Photograph of four men around a well hole, one appears to be holding a hose. The inscription on the back reads "Washing over a diamond core bit prior to removing the core that is inside the core barrel. Diamond core bit being washed above rotary table. UT Archives. Image used for Walter Rundell's book Oil in West Texas and New Mexico: A Pictorial History of the Permian Basin."

Photograph of a man holding a nitro-shoot torpedo. The camera is looking up and a metal derrick is visible towering above the man's head. The inscription on the back reads "Preparing to drop torpedo loaded with nitroglycerin into borehole. This is an earlier method of stimulating a well to increase production."

Photograph of a man sleeping in the front seat of a mid-century automobile. A drilling rig stands in the background.

Photograph of two men kneeling next to a valve with the ground soaked with oil or water.

Photograph of a row of storefronts with early model automobiles parked in front. The first shop is the "Bakersfield Townsite Office" the other shop has "Coffee Shop" written on it. Several people are seen on the sidewalk between the buildings and the vehicles.