Paul Slantis Photographs
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The online collection contains images taken by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer Paul Slantis between 1946 and 1956. All the images originate from 4 x 5 inch safety negatives and depict a variety of Pittsburgh and regional scenes, including industry, streets, portraits, aerial shots, notable personalities, people and activities, and architecture. Many of the images were published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during this timeframe. These images appear online with permission from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
What's in the entire collection?
The collection, held by the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh, contains 1,508 4x5 safety negatives and contact prints taken by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographer, Paul Slantis.
About Paul Slantis
An Oakland (Pittsburgh) native, Slantis was born on September 27, 1919 and attended Central Catholic High School when he became involved in photography. After he graduated, he sold papers and worked in a grocery store to pay for the darkroom he established in his basement. His first job as a photographer was with Oakland News. He subsequently worked for the photographic reproduction department at the Carnegie Museum before serving as a combat photographer with the U.S. Navy and Marines in the South Pacific during World War II. He visually documented the invasion of the Philippines, the defense of New Guinea and the invasion of Okinawa. Upon his return from the war, Slantis joined the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a photographer in 1946 and remained there for 35 years before retiring on September 25, 1981. He then worked as a freelance photographer until his untimely death a year later at age 62 on July 21, 1982. Slantis was married to Jane Shaw Slantis, a Post-Gazette staff writer for 18 years who died in 1990.
As an active member of his profession, Slantis won many awards for his photography. In 1958 the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) awarded him the Morris Berman Citation for special contributions advancing the interests of photojournalism. A year later Slantis won the President's Award given at the discretion of the president for special services to NPPA. One of his photographs appeared in the 1962 issue of Sports Illustrated. A picture taken by Slantis of Pittsburgher Henry Dries, a Brigadier in the Salvation Army holding a baby after a fire in Hazelwood in 1967, was selected for the commemorative stamp issued on March 5, 1980 by the African nation of Zaire. It was one of a series of eight stamps which that nation issued to honor the 100th anniversary of the Salvation Army in the United States. At the time, this was only the third stamp issued that was based on a newsphoto. In addition to being a member of the NPPA, Slantis was also a member of the White House Press Photographers and Pittsburgh Press Club.