Guide to the Henry F. and Kate B. Hebley Collection of Soviet Lantern Slides, ca. 1930-1939, SC.2019.06
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Henry F. and Kate B. Hebley Collection of Soviet Lantern Slides
Creator
Hebley, Henry
Collection Number
SC.2019.06
Extent
67 photographs
Date
ca. 1930-1939
Abstract
Collection of 67 lantern slides taken by Henry F. and Kate B. Hebley during their trip to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1931. The slides are largely scenes of everyday street life in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. The area was the major coal mining region of the Soviet Union. Although there is no explicit indication of the purpose of the Hebleys' visit, Mr. Hebley's professional background as an engineer in the coal industry suggests perhaps it was in an official capacity as an authority on coal mining that Soviet authorities invited him to the USSR at that time.
Language
English
.
Author
Dan Pennell.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Acquisition Information
Gift of Sean R. Sealy on April 19, 2019.
Arrangement
The collection adapts the organization in which the gift was received, using the master list of slide titles to label each individual slide sheath. Curator Dan Pennell corrected several of the slide titles which were mistakenly labeled on the master list with the wrong venues.
Scope and Content Notes
67 lantern slides, made by a firm in Chicago from photographs the Hebley's took while in Soviet Union, depict scenes of everyday life, mainly from the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. They offer a glimpse into the brutal conditions of everyday Soviet life. The collection challenges Soviet propaganda of the time, and its Western apologists, illustrating a very different portrait of reality in the USSR from the Soviet regime's depiction of "utopia in power."
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Biography
Henry Fredrick Joseph Hebley (1893-1973) was an engineering consultant, who worked in the American coal industry. Hebley immigrated to the United States from New Zealand in 1914 and initially settled in Chicago, Illinois. He spent 15 years working for the coal mining consulting company Allen & Garcia of Chicago, during which time he, accompanied by his spouse Kate B. Hebley (1904-1982), traveled to the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1931. Although there is no explicit indication of the purpose of the Hebleys' visit, Mr. Hebley's professional background suggests perhaps it was in an official capacity as an authority on coal mining that Soviet authorities invited him to the USSR at that time. While in the USSR, the couple photographed portions of their visit. Upon their return to the United States the photographs were developed into 67 lantern slides. The slides are largely scenes of everyday street life in the Donbass region.
Between 1935-1940, the Hebley's moved from Chicago to the Pittsburgh area and resided in Mt. Lebanon, PA. Mr. Hebley worked as a consultant for the Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company until c1958. Mr. Hebley died on August 12, 1973. Mrs. Hebley died on June 1, 1982. They were the parents of two children, Henry F. Hebley and Catherine Hebley Schane.
The collection was gifted to the University Library System by Sean Sealy who himself received the slides as a gift from the Hebleys' son.
Preferred Citation
Henry F. and Kate B. Hebley Collection of Soviet Lantern Slides, ca. 1930-1939, SC.2019.06, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Dan Pennell in November 2019.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Subjects
Personal Names
Hebley, Henry
Genres
Photographs
Other Subjects
Soviet Union -- Social conditions
Communism -- Soviet Union
City and town life -- Soviet Union
Ukraine -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook