Wallace F. Hamilton Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2022
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Descriptive Summary
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.
Biography
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.
Preferred Citation
Wallace F. Hamilton Papers. MSS 842. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 2022
Publication Rights
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
BIOGRAPHY, WRITINGS & CORRESPONDENCE
Box 1, Folder 2
Military orders (includes photographs)
1917-1919
Oversize FS-426, Folder 5
Military certificates
1917-1918
Oversize FS-426, Folder 1
World War I scrapbooks
ca. 1918
General note
Includes original sketches and illustrations.
Box 1, Folder 3
Notes concerning the Overseas Courier Service in World War I
General note
Includes correspondence with Amos Peaslee and his family.
Box 1, Folder 4
Concerning the Overseas Courier Service of World War I, a U.S. Army activity
Box 1, Folder 5
Holding on to the silver greyhound's tail
Box 1, Folder 6
Obituary tribute to Mattie Monroe
1939 March 24
Box 1, Folder 7
Meeting Buffalo Bill in 1897
Box 1, Folder 8
Correspondence - WWI letters to family
1917-1919
Box 1, Folder 9
Correspondence - Hamilton to William O. Hendricks of the M. H. Sherman Foundation
1969
Box 1, Folder 10
Correspondence - Miscellaneous
1946-1950
CREATIVE PROJECTS & SUBJECT FILES
Box 1, Folder 11
Cavalry in San Diego - Clippings (photocopies)
1915
Box 1, Folder 12
Cavalry artwork - Ink drawings with short verse, cavalry theme
1917
Box 1, Folder 13
Clippings - "Winged Victory" float for Tournament of Roses parade
1945
Box 1, Folder 14
Clippings featuring illustrations by Hamilton, or about his work
1930-1955
Box 1, Folder 15
Imperial Irrigation District - Canal Project model
1947
Box 1, Folder 16
Mission Bay development
1946
Box 1, Folder 17
San Diego Annual Report and other illustrated works
1948-1950
Box 1, Folder 18
San Diego Chamber of Commerce map
1953
Box 1, Folder 19
San Diego County Fair - Exhibits for city centennial
1950
Box 1, Folder 20
San Diego County relief map
1945-1956, 2000
General note
Project sponsored by Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Includes many photographs of the map display.
Box 1, Folder 21
San Diego Heaven on Earth Club - Ephemera
Box 2, Folder 1
San Diego waterfront - Art Ponsford
1939-1940
Box 2, Folder 2
Shelter Island - Artist's conception
ca. 1948
Box 2, Folder 3
Trinidad, British West Indies illustrated pamphlet
1940-1943
General note
Two additional works from Hamilton's time in Trinidad are in the oversize folder of pen and ink drawings on board (below).
Oversize FS-426, Folder 6
Original artworks - Pen and ink drawings on board
Box 2, Folder 5
Hamilton in Studio 8 of Spanish Village, Balboa Park
1939-1940
Box 2, Folder 6
Hamilton at San Diego waterfront, as dock agent for fishing fleet, Star & Crescent Boat Co.
1938-1940
Box 2, Folder 7
Photograph album with scenes from stables at 4004 Vermont St., San Diego
1920-1921
General note
Horseback riding and dogs, featuring Wallace Hamilton and Mrs. Mattie Monroe, from property at 4044 Vermont St. The property
no longer exists; it was demolished to build the 163 freeway. Scenes include: Ranch life at Mesa Grande, Santa Isabel; Cliff
Canyon; Adobe Falls; Fortuna Ranch; Tecolote and San Clemente Canyons; undeveloped Mission Valley
Box 2, Folder 8
Horse cavalry training near U.S.-Mexico border (small loose prints)
1914-1916
General note
Includes a small number of prints from coastal Northern California, as well.
Oversize FS-426, Folder 2
Cavalry in San Diego - Illustrated photo album/essay
1915
Box 2, Folder 9
Ranch at Poway Road and Midland Road; Poway farmsteads
1924-1925
Box 2, Folder 10
Alpine
ca. 1931
General note
Original folder title noted Temple Rock Ranch property, but there is no content clearly labeled as such. Includes photos of
Hamilton with Mattie Monroe's son, Thomas Wier.
Box 2, Folder 11
Balboa Park, California Pacific International Exposition
1935
Box 2, Folder 12
Idaho City and Kla-Ha-Ne Woodburn residence - Photographs with annotations, letter, placer mining, etc.
ca. 1898-1908
Oversize FS-426, Folder 3
Idaho City and Kla-Ha-Ne Woodburn residence - Supporting materials
Oversize FS-426, Folder 4
Idaho - Landscape and scenery prints
ca. 1900
General note
Some prints by Myers & Rice studio, Boise, Idaho.
Box 2, Folder 13
Aircraft carriers (photographic postcards)
ca. 1940
