The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. Mark Arsten (talk) 17:52, 18 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Arthur Clarence Pillsbury[edit]

(Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL)

This is a bit of a difficult case. This is nearly completely uncited, and searching seems to show that the only actual source is, in the end, Melinda Pillsbury-Foster, for whom the article serves as something of a coatrack. The only source that gives any evidence of independence is the exhibit leaflet, and the evidence is reasonably good that its source is Pillsbury-Foster. Pillsbury himself seems to be a real person, but I don't see good evidence that he took the photographs that are attributed to him, and that's the basis for the claim to his notability. The text of the article was added into two places in 2005 through an IP that is now blocked as a proxy, with one addition from User:JohnClarknew much later which I think is innocent but perhaps bespeaks a friendship with Pillsbury-Foster; at any rate I don't think he intended any malice. In the end I think we need to back away from this until more plainly reliable sources are forthcoming, because at the moment there's sufficient reason to suspect that we are being used to push a hoax. Mangoe (talk) 20:27, 11 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Keep There is absolutely no doubt that Arthur Pillsbury took the photos in question, and is notable. Pillsbury was an important figure in the early history of photography in California and especially Yosemite National Park. His work was featured in a traveling exhibition at four major art museums as documented in Yosemite: Art of an American Icon] published by the University of California Press. Pillsbury is also described in 1921 in Yosemite and Its High Sierra, a classic book that features many of his photographs. I own copies of these two books. The classic 1921 book of essays edited by Ansel Hall called Handbook of Yosemite National Park: A Compendium of Articles on the Yosemite Region features a chapter by Pillsbury on photography in Yosemite. He is mentioned five times in Yosemite National Park in Vintage Postcards. THe current article is in bad condition, but the solution is editing it rather than deleting it. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 22:20, 11 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Comment His photos of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are included in American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 05:18, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of United States of America-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:43, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Photography-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:43, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 01:43, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Keep It's easy to find sources which testify to the notability of the subject, e.g. "Arthur Clarence Pillsbury(1870-1946) was a U.S. photographer of great significance". AFD is not cleanup. Warden (talk) 13:34, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
Keep, educational and encyclopedic and historical. — Cirt (talk) 22:56, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.