Research


Administrative History

Rudolph Raffius was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1883 and emigrated to the United States in 1902. Between that time and 1920, he resided in Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; and New York City. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1916.

On a 1920 passport application, he listed his occupation as "Photography for Education." On the same application, he indicated that he intended to travel to Central and South America, as well as Cuba and the West Indies to make photographs for use in teaching. Underwood & Underwood, Inc. of New York City, a company which specialized in supplying visual instruction materials to schools, confirmed that Raffius was travelling for the reasons he stated. Raffius had entered into an agreement with Underwood & Underwood to photograph and provide negatives depicting the principal industries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. At the time, Raffius was residing and working out of a studio in Corona, Queens, New York. Raffius died in 1956.