Submitted mostly because she had an unofficial affiliation with the last post of Lee Miller…and she’s my great-grandmother.

Ruth Alexander Nichols Beach (1893-1970), Oberlin College (the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students) Class of 1915, was an accomplished photographer. She began to use a camera at an early age, using small animals as her subjects. Her photographs of babies and children appeared in advertisements and illustrations for magazines such as Good Housekeeping and McCalls, and for companies such as Delmonte and Beechnut. She was known for her ability to catch her subjects (primarily children) in natural poses and unaware of the camera. Due to her success as a photographer, the stock market crash of 1929 did not leave her in poverty as it did for a large percentage of the population, which was extremely rare for single, working mother. Many of her photographs, particularly ones advocating for war bonds, are highly sought after by collectors of wartime memorabilia.

The Oberlin College Archives holds the Nichols Family Papers (RG 30/372)

Shown above: Ruth A. Nichols Beach with her 5” x 7” Graflex camera, 1941 
Photograph and biographical information courtesy of Jane N. Spragg, some additional information added by Nicholas W. Spragg.