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Herbert and Dorothy McLaughlin Black and White Photography [Images 10020-19999] circa 1850s-1977

CP MCL

Biographical Note

Herbert "Herb" McLaughlin was born to LeRoy Clark and Gertrude (Mizel) McLaughlin in Chicago, Illinois on July 30, 1918. He became interested in photography as a teenager after receiving a Voightlander 9-by-12 centimeter folding camera as a gift. McLaughlin began his college career at Purdue University (1936-1938), where he studied safety engineering before transferring to Indiana University to pursue a double major in business administration and journalism. He left IU in 1940 to pursue a full-time career in photography. McLaughlin married Barbara Cartwright (1920-1996) in Hammond, Indiana on August 27, 1940 and the couple had two children: Lurline (McLaughlin) Lapolla (1942-) and Christopher Lee. After their divorce in about 1949, Barbara McLaughlin returned to Indiana and married Thomas Cleavenger on May 22, 1950.

In 1937, Herb McLaughlin founded Mercury Pictures in Hammond, Indiana and worked for several newspapers, war armament plants, private individuals, and insurance companies. He sold his business and moved his family to Arizona in 1945 after a doctor advised him to move to the Southwest to treat his persistent hayfever and asthma. He settled in Phoenix, where he founded McLaughlin & Co. and continued to work as a commercial photographer. In 1947, McLaughlin purchased McCulloch Brothers Inc. (established in Phoenix in 1912) from Hobart Pribbenow, who had purchased the organization from surviving partner William Patrick McCulloch (1880-1971) in 1946. As part of this purchase, McLaughlin also acquired the McCulloch brothers' extensive negative collection.

On June 3, 1950 Herbert McLaughlin married Dorothy Ann "Dot" (Jensen) Jolley. Dot Jensen was born to James Joseph and Mary Alice (Downard) Jensen in Manti, Utah on May 10, 1912. She graduated from Snow Junior College with a degree in elementary education in 1931 and married Marion Doval Jolley (1908-1947) on July 24, 1932. Marion and Dot Jolley co-owned Jolley Turkey Company in Mt. Pleasant, Utah and had one son, Joseph Marion (1940-1996). In 1945, the family moved to Phoenix to treat the respiratory ailment that eventually killed Marion Jolley. After her husband's death, Dot Jolley commuted to Utah from Phoenix to manage the turkey farm. After marrying Herb McLaughlin, Dot McLaughlin sold Jolley Turkey Company and became co-owner of McLaughlin & Co.

Dot McLaughlin began her career at McLaughlin & Co. in the front office, but did not like the work and soon began taking care of the firm's growing photographic library instead. She began her career as a photographer when a client asked for a picture of a child crying for use in a 4th of July safety advertisement. Herb McLaughlin was not available, so partner Ziggy Ziegler gave Dot McLaughlin a quick tutorial in the use of the Rolleiflex camera. Dot McLaughlin took the camera to her sister's house, where she put a mild solution of vinegar and water in her niece's eye to make her cry. The picture sold and Dot McLaughlin continued working as a photographer, eventually developing a specialty in photographing children.

By 1950, McLaughlin & Co. had outgrown its space in the Adams Hotel Building and Herb and Dot McLaughlin moved the business to custom studios at 1330 N. 21st Avenue. The need for more space, increased demand, and the desire to grant their employees a share of the profits prompted the couple to move their organization to 2350 W. Holly, to dissolve their partnership, and to incorporate as Arizona Photographic Associates in 1955. They began with 15 staff members, who Herb McLaughlin let go in 1962 so that he and Dot could put more time into the business and do everything themselves. Although their commercial business was extremely successful, they also took time to experiment with different photographic processes and techniques. The couple published two books of their photographs: Phoenix 1870-1970 in Photographs (1972) and Arizona the Beautiful (with Don Dedera, 1974). The McLaughlins began donating their photography to Arizona State University in 1978 and both Herb and Dot McLaughlin were granted Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters in 1981. Herb McLaughlin died in Phoenix on February 19, 1991 and Dot McLaughlin continued to operate the Arizona Photographic Associates until 2002. She died in Phoenix on December 9, 2005 at the age of 93.

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses 104,308 black and white photographs taken by Herb and Dot McLaughlin. The majority of these images were produced for commercial clients; thus, their content varies widely. Arizona subjects (as formulated by the McLaughlins) include agriculture, irrigation, and floods; cities; city and county government; construction; dams (including Roosevelt Dam and Glen Canyon Dam); governors; homes; hotels, resorts, and bars; Native Americans; the military; mines and mining; national parks and monuments (including the Grand Canyon); ranching, cattle, and livestock; recreation; rodeos; parades; shopping centers; the State capitol; and transportation. Phoenix subjects (also formulated by the McLaughlins) include aerial views; agriculture, irrigation, and floods; airports (including Sky Harbor); the American Graduate School of International Management; banks; churches; construction; hospitals; hotels, resorts, and bars; museums, parks, and monuments; newspaper, television and radio; the Phoenix police and fire departments; softball; recreation; shopping centers; schools and students; transportation (including cars, trains, buses, bicycles, and horse-drawn conveyances); and utilities, power, telephone, and telegraph.

The McLaughlins also copied historical photographs in order to create a collection of historical images. The owners of the original images have been identified when possible. The current location(s) of these images is discussed in the "Location of Originals" note.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Culturally sensitive Native American images located in this collection are restricted and cannot be made available to patrons in accordance with the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials.

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.

Related Material

Due to this guide's enormity, it has been divided into the following sections to facilitate use:

A guide to the McLaughlins' color photography is available at http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/mclaughlin_color.xml.

A guide to the photographs taken by the McCulloch brothers is available at http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/mccullochphotos.xml.

The McLaughlins portrait work has been cataloged as CP MCL PORT. A guide to these images is forthcoming.

An index to the photographs published in the McLaughlins' Phoenix, 1870-1970 is available at http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.37841.

Access Terms

Location of Originals

Herb and Dot McLaughlin copied a number of historical photographs and added them to their own holdings. They noted each image's owner using the phrase "Original in the [Owner's Name] Collection." These collections and their probable current locations (if known) are described below.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Herbert and Dorothy McLaughlin Black and White Photography, CP MCL, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

The bulk of the images in this collection were separated from accession number 2001-02338.

Processing Note

This guide was composed by combining the McLaughlins' job logs with indexing previously completed by students working under the supervision of ASC staff. The job logs consist of image numbers, the date the photograph was taken, a brief description of the photograph(s), and the name of the client requesting the work. There are a number of gaps in the numbering sequence created when the McLaughlins moved portraiture to their "Portrait File" and did not reuse the number previously assigned. Subject and name headings assigned during indexing have been retained and appear under the applicable entry in the container list.

Researchers should note that student indexers seem to have transcribed image numbers incorrectly in a number of cases. These inaccuracies have been noted where applicable.

Container List