Joseph Desloge river running video collection

Collection

Identifier: A0641

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Joseph Desloge river running video collection (1942-1958) consists almost entirely of original and composite print films and videocassettes of river trips on the Green and Colorado Rivers. Several films were shot at the Grand Canyon. The collection also contains movies of trips on other rivers and of the Desloge family's other vacations and home life.

Dates

1942-1958

Creator

Desloge, Joseph, 1889-1971 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials must be used on-site; no use of original material, access copies will be made available for viewing. Five business days advanced notice required. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.

Biographical Note

Joseph "Joe" Desloge (1889-1971) was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Lydia Davis and Firmin Vincent Desloge. A descendant of French immigrants, Joseph Desloge served in the French army in WWI and received the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) from the French government for his valor at Vouziers. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1912 with a degree in electrical engineering and founded the Minerva Oil Company (miners of zinc and fluorspar), Killark Electric Manufacturing Company, Louisiana Manufacturing Company and Atlas Manufacturing Company. In 1926, he built an elegant mansion in Florissant, Missouri, which he named "Vouziers" after the Battle of Vouziers in Northern France.

A prominent philanthropist, naturalist, conservationist, and preservationist, Desloge worked to preserve and share natural landscapes in his home state by donating the land to create Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park in Reynold County, Missouri and Sunset Park in the city of Florissant. To serve the underprivileged, Desloge funded the construction of Firmin Desloge Hospital (now called St. Louis University Hospital) in 1934.

Desloge and his first wife, Anne Kennett Farrar, had four children. She died in 1934. He married Marie Saalfrank in 1953. With his wife, Marie, Joseph Desloge ran many rivers of the Southwest, including the Colorado, the Green, and the San Juan, with well-known outfitters like Norm Nevills, Kent Frost, Frank Reynolds, and the Sanderson Brothers. Joseph Desloge died in 1971.

Extent

23 Items

Additional Description

Abstract

The Joseph Desloge river running video collection (1942-1958) consists almost entirely of footage of river trips on the Green and Colorado Rivers. Several films were shot at the Grand Canyon. The collection also contains movies of trips on other rivers and of the Desloge family's other vacations and home life. Joseph Desloge was a St. Louis industrialist and philanthropist who frequently vacationed on the rivers of the West and joined expeditions led by prominent river guides of the mid 20th century.