Tag: Portland Oregonian

Oregonian Now Available Through Dec. 1922!

Posted on by srabun@uoregon.edu

The time we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! Historic Oregon Newspapers online now contains the full 20th century public domain run of the Portland Morning Oregonian and The Sunday Oregonian! All newspapers published on or before December 31, 1922 are considered to be in the “public domain,” which means that copyright permission is not required for reproduction or use of the content.

In 1922, the Morning Oregonian successfully launched Oregon’s first commercial radio station, KGW, evidence of which can be found in the newspaper:

Clipping from the Morning Oregonian reads: "The Oregonian Test of Radio Makes Hit. Congratulations Pour in at First of Broadcasting. Another trial tonight. Piano to be installed today and musical selections sent out for short time. "Hello, KGW. THe Oregonian. This is the Vancouver barracks talking. Say old man, you come in like a ton of bricks. What power are you using? Only 50 watts? Why, you sound like a 250-watt outfit. Will you relay a message for me to San Diego? Your voice modulation is perfect, KGW you've got some station there, Congratulations."
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, March 24, 1922, Page 5, Image 5. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1922-03-24/ed-1/seq-5/

Also, by the time 1922 rolled around, the Morning Oregonian was publishing a political cartoon on the front page of every issue! These cartoons are just as telling of the times as the textual content, and can serve to remind us how much things have changed since then, but also how much things have stayed the same! For example, on this day, December 5, in 1922 (91 years ago!!!!), the following political cartoon appeared on the front page of the Morning Oregonian:

Political cartoon depicts several men, apparently members of Congress, throwing bricks at each other, using umbrellas as shields, and running around in a flurry. Bricks are labeled with words such as "charges," "impeachment proceedings," "counter charges," "General Daugherty." Caption reads: "This promises to be as hot a session of congress as the last one."
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, December 05, 1922, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1922-12-05/ed-1/seq-1/

How does this scene compare to the Congress of today? Knowing the context of these cartoons is crucial to understanding their messages, and the textual articles within the papers help to build that understanding.

The Sunday Oregonian also consistently published a Comics Section at the end of each issue, with a more relaxed approach than the highly charged political cartoons of the Monday Oregonian. Stay tuned for our next blog, which will provide a guide to finding cartoons and comics on the Historic Oregon Newspapers site!

Happy searching!

Portland Oregonian online through January 1922!

Posted on by srabun@uoregon.edu

Historic issues of the Portland Morning Oregonian and The Sunday Oregonian, from the late 19th century through the end of January 1922, are available for keyword-searching and browsing through Historic Oregon Newspapers online! Learn about the early history of the Oregonian newspaper and other titles online by clicking on the History tab at the top of the Historic Oregon Newspapers website. Browsing through the historic pages of the Oregonian alone can turn up countless interesting clips, advertisements, and images, like these for example:

1) What kind of music would be considered “toe-tickling dance music” today?

Drawing of a woman and man dancing together with caption that reads, "Toe-tickling dance music."
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) June 06, 1919, Page 11, Image 11. http://tinyurl.com/d67xcbe

2) Medical masks may not be very fashionable, but they have survived over the years for their usefulness in preventing the spread of illness as well as showing off “civic patriotism!”

Image of a man wearing a medical mask with text that reads, "We appeal to your civis patriotism to cooperate with us in our efforts to stamp out the Spanish Influenza or 'Flu' plague in Portland by wearing a mask."
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, January 12, 1919, Section One, Page 23, Image 23. http://tinyurl.com/czbtf73

3) The changes we have made with cars in less than 100 years will always be fascinating…

Image of a car from 1920 with text that reads: "New Scripps-Booth Six one of handsomest of all the 1920 models."
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, July 04, 1920, SECTION SIX, Page 9, Image 65. http://tinyurl.com/cujffkg

4) Women’s fashion: will 1920s style (especially these hats) make a comeback in the 21st century?

Two photographs of women wearing hats in 1920s fashion. Text reads: "Parisians now tie face veil on top and let it hang gracefully over head."
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, September 18, 1921, SECTION FIVE, Page 5, Image 71. http://tinyurl.com/bnlnypn

5) Although some ailments had different names back then (for example, “catarrh” was used to refer to nasal congestion, and “rheumatism” refers to arthritis symptoms), it appears that alternative medicine might have been just as popular back then as it is today:

Advertisement for C. Gee Wo Chinese Medicine Co.
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, October 24, 1920, Section One, Page 9, Image 9. http://tinyurl.com/butt3xp

6) Men’s fashion: the clothes may not have changed much, but the prices sure have! (Note the use of the 1920s Candlestick Telephone!)

