Stefansson, Vilhjalmur

File — Box: 1, Folder: 4

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Erling N. Rolfsrud Photograph Collection consists of 221 photographic prints, which are organized into nineteen files. They were withdrawn from the Rolfsrud papers when they were being processed. These images were collected or taken by Mr. Rolfsrud in connection with his research and writing on North Dakota. The first file consists of three portraits of Mr. Rolfsrud. They include a formal portrait, Mr. Rolfsrud seated at his work desk and outside his Minnesota home. The Portraits Series have been organized alphabetically by name. Consult the container list for specific names. There are also three unidentified original photographs mounted on cardboard. The Native Americans Series consists of several portraits, busts done by Ida Prokop Lee that are now on display at the North Dakota Heritage Center, the Medicine Rock historic site marker, and other Indian sites. Consult the container listing for specific names. The Geographic File Series is arranged alphabetically by North Dakota town. Towns represented include Bismarck, Devils Lake, Grand Forks, Grassy Butte, Jamestown, New Salem, Pembina, and Rugby. The content listing also includes the specific building or view associated with each town. The remaining photographs have been organized into a Topical Series, arranged alphabetically. Topics include Agriculture, Carl Ben Eielson, Homesteading, International Peace Garden, Marquis de Mores chateau, Thomas McGoey, the Mobile Hearing and Speech Clinic sponsored by the North Dakota Chapter of the National Society for Crippled Children and Adults, Norwegian yarn dolls, Paul Broste Rock Museum at Parshall, N.D., and Transportation. Short descriptive title for each image is included in the contents section. Of particular note are the dust bowl images in the Agriculture file, the homesteading images, those of the hearing and speech clinic, and of Thomas McGoey. The McKenzie County, N.D. Series contains a series of six photographs of McKenzie glued onto paper together with written descriptions. The descriptions are included in the contents portion of this finding aid. The images are from the Alexander, N.D. area. The Red River Land Series is composed of 96 snapshots of various landscapes and landmarks in the Red River Valley, likely taken by Mr. Rolfsrud. There are several photographs of abandoned homesteads, the sugar beet factory at Drayton, N.D. and a church at Walhalla, N.D. They also were pasted to paper with written descriptions. For both files the pictures have not been removed from the paper.