Collection Guide
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Hamilton (Wallace F.) Papers
MSS 0842
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Wallace F. Hamilton Papers
Creator:
Hamilton, Wallace F. (Wallace Francis), 1890-1972
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0842
Physical Description:
2.8 Linear feet
(2 archives boxes and 1 oversize box)
Date (inclusive): 1898-2000
Abstract: This small collection contains original artwork, photographs and small photograph albums, subject files, and ephemera collected
by Wallace F. Hamilton (1890-1972), a U.S. Cavalry officer, World War I veteran, and San Diego illustrator.
Languages:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
This small collection contains original artwork, photographs and small photograph albums, subject files, and ephemera collected
by Wallace F. Hamilton (1890-1972), a U.S. Cavalry officer, World War I veteran, and San Diego illustrator. Highlights of
the collection include early photographs of the San Diego area, especially of the Cavalry training grounds near Calexico,
and his accompanying sketches. Later in his life, Hamilton accepted commissions to create large-scale relief maps of San Diego
county and dioramas of developing areas, such as Mission Bay. The collection contains his photographs and press about these
projects, not the actual objects.
Arranged in three series: 1) BIOGRAPHY, WRITINGS & CORRESPONDENCE, 2) CREATIVE PROJECTS & SUBJECT FILES, and 3) PHOTOGRAPHS.
Wallace Francis Hamilton was born on August 28, 1890 in Indianapolis, Indiana. For the next 23 years Hamilton went back and
forth between Indianapolis and Idaho as he worked various jobs such as a drug store clerk, sheep herder, treasurer and as
a construction worker. He attended Manual Training High School in Indianapolis and graduated in 1906. In 1912 Hamilton joined
the Remy Electric Company in Anderson, Indiana and was transferred to San Francisco in 1913. During this time in San Francisco
he joined the First U.S. Cavalry regiment, and moved with the unit to San Diego in 1914 as the acting Sergeant Major. For
the next three years he served as the Sergeant Major of the Southern California Border District. Hamilton attended the School
of the Line at Fort Leavenworth, and the School of Fire at Fort Still, Oklahoma. Between 1918 and 1919 he was deployed to
France, where he helped organize the Overseas Courier Service. After resigning from the Army in 1919, he returned to San Diego,
where he worked a wide variety of jobs, and developed his skill as an illustrator. Hamilton served as a staff artist for the
San Diego Union, and took other jobs in advertising, photography, and accounting. He was also commissioned to create regional
topographical relief maps, set designs, and decorative floats. Hamilton died on April 16, 1972 in La Jolla.
Wallace F. Hamilton Papers. MSS 842. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquired 2022
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San Diego -- Maps -- History
California -- Cavalry operations -- History
Cavalry -- California -- San Diego -- History -- Photographs
Hamilton, Wallace F. (Wallace Francis), 1890-1972 -- Archives