Charles Eggert photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P0766

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Charles Eggert photograph collection document his expeditions down the Green and Colorado Rivers in the 1950s, as well as other conservation activities in the 1960s . Boxes 1-4 contain images taken during his 1955-56 voyage down the Green and Colorado, undertaken to document the river canyons before the construction of Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon dams. These runs resulted in the films A Canyon Voyage and Danger River, which are found in A0511. Boxes 5-6 contain images taken during the Echo Park Dam controversy, during which Eggert made the films Wilderness River Trail and This is Dinosaur. These films are considered by modern historians to be instrumental in halting the construction of the proposed dam. Background material on all of these films and other aspects of Eggert's career can be found in ACCN 1659. The photographs are 35mm color slides and 2 x2 inch color transparencies. Original descriptions on the slides are included in this inventory. If there was nothing written on the slides, and a description was added, that will also be in the inventory but enclosed in brackets [__].

Also included in this collection is a small model of Eggert's expedition boat, the "Brontosaur" and a small wooden frog, "Froggy", that was tied to the front of the boat.

In a February 2002 addendum, Eggert added photographs from the last leg of the Eggert-Hatch expedition, through the Grand Canyon in 1956; prints and negatives taken in Everglades National Park for the National Park Service in 1952; and prints, stereo slides, and 2x2 transparencies taken in the Canyonlands region during the filming of The Sculptured Earth in the mid-1960s.

Dates

1952-1956

Creator

Eggert, Charles, 1918-2005 (Person)

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

History of the Hatch-Eggert River Expedition

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. 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. Eggert is a photographer and independent film maker from New York. He was actively involved in several conservation movements in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Echo Park Dam controversy; the creation of Canyonlands National Park; and the controversy over the proposed dams in the Grand Canyon.

Extent

11 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Charles Eggert photograph collection consists of slides documenting the Eggert-Hatch filming expedition, the purpose of which was the make the last films of the Green and Colorado Rivers before construction of the Colorado River Storage Project was begun in 1956. The collection also includes photos taken during the creation of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Eggert was a photographer and independent filmmaker from New York. This collection is digitized and available on the Digital Library.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in chronological order.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Charles Eggert.

Related Materials

Forms part of the River Running Archives (S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archives).

Separated Materials

Films (A0511), as well as his photographs (P0766) of the expedition were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections. All of his notes, files, correspondence, memorabilia, and other materials relating to the Hatch-Eggert Expedition were transferred to the Manuscripts Division in Special Collection found in the Charles Eggert papers (ACCN 1659).