Steve Tunder Acme News Pictures collection

Finding Aid

Prepared by Jim Crowe, April 24, 1991; Prepared for the Web by Barbara Bass, June 26, 2002; Last Updated: June 2021

Inclusive Dates: 1936-1945
Extent: 1 cubic foot (1 record storage box)
Physical Location: 11th floor

Biographical Note: Steve Tunder of Parma, Ohio, worked for Acme News Pictures in Cleveland from 1936 until 1945.

Scope and Content: This collection contains 475 newswire photographs which were originally transmitted via the Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver by Acme News Pictures. Steve Tunder traveled around the country instructing people in the use of the machine. The Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver was plugged into a telephone line and allowed newspapers to both transmit and receive pictures in seven minutes. In folder two there are the three photographs of the Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver, one of which shows the exterior of the machine while the other two are shots of its interior. In addition to the photographs, there is a scrapbook, in folder three, which contains the blueprint for the Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver, drawings of its mechinical workings, and numerous newspaper clippings devoted to its development, success, and subsequent publicity. File folder four contains a few examples of the envelopees in which Acme News Pictures stored its photographs. Folder five includes numerous photographs of the British Royal family, many of which were taken during a visit to Canada by the King and Queen. Scattered among the rest of the collection are other "human interest" photographs, one of which is a picture of a Boys' Club member collecting scrap metal for the war effort and a shot of a general's dog wearing his master's helmet. There are photographs of local celebrities and personalities including one of a female conductor on a trolley as well as scenes of a major flood in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area. The bulk of the collection, however, consists of scenes and maps of World War II events and military operations. These photographs, arranged according to geographic location, are housed in files six through thirty-one with the locations arranged alphabetically. They include views of German soldiers retreating from southern France and shots of the many who were captured and taken as prisoners of war. There are scenes of ruin in towns and villages that had been bombed. Also, there are images of military and political leaders including Charles DeGaulle, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, General Chiang Kai-shek, and others.

Acquisition Information: The photographs and scrapbook which comprise his collection were donated by his grandson, Steve Strnad, who was an architecture student at Kent State University at the time of donation.

Box 1
Folder -- Contents

1. Press release by Alex Gildzen about the collection
2. Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver: photos
3. Acme Telephoto Trans-ceiver: scrapbook
4. Acme News Pictures: envelopes
5. British Royal Family

World War II Photographs by Country

6. Africa
7. Argentina
8. Belgium
9. Canada
10. China
11. England
12. finland
13. France
14. France (2)
15. France (3)
16. France (4)
17. Germany
18. Holland
19. India
20. Italy
21. Mediterranean
22. Pacific Theater
23. Pacific Theater (2)
24. Panama
25. Russian Front
26. Sweden
27. United States
28. United States (2)
29. United States (3)
30. United States (4)
31. Miscellaneous Photos