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This newly uncovered archive from the estate of the late Mr. William Schroeder, entails a look into the dark side of the famed photographer. 1 album contains normal still lifes and other photography. The other 5 albums contain aspiring models, nudes, pornography, post mortem Mussolini photographs, wrestling, and so much more. The album counts of photos are approximately: Album 1 357, Album 2 171, Album 3 Over 240, Album 4 460, Album 5 Over 500, Album 6 243. The postcards, misc paper stuff arent in the photo count. The vast majority of these albums are pornography, which its alleged that Mr Oberwise got arrested for. These pornography photographs pose an essential link to Mr Oberwises more darker side. You will never find a photo archive such as this ever again. Some of these photos are truly insane, ie the penis and carpet cutter photographs. These have been hid for many many years! A complete picture profile of these albums will be posted.
Lyle Oberwise (1908- 1993) was a prolific photographer, who shot 43,000 images of Milwaukee throughout his lifetime. Born in Illinois, Oberwise was described in his senior yearbook as follows, “Wisdom he has without conceit, As bright a chap as you could meet”. He relocated to Milwaukee graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Marquette in 1931. After graduating, Oberwise joined The Civilian Conservation Corps before being deployed to southeast Asia during WWII. Upon his return, Oberwise began in earnest to document Milwaukee while he worked as a machine operator and a custodian.
It appears Oberwise was very secretive about his lifelong passion for documenting Milwaukee and did not show them publicly during his lifetime. A collection came to light after his death. It was purchased and therefore acquired by the Milwaukee Historical Society. In 2007, MCHS staged an exhibition entitled Milwaukee at Mid-Century introducing the public to Oberwise’s photography. “Oberwise scoured the city by foot, camera in hand, to capture Milwaukee, his interests were endless, and the archive is voluminous”, commented independent curator Erik Eide. His photographs are a treasure trove of images ranging from architectural and figure studies, parades, and lakefront scenes just to name a few. Oberwise died of a heart attack in 1993. A photographer to the end Oberwise had a roll of undeveloped film in his pocket.
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