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Victor Keppler Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MK
Date: Feb 6, 1978

Biographical History

a Victor Keppler (1904-1987) was an award-winning American commercial photographer.

Keppler was born in New York City on September 30th. He is best known for his commercial photography, which won him numerous awards throughout his career. He worked for several major advertisers, such as General Electric, Corning Glass, and DuPont. He also had photographs and cover art published in the Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, and Cosmopolitan, among others. In 1961, he founded the Famous Photographers School in Westport, CT, where he became the director and president until his retirement in 1972. Keppler's artistry was recognized in many awards: Harvard Award (1944), Photographers Hall of Fame Award (1970), and five Gold Medal Awards from the Art Directors Club. Keppler also authored four books, the two most well known being The Eighth Art: A Life of Color Photography (1938), and Victor Keppler: Man and Camera: A Photographic Autobiography (1970).

Keppler was a pioneer in the world of commercial advertising, and made a name for himself as one of the foremost artists in color advertising photography. Using the carbro color process, he mastered techniques drawn from the latest trends in other visual art mediums to make images that were fresh and modern.

Sources:

Contemporary Photographers. First ed. New York, St. Martins Press, 1982.
New York Times, "Victor keppler, Author and Photographer." December 3, 1987.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Victor Keppler Papers consist of various photographic works in different formats, as well as some of the photographer's personal receipts. Much of the material relates to Keppler's work as a commercial photographer, including works done for Hallmark, Campbells, DuPont, Noxzema and Liberty Mutual. Also included are photographs related to Keppler's travels in Italy, Haiti, Canada and elsewhere. Additionally, there are photographs of general topics such as birds, water scenes, and tropical fruit. Among the oversized materials are photographs of famous people and various other clients. Many of the color slides are of travel-related themes, while the other formats (color transparencies, negatives, photographs and proofs) are of a more a varied mix.

Arrangement of the Collection

The Victor Keppler Papers are arranged into seven categories, Color Slides, Color Transparencies, Negatives, Photographs, Proofs, Receipts and Photographic materials - oversize. Items from the first six categories are contained in 13 boxes, while the Photographic materials - oversize are located in 15 oversize packages. Subjects in each category are arranged alphabetically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Keppler, Victor, 1904-1987.

Subjects

Advertising -- Photographers.
Advertising -- Photographs.
Advertising photography.
Aerial photographs.
Aerial photography.
Color photography.
Commercial photography.
Photographs.
Slides (Photography)
Still-life photography.
Travel photography.

Genres and Forms

Negatives (photographs)
Photographs.
Transparencies.

Occupations

Photographers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Victor Keppler Papers
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Color slides

Color transparencies

Negatives

Photographs

Proofs

Receipts

Photographic materials - oversize

Inventory