The LaVell Cooley Photograph Collection consists of
736 artistic and personal photographs (both black & white and color) taken by
this career military man and Utah State University graduate. Included in the collection
are a few early shots of the Utah State University campus, but the bulk consists of
views taken while on military assignment in the Virgin Islands (including Puerto Rico,
Trinidad, Dutch Guinea, Haiti, and Jamaica) as well as national parks (including
Monument Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion National Park), mountain scenes, and
the California coast. Cooley and his wife Gwendolyn appear in many of the images. More
Cooley photographs (including black and white and color 16mm film of national parks) can
be found in the unprocessed photographs.
Repository:
Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Photograph Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-2663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:
Collection materials are in English.
Sponsor:
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant,
2007-2008
Biographical Note
LaVell Irwin Cooley (1901-1980) was the son of Oscar Wood Cooley, manager of the Utah
State cafeteria for many years. LaVell took up photography at an early age making many
images for the Buzzer yearbooks. In 1925, after graduating with a degree in chemistry,
he attended summer school and worked on his Masters Degree in Geology, which he earned
in 1929. Cooley later became a research engineer in Long Beach, California where he
worked with photomicrographic and high speed photography. In 1940 he was called to
active duty with the Army; his first assignment was Camp Callan, LaJolla, California.
LaVell held several command positions during World War II, and retired after becoming
physically disabled. He and his wife settled in Los Altos, where he immediately built a
darkroom and continued his photography for the rest of his life. He died in 1980.
Content Description
The LaVell Cooley Photograph Collection consists of 736 images of artistic and personal
photographs taken by this career military man and Utah State University graduate.
Included in the collection are a few early shots on campus, but the bulk consists of
views taken while on military assignment in the Virgin Islands (including Puerto Rico,
Trinidad, Dutch Guinea, Haiti, and Jamaica) as well as national parks (including
Monument Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Zion National Park), mountain scenes, and
the California coast. Cooley and his wife Gwendolyn appear in many of the images. More
Cooley photographs (including black and white and color 16mm film of national parks) can
be found in the unprocessed photographs.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access : Restrictions
Open to public research.
Restrictions on Use : Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of
the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her
transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents
from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
Permission to publish material from the LaVell Cooley photograph collection> must
be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Preferred Citation :
LaVell Cooley photograph collection, 1920-1985. (P0101). Utah State University. Special
Collections & Archives Department.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Organized numerical by photo number.
Acquisition Information :
The collection was donated by Cooley's widow, Gwendolyn Cooley, of Los Altos, California
in June of 1995.
Processing Note :
Register completed by Daniel Davis, May 2006.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Grand Teton National Park
Container(s)
Description
box
folder
1
1
1:01:01-1:01:03: Chapel of the Transfiguration
1:01:04-08: Views of Grand Teton National Park (Jenny
Lake?)
