Rus Arnold papers, 1920, 1938-1987

Research use of this collection is governed by the standard rules and regulations of the Chicago History Museum Research Center.

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Gift of Rus Arnold(1989.0343).

Rus Arnold Papers (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Articles, correspondence, photographs, books, newspaper clippings, magazines, and other papers of Rus Arnold, a Chicago photojournalist. The collection consists largely of articles written, and photographs taken by Arnold for newspapers, magazines, lectures and industrial promotional literature as well as two books written and illustrated by Arnold: Flash Photography (1940) and Guide to 120-620 Cameras(1961). Also present are articles written by Arnold's wife Lucy for her Hyde Park Herald column about cooking titled: "Eating by Heart"(1976-1982). Other materials relate to Kenwood community and neighborhood affairs in Hyde Park, including issues of Ray News (1951-1954), the monthly newsletter published by the Ray School Parent-Teacher Association. Collection also includes some photographs of the family, Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers; and 22 sound cassettes of interviews by Rus Arnold related to articles he wrote for Camera 35 and Par Golf ca. 1950-1969

Rus Arnold, a long-time Hyde Park resident in Chicago, was a widely published photojournalist and leading expert on flash photography during the early 1940s. Arnold worked as an industrial photographer, photo columnist, travel editor, and writer for several magazines including Writer's Digest and US Camera. He also taught photojournalism courses at Northwestern University and served as corporate consultant on visual communications. Arnold died in 1973 en route home from an assignment in Thailand.

Related material at the Chicago History Museum, Research Center, includes the Rus Arnold photograph collection (1989.0343) and the Hyde Park Herald.

• Subject
  • Community life--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Cooking, American--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Families--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Photographers--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Photography, Flash-light
  • Photojournalists--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Photojournalists--United States--20th century
  • Women journalists--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
• Names
  • Arnold, Rus, 1909-1973--Archives
  • Arnold, Lucy, 1910-1989--Archives
  • Arnold, Lucy, 1910-1989, Eating by heart
  • Arnold family--Photographs
  • Seeger, Pete, 1919--Portraits
  • Ray School Parent-Teacher Association--Chicago, Illinois
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago(Ill.)--Description and travel--20th century
  • Chicago(Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century
  • Hyde Park (Chicago, Ill.)
  • Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.)

The collection is arranged in five series:

Series 1. General material, 1938-1987 (box 1-2, 15)

Series 1 consists of certificates, travel memorabilia, publications, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous papers of Rus Arnold. A portion of the material relates to Hyde Park and Kenwood, such as neighborhood organization meeting minutes and issues of Ray News (1951-1954), a monthly newsletter published by the Ray School Parent-Teacher Association in Hyde Park whose captioned photographs were provided by Arnold. Also present are materials relating to David Arnold, Rus Arnold's son, and newspaper clippings, tributes, obituaries, and other papers regarding Rus Arnold's death in 1973.

Series 2. Correspondence, 1944-1975 (box 3-4)

Series 2 consists of personal letters, cards, and other correspondence of Rus Arnold, mostly pertaining to his article and photograph assignments with corporations and publications such as Texaco, U.S. Camera, Camera 35, and Writer's Digest. Other topics include photography equipment, techniques, and workshops. Also present are personal letters from Congressman Barratt O'Hara and correspondence with Senator Paul Simon regarding an article Arnold wrote for the Chicago Tribune on reckless driving and state licenses (1967).

Series 3. Articles and books, 1941-1974 (box 4-10, 15)

Series 3 contains articles, books, guides, speech transcripts, photographs, and other publications of Rus Arnold. A significant portion consists of articles for Photographer's Report, Camera 35, National Enquirer, Travel Ideas, Chicago Tribune, and the University of Chicago. Also included are Arnold's columns "Answers by Rus" for Travel and Camera (1963-1969), "Writer with a Camera" for Writer's Digest (1967-1969), and "Photo Journalism" for Photo Journalism Market (1963-1966) as well as Arnold's articles for the Hyde Park Herald (1961-1965). Two books written and illustrated by Arnold are also present: Flash Photography (1940) and Guide to 120/620 Cameras (1961).

Series 4. Lucy Arnold materials, 1966-1986 (box 11-12)

Series 4 consists of articles, notes, correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, recipes, and other papers of Lucy Arnold, Rus Arnold's wife. The series largely consists of materials related to her cooking and cuisine column "Eating by Heart" for the Hyde Park Herald (1976-1982). Also present are three issues of the Hyde Parker magazine that feature articles co-written by Rus and Lucy Arnold (1973).

Series 5. Reference material, 1920, 1941-1974 (box 12-15)

Series 5 consists of indexes, audio recordings, publications, financial records, and other reference materials related to Rus Arnold's photography work. Also included are bulletins, membership lists, correspondence, and other materials pertaining to the American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP), of which Arnold was a member. Three binders containing photographs and 243 negatives that primarily depict Arnold family members, as well as Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers, among other subjects, are also present. The audio recordings consists of 22 recordings on cassette tape of interviews conducted by Arnold for his columns in Camera 35 and Par Golf (ca. 1950-1969). Cassette labels include the names of the individuals being interviewed.