The unique collection was created by Merle Shuster, a life-long resident of Eureka. Most of his images are birds-eye-view giving the viewer a better perspective of the region.
Mr. Shuster's rare aerial record, an irreplaceable archive of the Redwood Coast's visual history from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s illustrates timberlands, log ponds, ships, Humboldt Bay, new housing subdivisions and many illustrations of Eureka and Arcata.
Shuster took these photos as a free-lance photographer, making good use of training he received working in photo shops and in the Navy during World War II. He would hire a pilot to fly him to his assigned destination, then shoot photos of interesting spots all along the way.
Merle Shuster generously donated his photograph collection to the Humboldt State University Library. It is now digitized and can be viewed at http://library.humboldt.edu/humco/holdings/shuster.htm
Joseph Wilhelm of Meridian Design, an HSU alumnus, generously donated his talents to create this exhibit.
Attention editors & news directors: art to accompany this release can be downloaded at news.humboldt.edu/gallery.phtml.