Descriptive Summary
Creator: Henry L. Hagenbring, 1888-1975
Title: Blanche D. Weaver/Henry L. Hagenbring Slide Collection
Dates: 1948-1965
Quantity: 4 cubic feet
Abstract: Contains approximately 6,000 35-millimeter color and 290 black and white lantern slides, as well as various mementos such as letters, travel brochures, and even a Kleenex tissue box printed in German.
Accession: 07-12-485

Biographical Note
Henry L. Hagenbring was born in Foley, Alabama, on November 1, 1888. He married Agnes S. Carlson in Baldwin County, Alabama, on July 11, 1912. Henry worked as a postman in Baldwin County for several years. The Hagenbrings eventually moved to the Chicago area, and their daughter, Blanche Doris Hagenbring Weaver, was born there in 1914. In 1919, the Hagenbrings opened a dry-goods store in Des Plaines, Illinois. They opened several similar businesses in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and one of these was eventually purchased by Woolworth’s. At some point, the couple bought, as a vacation home, a fishing camp in Magnolia Springs, Alabama. In 1947, Agnes Hagenbring unexpectedly died, and Henry decided to retire. His son, Vern Hagenbring, took over the family business, and in 1948, Henry Hagenbring embarked on the first of many overseas journeys, initially Europe, sailing aboard the Elizabeth. From 1948 to 1965, Hagenbring’s travels took him to every inhabited continent. He visited Europe four times—in 1948, 1954, 1955, and 1959—and was even able to travel in the U.S.S.R. during his 1959 trip. Hagenbring also took two trips to the Far East, once in 1952 and again in 1961-62. On his last trip to the Far East, he also toured the South Seas Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. He toured South America in 1956 and Africa in 1959-1960. Other trips included a tour of the Holy Land in the mid-1950s and several excursions within the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along the way, using among others, a Leica camera, Hagenbring photographed the places, flora, and fauna he came across. Between voyages, he lived at his fishing camp in Magnolia Springs. Hagenbring stopped traveling in the mid-1960s, and died at his Magnolia Springs home in October 1975.

Scope and Content:
The bulk of this collection consists of 35-millimeter color slides taken by Hagenbring at home and on his travels, most of which were made between 1954 and 1962, but a few are from 1952 and the mid-1960s. Within the local slides, that is, those not related to his travels, are images of his home at Magnolia Springs and at Arlington Heights, as well as images of Fort Morgan, the Foley train, and one slide of the Magnolia Springs Post Office. The collection also contains 290 lantern slides, which are stored in their two original cases. These are undated but were probably taken during Hagenbring’s first trip abroad in 1948. This collection also includes a few brochures Hagenbring collected on his world travels, as well as other items such as a newspaper clipping, a trip itinerary, and a few letters.

Arrangement:
This material is arranged in the following series: Series 1: Lantern Slides, n.d. [probably 1948] (0.25 cubic feet); Series 2: Trays of 35-millimeter Slides, 1952-1965 and n.d. (3.25 cubic feet); Series 3: Local or Personal Slides, 1958-1965 and n.d. (0.1 cubic feet); Series 4: Slide Lists (0.2 cubic feet); Series 5: Memorabilia (0.2 cubic feet)

Access Restrictions:
This material is open for research.

Preferred Citation:
Blanche D. Weaver/Henry L. Hagenbring Slide Collection, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

Series 1. Lantern Slides, n.d. (probably 1948)
Consists of two cases of black-and-white lantern slides (290 slides total) taken in England, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Norway, and Italy. The slides are undated, but judging from their appearance, they were probably taken in the late 1940s. It is likely that these slides are from Hagenbring’s 1948 trip to Europe. These slides have been kept in original order.

Series 2. 35-millimeter Slides, 1952-1965 and n.d.
Made up of 193 trays of 35-millimeter color slides (totaling approximately 6000 slides). Most were taken on Hagenbring’s travels abroad, but some were taken on his trips within the United States. The slide trays are arranged in chronological order where dates are known. Undated slides are filed differently. In cases where the approximate date of the trip is known, slides were filed with the trips between which they were taken. Slide trays whose dates was completely unknown were placed after the dated slides and are arranged alphabetically by original label. These slides hold a wealth of visual information about various buildings, monuments, and landmarks around the world as they appeared in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s.

Series 3. Local or Personal Slides, 1958-1965 and n.d.
Slides depicting local subjects, as well as several personal slides that were taken locally, were removed from their original trays and placed in this series. These slides were kept in original order according to their original container and are arranged alphabetically by subject matter. Though few in number, these slides depict the Magnolia Springs Post Office, the Foley train, and Fort Morgan as these places appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Series 4. Slide Lists
Arranged chronologically to correspond with the slides they describe. These lists should prove extremely valuable to researchers as descriptions of the slides in this collection. Slide lists for which no slide set existed are arranged alphabetically by subject. All of the slide lists in this collection, whether accompanied by slides or not, should be valuable for what they can tell us about world cultures and traveling.

Series 5. Memorabilia
The items in this series are arranged in four sets. Dated items are organized chronologically. Undated items are arranged alphabetically by item type. Letters are organized chronologically. The few transparency boxes and the box of slide mounts can be found behind the items filed in folders. 

Series 1. Lantern Slides, n.d. (probably 1948)

Box 1: Slides of the Netherlands, England, and Italy

Box 2: Slides of Italy, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and France

Series 2. 35-millimeter slides, 1952-1965 and n.d.

