Standard Oil Roy Stryker Photography Director, Norman Wells, N. W. T., Canada truck driver whose hobby is painting, 1944, 9.5x7.625" Gelatin silver print, Printed c. 1944, Standard Oil credit stamp on print verso; Standard Oil return stamp; miscellaneous numbers inscribed in pencil and ink; typed caption label: Norman Wells, N. W. T., Canada / 3878 Truck driver whose hobby is painting.

The Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) Photography Project collection, a component of the ExxonMobil Historical Collection, consists of photographs amassed as an initiative of Jersey Standard's Public Relations department and directed by former Farm Security Administration official Roy Stryker from roughly 1943 to 1950. In the wake of flagging public opinion, the project endeavored to improve the oil industry's image by visually illustrating Jersey Standard's positive impact on the people and communities where the company had an often sizable presence, and by documenting the company's operations in the United States and abroad. The images were disseminated and made available for use in local and national newspapers and published in corporate magazines and newsletters. Stryker's cadre of photographers, many of whom were with him during his years at the FSA, included Esther Bubley, Jacob Lofman, John Collier, Jr., Arnold Eagle, Russell Lee, Sol Libsohn, Gordon Parks, Charles Rotkin, John Vachon, Todd Webb, Edwin and Louise Rosskam, and Harold Corsini.
Credit: Briscoe Center University of Texas.

Good. Edge wear, Handling marks, mild wear.