Some old ephemera I acquired from the late newsreel/early TV era from the estate of a long-since passed newsreel photog. What the then $8 membership fee with the NPPA got for you in 1958.

Oh, the fundraisers mentioned on page 12 (page 9 online) that are “in good taste, dignified, business-like etc.” – one of those fundraisers in ’58 apparently was a beauty contest.

And since who doesn’t like intrigue and controversy: The vast majority of the members then were stills too with the same result of TV (and newsreels) appearing to be an afterthought based upon the 1950s-era NPPA ephemera I have.

Granted though to put that decade into perspective, in the 1950s due to the IATSE closed shop rules and steep initiation fees there were only maybe 70-80 or so working staff working newsreel photographers nation-wide. As for TV…well a newsroom having a staff news photographer was a luxury for many newly licensed TV stations in those days.

Click here to read: “What is NPPA?”

(I know this post is an old repeat…realized I scanned only half of the actual document when I posted it the first time around)