Box 3: Last tray from 1952 Far East trip; first 9 trays from 1954 trip to Morocco and Europe

Box 4: Trays 10-19 of Hagenbring’s 1954 trip to Morocco and Europe

Box 5: Trays 20-25 of Hagenbring’s 1954 trip to Morocco and Europe; first 4 trays (labeled "9-12") of 1955 trip to Italy, Austria, Germany, and New York

Box 6: Trays 13-23 of 1955 trip to Italy, Austria, Germany, and New York

Box 7: Tray 24 of 1955 Europe and New York trip; "Box N00 New York"; Trays 1-8 of Hagenbring’s trip to Greece, Cairo, and the Holy Land

Box 8: Trays 9-13 of Holy Land trip; Trays 1-3 of 1956 South America trip

Box 9: Trays 4-24 and 43-45 of 1956 South America trip [Trays 25-42 missing]

Box 10: Tray 46 of 1956 South America trip; Trays 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of Hagenbring’s summer 1958 trip in the United States [Trays 1, 3, and 6 missing]

Box 11: Trays 9-11 of Hagenbring’s 1958 summer trip in the United States; Trays 1-6 of 1959 Europe trip

Box 12: Trays 7-33 of 1959 Europe trip

Box 13: Trays 34-47 of 1959 Europe trip; Set 1 (7 trays) of 1959-1960 Africa trip; Trays 1-4 of Set 2 (5 trays total), 1959-1960 Africa trip

Box 14: Last tray (labeled "Box 13") of Set 2, 1959-1960 Africa trip; Set 3 (9 trays), 1959-1960 Africa trip

Box 15: 1961 California trip and flower show (7 trays); Trays 1-3 of Set 1, 1961-1962 Far East trip

Box 16: Trays 4-8 of Set 1, 1961-1962 Far East trip; Trays 1-5 of Set 2, 1961-1962 Far East trip [no lists available for this set]

Box 17: Trays 6-7 and "Louise," in Set 2, 1961-1962 Far East trip; Unlisted slides (trips and personal), 1959-1965 (6 trays)

Box 18: Undated, unlisted slides (personal, trips, and commercially made) (9 trays)

Box 19:

Series 3. Local or Personal Slides, 1958-1965 and Undated (1 folder)

1. Foley train, ca. 1963 (1 sleeve, 15 slides total)

2. "Eva’s Flowers" and Fort Morgan (2 sleeves, 36 slides total)

3. Hagenbring’s Magnolia Springs home (2 sleeves, 30 slides total)

4. Hagenbring family pictures, taken at Henry Hagenbring’s home in Magnolia Springs (2 sleeves, 22 slides total)

5. Personal pictures and local pictures [includes 1 shot of the Magnolia Springs Post Office] (2 sleeves, 30 slides total)

Series 4. Slide Lists

The contents of this series are numbered by folder.

1. 1952 Far East trip; 1954 trip to Morocco and Europe

2. 1955 trip to Italy, Austria, Germany, and New York

3. Trip to Greece, Cairo, and the Holy Land (ca. 1956)

4. 1956 trip to South America and Caribbean Islands

5. Summer 1958 trip in the United States

6. 1959 Europe trip

7. 1959-1960 Africa trip: Sets 1, 2, and 3

8. 1961 California trip and flower show

9. 1961 Far East trip, Set 1 [no lists exist for Set 2]; "Box XX" [personal/local slides in Series III)

10. Lists for which no slides could be found; alphabetized by subject

Series 5. Memorabilia

These items are listed by folder.

Folder 1. Dated Items:

1. Business card, with handwritten order form dated August 24, 1948, for Venetian purse maker G. Cola

2. Partial sheet of lined paper bearing the handwritten message "Zirconi Spinello"

3. Brochure, printed after January 1949, from the Ando Cloisonne Co., Ltd., in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan

4. Brochure from Hiroshima City Office, entitled "Hiroshima Trade" and dated 1951

5. Brochure, undated (probably 1951 or 1952), entitled "Guide to Hiroshima, Peace Commemoration City"

6. Brochure/advertising booklet entitled "Rebuilt Hiroshima Prefecture, 1951"

7. News clipping entitled "Hagenbring Returns Home with 500 Kodachrome Transparencies," from The Foley Onlooker, Thursday, December 18, 1952

8. "I Enjoyed Japan," a typed essay by Clara B. Eagle, dated January 19, 1953

9. Booklet entitled "Souvenir of the Way of the Cross, Offered to All Pious Pilgrims by the Franciscan Fathers, Custodians of the Holy Places," printed in 1954

10. Luggage tag for Hagenbring, issued December 19, 1956, in Kingston, Jamaica, by Pan American World Airways

11. Maupin Tours official itinerary for "Russia by Motorcoach," summer 1959

Folder 2. Undated Items:

1. Leaflet entitled "Process of Making Genuine Damascene Ware," produced by Amita Damascene Mfg. Co., Ltd.

2. Program for Irish songs, compliments of the Talbot Hotel in Wexford, Ireland

3. German Kleenex box

4. Luggage tag bearing Henry Hagenbring’s name and Magnolia Springs address in his handwriting

5. Address label from Hagenbring’s store in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Henry Hagenbring’s address in Magnolia Springs, Alabama

6. Unidentified black and white 8×10 photo of a woman and three children

Folder 3. Letters:

1.Undated letter (ca. 1960) to Henry L. Hagenbring from tax accountant Thomas F. Maisel

2. Letter, dated March 27, 1961, to Hagenbring from his granddaughter Melodee

3. Letter, dated May 10, 1961, to Hagenbring from Karl V. Rix, E.H.P., Des Plaines Chapter No. 247 R.A.M. (Masonic order)

Loose matter: 6 empty Kodak 35-millimeter color transparency boxes; 1 box (50 count) of 35-millimeter Kodak "Ready-Mounts"