OWI/FSA STANDARD OIL COLLECTION
Edwin & Louise Rosskam (1903 - 1985) & (1910 - 2003)
Edwin and Louise Rosskam documented American life through photography during the Great Depression. Both were from Philadelphia (PA), and they left for Puerto Rico in the late 1930s. Edwin managed a photographic survey of the island for the Farm Security Administration. Louise accompanied him and worked on the project.
Edwin and Louise photographed workers on coffee plantations, tobacco farms, and in sugar cane fields for the Puerto Rico Information Office. These were the main crops on the island at that time. The Rosskams helped people visualize the idiosyncrasies of Puerto Rican life while public policies to transform the island were in process. Their collection in the Prints and Photographs Division revisits Puerto Rico's plantation period through images, that reflect on religion, motherhood, politics, and culture, among other community topics.
EDWIN or LOUISE ROSSKAM
Lake Salvador La.
From: Standard Oil project
1945
Vintage gelatin silver print
7.5 x 7 in.
Annotated on print verso: Rosskam, August, 1945. Lake Salvador, La. On the Humble Oil Co. quarter boat. Listening to the radio in the social hall.
Other numerical notations and stamp: Square – no line
$750