Sep 30, 2021 - Sale 2580

Sale 2580 - Lot 199

Price Realized: $ 1,820
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(OIL.) Pair of scrapbooks on the life and career of prominent geologist H.J. Von Hagen. More than 200 items mounted or laid into 2 scrapbook volumes, each about 14 x 11 inches; moderate wear to bindings, a few items removed but only minor wear and toning to contents, generally not brittle. Various places, 1908-31
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Additional Details

Hugo Joseph Von Hagen (1865-1939) was a geologist who rose to prominence in the oil industry in the 1920s. A native of Germany, he lived in Westchester County, NY but consulted widely in Illinois, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and elsewhere. He predicted the success of the Sigler gusher near Vernon, TX. He worked alongside his daughter Hildegard Von Hagen Kelley (born 1894), who played an active role in scouting drill sites and wrote at least one technical article for the Texas Oil Reporter. She apparently compiled these scrapbooks, and may have been the photographer--she apparently does not appear in any of the photographs, but she is frequently mentioned in the letters and articles.

The earlier of these two scrapbooks contains mostly clippings regarding Von Hagen's geology work, 1908-27, but also 19 letters and manuscripts, 1908-1931; 2 printed documents; and 38 photographs relating to oil field development. Also of interest is a photostat of a detailed report on artesian well drilling in Millville, NJ, 1917. The second album contains 156 mostly well-captioned photographs from 1926-27, a mix of oil well shots in Arkansas and family photographs from New York. One unusual highlight is a shot of an American Indian skeleton unearthed while digging a foundation at the family home in Waccabuc, NY.