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Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County: Finding Aid
photCL 280
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Title: Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1887-1913
Collection Number: photCL 280
Creator:
Stiles, Mildred Keith, 1892-1961
Extent:
189 negatives in 9 boxes; chiefly glass-plate negatives; plates chiefly 13 x 21 cm. (5 x 8 in.) and 10 x 13 cm. (4 x 5 in.)
+ 209 prints (chiefly later prints corresponding to the negatives), one cabinet card photograph, and 1 notebook in 1 box
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 209 photographs of families, residences, commercial and municipal buildings, and the natural environment
of South Pasadena, the city and county of Los Angeles, and other locations chiefly in California, taken approximately 1887-1913,
mostly by photographer T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896). The photographs are chiefly later prints from glass-plate negatives and,
to a lesser extent, from copy film negatives; also included are 20 prints without corresponding negatives, one cabinet card
photograph, and a notebook containing three pages of handwritten titles for some of the photographs.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item], Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
This collection was a gift of Mrs. Conrad A. Stiles (Mildred Keith Stiles), May 6, 1949.
T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896), also known as Truman D. Keith, was an American photographer known for his photographs of South
Pasadena and environs. Born in New York, he moved to California in 1887, living in San Bernardino before moving to South Pasadena
later that year. Keith served as postmaster of South Pasadena from approximately 1889-1892, and his wife, Nellie E. Keith
(1851-1935), served as City Librarian from 1895-1930. Their children include Merton E. Keith ([1874]-1908), who worked as
a court reporter, councilman, city clerk, and member of the library board; Mabel Keith (1884-1906); and Mildred Keith Stiles
(1892-1961), wife of Conrad A. Stiles and mother of Keith L. Stiles.
This collection contains 209 photographs of families, residences, commercial and municipal buildings, and the natural environment
of South Pasadena, the city and county of Los Angeles, and other locations chiefly in California, taken approximately 1887-1913,
mostly by photographer T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896); one undated photograph is by Los Angeles photographer Elkanah P. Tresslar,
and other images taken after Keith's death are by an unidentified photographer.
Photographs chiefly show South Pasadena residents and residences, including Keith's home and family and other families; many
of the photographs provide a glimpse of clothing and dress styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Photographs
also depict South Pasadena buildings and scenes, including the first and second Raymond Hotel and South Pasadena High School;
panoramic views of South Pasadena; railroads; various views of the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles; Santa Catalina Island;
and the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1901 in Pasadena. The collection also includes a few photographs showing scenes from
San Diego County and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and individual images of the San Juan Capistrano Mission and of
a street scene in Tijuana, Mexico. A few images, such as Item 37, are originals with the stamp "Keith" on versos.
The photographs are chiefly later prints from glass-plate negatives and, to a lesser extent, from copy film negatives; these
prints were made by the Huntington photo lab in the 1980s. Also included are 20 prints without corresponding negatives, one
cabinet card photograph, and a chiefly blank notebook containing three pages of handwritten titles for some of the photographs.
The collection contains many duplicates.
Note
Huntington Library volunteer Jane Apostol numbered the photographs, and identified many of them in captions written on the
prints.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Photographs appear to be generally arranged by photograph number, and were grouped according to general topic by a previous
archivist. The collection is arranged in the following two series:
- Series I. Prints
- Subseries A. South Pasadena and Los Angeles County (Items 1-153, 168-199, 208-209)
- Subseries B. San Diego County (Items 154-165)
- Subseries C. San Juan Capistrano (Item 166)
- Subseries D. Mexico (Item 167)
- Subseries E. San Francisco (Items 200-207)
- Notebook
- Series II. Glass-plate Negatives and Copy Film Negatives
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Pasadena and Pacific Railway Company -- Photographs.
Raymond Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) -- Photographs.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company -- Photographs.
Airships -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs.
Architecture, Domestic -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Clothing and dress -- California, Southern -- Photographs.
Dwellings -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Families -- Photographs.
Gardens -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Hotels -- California -- Photographs.
Photography of families -- Photographs.
Plants -- California -- Photographs.
Portrait photography -- United States -- Photographs.
Railroads -- California, Southern -- Photographs.
Avalon (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Long Beach (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Pasadena (Calif.) -- Photographs.
San Diego County (Calif.) -- Photographs.
San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) -- Photographs.
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Cabinet photographs.
Panoramas.
Photographs.
Stereographs.
Keith, T. D., photographer.
Stiles, Mildred Keith, 1892-1961, donor.
Tresslar, E. P. (Elkanah P.), photographer.