The Glacier Priest

[tomtofa]

Part of what I do at work is create digital collections. One I'm working on now is a small portion of images by and of Bernard Hubbard, a Jesuit who travelled on expeditions to Alaska from the 20's into the 60's of the last century. He was known as the Glacier Priest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_R._Hubbard).

He was a celebrity during his time - the highest paid lecturer in the U.S. for a while. We have tens of thousands of photos of his trips; I'm doing a collection of his trips to King Island in the 30's and 40's. Here are a couple of cool pictures I've come across while curating - Hubbard and his companions with their Contax 1a (I think) cameras in 1938, and a portrait of Hubbard with the same Contax:




Based on their somewhat ravaged faces in the first shot (and the right side companion's seemingly broken nose) the expeditions were difficult. Based on the photos they took, the Contax was a rugged camera...

The collection I'd really like to do is of Hubbard's photos taken at glacier sites in Europe, maybe going to the same sites and taking photos of what they look like now. Unfortunately, the film for those is nitrate, and I haven't been able yet to get funding for the transfer to a less combustible medium. I'll be pitching more grant requests, and will hopefully get the $ before the film melts away.

Anyway, just thought these pics of pre-war Contaxes were cool.

 

[Tom A]

Great pictures - and please let us know if any of the collection will be accessible for viewing. Must have been a well funded expedition too - Contax was almost twice the price of Leicas.

 

[rhl-oregon]

Yes, this is a fascinating tidbit. I agree with Tom, please keep us posted on the process and outcome of this project. Is there any chance that the project would be eligible for US funding?

Would also like to see links to your other digital collections.

 

[tomtofa]

I'll let you know when it goes public - probably not for a few months, since it's one of several I'm juggling at the moment.

About the funding for the expeditions: Hubbard was very clever about that, and probably ahead of his time. He got sponsorship from many places, and used product placement a lot. There are many pictures of Eskimo children with Hershey bars prominently held to the camera; Hubbard holding a Carnation Condensed Milk can in his arms along with his favorite dog, etc. Some people didn't like that aspect of Hubbard; he didn't seem to care too much about how they felt.

I'm wondering if Contax chipped in, after seeing how the cameras were so displayed.

 

[NY_Dan]

These photos are really cool. You have a great project on your hands!

 

[Bill Jones]

Very nice pictures. The cameras are all Contax I type 7 (Kuc) which was the last model of the Contax I. Fr Hubbard has a Sonnar f2 5cm and his companions both have Tessar f2.8 5cm lenses. The one on the right has his lens cap dangling in front of his camera case.

Contrary to popular internet rumor, the Contax I cost the same as its Leica III contemporary. The price the Contax II and its contemporary top of the line Leica also were the same in the US thru the start of WW2.

 

[Tom A]

Bill, Zeiss sold the bodies at "Leica" prices and then the lenses at more than the Leicas. The Biogon 35 f2.8 prewar was almost double the Elmar 35f3.5 (and much better), I don't have those price lists anymore - used to keep them but the piles of paper got unmanageable and I gave them to Zeiss addict friend.

 

[Kevcaster]

Wonderful to see these. Good of you to post them here.
You have probably already figured out that there might be funding available from Christian organisations of one stripe or another. I'm sure there is a group somewhere who would fund this.
Kevin

 

[Kevcaster]

BTW I'm guessing from the the quality of these images that they might be large format pictures taken for publicity.

 

[tomtofa]

Bill Jones: thanks for the added info on lenses.

Kevcaster: Good tip on funding sources. So far I've been concentrating on federal/cultural, but I'll look into these. I'd be surprised if these are not 35mm, having looked at a few thousand of them so far. I've not seen any large format cameras in the pics, either - just 35mm and film cameras. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if these, especially the second, were used for publicity.

 

[Kevcaster]

OK they are very lovely for pre-war 355mm pictures. great technique!

 

[Highway 61]

Very nice !

In 1953, John Hunt managed the Everest expedition carryng a Contax II. There are some photos available from the Royal Geographical Society.

Spanish civil war, Mexico, China, northern Africa, Sicily, Italy, D-Day in Normandy, Himalaya... the prewar Contax cameras went everywhere they ought to !

 

[mynikonf2]

Very nice !

In 1953, John Hunt climbed the Everest carryng a Contax II. There are some photos available from the Royal Geographical Society.

Spanish civil war, Mexico, China, nothern Africa, Sicily, Italy, D-Day in Normandy, Himalaya... the prewar Contax cameras went everywhere they ought to !

Is that a Nikon mug that he's drinking from? 😀

 

[erikhaugsby]

Is that a Nikon mug that he's drinking from? 😀

Looks like it says "Hunt." I imagine the last thing you'd want to do in the Himalayas is risk swapping germs with someone else.