Clyde Sunderland - Oakland

1936 ³

Clyde Herwood Sunderland, Jr. (October 22, 1900 – December 3, 1989) was a photographer, particularly known for his aerial photos and photo mapping of California.

Sunderland was born in Oakland in 1900 to Clyde Herwood Sunderland, Sr. (1876 – 1902) and Ruth Bird Pugh (Sunderland) (Nickel) (1877 – 1955). Clyde, Sr. worked for the Tribune briefly before going to work in insurance. He then married Ruth Pugh. Both Clyde and Ruth had a musical background; Ruth taught music for many years. It seems possible they met through music. ¹

Clyde, Sr. died of meningitis before Clyde, Jr. was 2 years old. Ruth remarried, to Karl Henry Nickel, and they had a daughter, Karla F. Nickel.

Clyde, Jr. graduated from Oakland Tech before attending UC Berkeley to study mechanical engineering.

In 1923, he married Bertha Elizabeth Duckett (Sunderland) (January 9, 1901 – April 30, 1960). They had a son, Clyde Herwood Sunderland, III (1924 – 1943).

Early Career

The 1917 directory lists Clyde as a photo player operator; a later article suggests it was for the T & D Theater. The 1920 census lists his profession as musician. The 1925 directory lists him as a sales manager for the Oakland Rubber Stamp Company.

c.1925-1926, Clyde, Jr. led a band, the Western Giant Cord Orchestra, sponsored by Western Auto Supply to promote their Western Giant Cord brand of tires. ²

1926 ²

Photography

Sunderland's obituary says he started taking pictures at age 15, and another article mentions he filmed the Dole Air Race in 1927. The 1928 directory lists him as a commercial photographer.

1928 directory

The first aerial images attributed to him in the Tribune appear in 1929, the Encinal Terminal in Alameda burning, and brush fires in Oakland and Berkeley. 1930 aerial photos include U.S. Army Air Corps planes in flight and an aerial view of the new Carquinez railroad bridge. The Oakland Post-Enquirer published some of his aerial photos of the port in December 1929, but failed to give him credit until a few days later. ⁴

With the Oakland Airport growing rapidly, pioneering flights abounding, the construction of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, and more, there was no shortage of subjects which made for interesting aerial photos. Local news like snowfall in the hills or the ferryboat Peralta burning were also subjects of his photos. He even photographed a solar eclipse from 6,000 feet.

He joined the US Naval Reserve in 1932. He continued photographing a variety of subjects from the air. His muster date was January 31, 1941.

Photography quickly consumed his interests and he took a job as a commercial photographer covering important news stories for the Oakland Tribune for ten years before WWII. In 1931 [1932] he joined the Naval Reserve and was instrumental in setting up the first Reserve photography lab in the country. He was commissioned by Franklin D. Roosevelt to write a textbook and train naval photographers in 1939 and he taught at Pensacola until the end of the war. After the war, Sunderland returned to Oakland to turn his passion for photography and enthusiasm for flying into a highly successful career. ⁵

Sadly, the Sunderland's son died of leukemia while they were at Pensacola. ⁶ Clyde and Elizabeth returned to Oakland at the end of the war, and Clyde continued with his photography business.

A 1963 article says that he had flown 60,000 miles the previous year. That article also includes a logo which looks like "Dopey" of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney film, skydiving with a camera. ⁷ The Clyde Sunderland Collection is part of Pacific Aerial Surveys, which is owned by Quantum Spatial. Their website includes a hand-drawn, signed version of the image by Disney. ⁸

Disney-drawn logo, 1963 ⁷

Sunderland with equipment, 1963 ⁷

Post WWII

He was part-owner of the Theatre Club at East 14th and Fruitvale in 1949, but mostly stuck with aerial photography.

Elizabeth died in 1960. A few years later, Clyde remarried, to Josephine Barlow (Hanley) (Sunderland).

Clyde died in 1989. His remains, along with those of Elizabeth, their son, his father, Clyde Sr. and other family members are in Mountain View Cemetery.