Abstract
The Frank D. Rathbun Photograph Collection dates from approximately 1915 to 1968 and consists primarily of black-and-white photographic prints and some corresponding negatives taken by Frank D. Rathbun and Michael Moen, who resurveyed the various sites Rathbun visited. The majority of the images depict petroglyphs located throughout the desert southwest in Nevada, California, and Arizona, as well as documentary images of the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Hoover Dam transmission lines. Additional material includes postcards from areas Rathbun visited in California, Arizona, and Nevada.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
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Scope and Contents Note
The Frank D. Rathbun Photograph Collection dates from approximately 1915 to 1968 and consists primarily of black-and-white photographic prints and some corresponding negatives taken by Frank D. Rathbun and Michael Moen. The majority of the images depict petroglyphs located throughout the desert southwest in Nevada, California, and Arizona, as well as documentary images of the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Hoover Dam transmission lines and patrol roads. Additional material includes postcards from areas Rathbun visited in California, Arizona, and Nevada. A significant number of the petroglyph images were taken by Michael Moen in 1968, during his resurvey of the various sites Rathbun visited in the 1930s; Rathbun's original images of the sites offer comparisons over time.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order by location.
Biographical / Historical Note
Frank D. Rathbun was born in 1908 to Frank De Graff and Mary Goldacker Rathbun. In 1927, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District hired Rathbun as an engineer and surveyor. In this position, he worked on water development and dam projects throughout the southwestern United States, primarily in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Most notable among these projects was the Colorado River Aqueduct in the 1930s. Rathbun documented archaeological sites throughout his surveying work, identifying areas with Native American petroglyphs, artifacts, and structures, as well as areas of unusual geological interest. Frank D. Rathbun died in 1968 and was buried in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preferred Citation
Frank D. Rathbun Photograph Collection, approximately 1915-1968. PH-00163. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were transferred to the UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 1971 from the Barrick Museum of Natural History, Archaeological Research Center, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada; accession numbers T-144 and 1971-004.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Melise Leech rehoused and arranged the materials, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.