Advertisement depicting three men in suits reads, "Largest Display of Men's and Young Men's Fall Clothing in Northwest at $10.00 or less"
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, September 12, 1920, Section One, Page 9, Image 9. http://tinyurl.com/cdowko2

7) In politics, government, and economics, many of the same issues still plague our society today, judging from this political cartoon:

Political cartoon depicts a man standing on a dock holding two crying babies that represent "current taxes," while a woman school teacher in a sinking boat labeled "salary" is calling for help. The water into which the boat is sinking represents the "cost of living." The man holding the babies is shocked and troubled and doesn't know what to do. Caption reads, "The taxpayer's dilemma."
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, May 10, 1919, Image 1. http://tinyurl.com/cn4d5eo

8) There are just some things that will probably never change:

Advertisement for coffee shows a drawing of a man holding a coffee cup with wings coming out of it. Text reads, "Wings of the morning! That's just what good coffee is - wings of the morning. The delicious fragrance steals up into your nostrils, the rich smooth flavor enchants your palate; the wholesome invigorating effect sets you up for the day's work."
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, May 09, 1920, SECTION THREE, Page 6, Image 54. http://tinyurl.com/borb3sn

What kinds of interesting clips will you find? Happy Searching!

Ring in the New Year with more Oregonian content!

Posted on by srabun@uoregon.edu

It’s officially 2013, and what better way to celebrate the dawn of a new year than with the addition of more newspaper content from Portland’s Morning Oregonian and The Sunday Oregonian, now freely available through February 1916 for keyword searching online! Visit our Historic Oregon Newspapers online database to search and browse these and more Oregon titles; see how much things have changed (and stayed the same) from 1916 to 2013:

THeater New Year_SO_19160102_sec4_p7
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, January 01, 1916, SECTION TWO, Page 12, Image 24. http://tinyurl.com/bevdldc
Electric New Year_MO_19160101_Sec2_p12
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, January 02, 1916, SECTION FOUR, Page 7, Image 47. http://tinyurl.com/auhu4ae
RobertsBros New Year_MO_19160101_sec5_p2
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, January 01, 1916, SECTION FIVE, Page 2, Image 54. http://tinyurl.com/ate77qm

Happy New Year from the ODNP!

New Historic Oregonian Content Added to Historic Oregon Newspapers Online!

Posted on by srabun@uoregon.edu

Excellent news for Oregon historic newspaper enthusiasts: 54,601 additional pages of the Morning Oregonian and The Sunday Oregonian have just been added to the Historic Oregon Newspapers keyword-searchable online database!

MorningOreg_19140331p1
The Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) March 31, 1914, Page 1.
SunOreg_19140301p1
The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) March 1, 1914. Page 1.

Content from the Morning Oregonian is now available from September 1878 through March 1914, and The Sunday Oregonian can now be searched from January 1895 through March 1914.

1914_MO_19140124p1
Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) January 24, 1914, Image 1. http://tinyurl.com/adazpju

Happy searching, and stay tuned for more new historic content to be added soon!

Portland Oregonian at Multnomah County Library

Posted on by srabun@uoregon.edu

We have recently announced that we will be digitizing select dates of the Portland Oregonian as part of the Oregon Digital Newspaper Project. These issues, mostly from 1900 and 1901, should be available online at some point later this year.

For those who are interested in accessing a more complete archive of past Oregonian issues, we are happy to note that there is now another resource available. The Multnomah County Library has recently announced that the paper will be available as a free, digital resource for library patrons:

“Multnomah County Library now features the only publicly available, complete full-text digitized archive of The Oregonian newspaper. Multnomah County Library cardholders can now access every article, editorial, illustration, photograph and advertisement published in The Oregonian between 1861 and 1972. By the end of this year, the archive will include all editions up to 1987.”

This is great news, as digitized content from The Oregonian had previously been accessible only on a for-pay basis. For more information, you can read the full article on the Multnomah County Library website.