Axe Digital Provides Online Access to Two Major Collections

Axe Library is digitizing many of its leading photograph and manuscript collections to form the Axe Library Digital Collections. At present there are two collections available for public view. The Ira Clemens Photograph Album is a collection of over 250 photographs and postcards compiled by Ira Clemens in 1923 to document mining communities and towns in Crawford and Cherokee Counties in Kansas, and Barton County, Missouri. The collection includes images of schools, churches, union halls, miner's homes, and downtown business districts. The Pittsburg part of the collection in particular contains many beautiful color postcards of Pittsburg buildings and streets in the early twenties.

The Gordon Parks Collection consists of 82 photographs taken in 1968 on the set of his autobiographical film, The Learning Tree, filmed in Bourbon and Linn Counties in Kansas. Most of the images feature Gordon Parks directing the film, setting up shots, and conversing with the cast and crew.

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From the Ira Clemens Collection:

Color post card of the Masonic Temple in Pittsburg, KS.

Crawford County Community School, Cherokee, KS.

From the Gordon Parks Collection:

Parks admires the Bearded Lady while shooting the Carnival scene in the film The Learning Tree, 1968.

Actor Dana Elcar chatting with Gordon Parks while filming The Learning Tree. Elcar played "Kirky", the sheriff.