Hunt, Oscar V.
Photographs

Oscar V. Hunt was born in Bowdon, Georgia in 1881. After relocating to Birmingham, Alabama Hunt was employed as a commercial photographer and briefly as a streetcar motorman for the Birmingham Railway, Light, and Power Company. In addition to operating a commercial photographic studio Hunt worked at various times for the Birmingham Ledger newspaper and was chief photographer for the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company. According to newspaper accounts Oscar Hunt made the first aerial photograph of Birmingham in 1912. Hunt died December 30, 1962 in Birmingham.

Sources:

Birmingham City Directory, 1902. Atlanta: Thomas J. Maloney, 1902. "Death takes oldest lensman in Dixie." The Birmingham News, December 31, 1962.

The Oscar V. Hunt photographs include images of streetscapes, buildings, events, organizations, and individuals. The bulk of the photographs date from the period 1910 through the 1930s. Hunt did extensive work documenting Birmingham area manufacturing and mining, trains and streetcars, the construction of downtown buildings, and Birmingham area businesses. He also photographed leisure activities such as parades and swimmers at local parks. Hunt's photographs show an interest in individuals, especially working people, and his construction and industrial images often highlight workers.

The 1,309 images in this collection represent only a fraction of the total number of photographs that Hunt produced.

Guide to Collection: Index available in the Archives Department.

Alabama -- Photographs.
Birmingham (Ala.) -- Photographs.
Commercial photography -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Hunt, Oscar V., 1881-1962.
Photographs.

Collection Number: 1075

Size: 1,320 Images

Restrictions: Standard preservation and copyright restrictions.