand Canyon by Jack Brennan, another pioneer river runner, who was testing a new boat and wanted to go along in case of trouble. Charles Eggert made two films, "A Canyon Voyage" and "Danger River" which he took on the lecture circuit and showed to audiences all over the country. These films, as well as his photographs of the expedition and all of his notes, files, correspondence, memorabilia, and other materials relating to the Hatch-Eggert Expedition, are found in P0766; ACCN 1659; and A0511.
Frederick H. Wood (b. 1904) was the owner of the Open Book bookshops in Bridgeport and Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1952, he took his family on a one-month car trip to visit relatives in California. It was on this trip that Fred Wood began his love affair with the American west. He read everything he could regarding the history of western settlement. When he saw an ad in the SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE seeking participants in a river expedition to film the Colorado River, Mr. Wood replied, was accepted, and became a member of the crew during the two-month, 1,000 mile journey. The first leg was from Green River, Wyoming to Lees Ferry, Arizona, where the low stage of the water made the leaders decide to postpone the Grand Canyon segment of the voyage until the next year. In 1956, Fred Wood was back for the last part of the trip, through the Grand Canyon. After that, he never returned to the American West, but built a library of books about the region. He sold his bookshops in the 1970s, and died in 1986. In 2002, at the suggestion of Charles Eggert, the Library contacted Ann Wood Smith, daughter of Fred Wood, with the result that she donated her father's papers, photographs, and films to the Special Collections Department.
The Hatch-Eggert Expedition grew out of a conversation held between Don Hatch and Charles Eggert during the Echo Park Dam controversy. Eggert, a film-maker, and Hatch, son of Bus Hatch, founder of Hatch River Expeditions, agreed to put together a river trip for the purpose of filming the river canyons of the Green and Colorado--following the course of John Wesley Powell's exploration in 1869 before the great dams were built. Photography and other personnel consisted of Charles Eggert, the photographer; his assistant, a student named Anthony Tuttle; and Fred Wood, Cid Ricketts Sumner, and Dr. Bob Parsons, all of whom were chosen by Eggert based on their answers to an ad he placed in the Saturday Review of Literature. Boatmen, besides Don Hatch, included at various times Les Jones, Bruce Lium, Clark Lium, Al Galloway, and Sylvester "Smuss" Allan. They started from Green River, Wyoming, in June 1955, in two boats, a 10-man raft and a pontoon. They reached Lees Ferry, Arizona, later that summer without serious mishap. However, by then the water had reached a low stage and Don Hatch judged that it was too low for a safe passage through the Grand Canyon. They agreed to meet again the next summer, when the water would be higher, to complete the journey through the Grand Canyon. Accordingly, they met at Lees Ferry in June 1956, with mostly the same people, although there were some changes. Fred Wood and Charles Eggert were the only two of the original members who made the complete trip through the Grand Canyon, which was, again, done without problems. They were accompanied through the Grand Canyon by Jack Brennan, another pioneer river runner, who was testing a new boat and wanted to go along in case of trouble. Charles Eggert made two films, "A Canyon Voyage" and "Danger River" which he took on the lecture circuit and showed to audiences all over the country. These films, as well as his photographs of the expedition and all of his notes, files, correspondence, memorabilia, and other materials relating to the Hatch-Eggert Expedition, are found in P0766; ACCN 1659; and A0511.
Extent
496 Items
Language of Materials
English
English
Abstract
The Frederick Hoffman Wood photograph collection
consists of 35mm color transparencies and color prints taken by Fred Wood that document his participation in the 1955-56 Hatch-Eggert River Expedition. The purpose of this expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers was to photograph and film the river canyons before construction started on the dams at Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged in geographical order.
Processing Information
Processed by Roy Webb in 2002.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
- Title
- Frederick Hoffman Wood photograph collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Roy Webb.
- Date
- 2002 (last modified: 2018)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu