A collection of photographs and ephemera of California Missions, collected by Southern California educator Connie Rothstein, with an emphasis on the San Gabriel Mission and the history of the city of San Gabriel, California, and the production of The Mission Play by John Steven McGroarty. The collection also includes late-19th and early-20th century photographs of Los Angeles and Southern California, and postcards and ephemera related to the Southern California region. Notable in the collection are 391 stereographs of missions and Los Angeles, including some by photographers William Godfrey and H. T. Payne, A. C. Varela, and Carleton Watkins.

Connie Rothstein (born 1940) taught elementary through high school and continuation school for 36 years in the San Gabriel School District and was a college instructor for three years at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and California State University, Long Beach. She began collecting historical photographs of missions as teaching materials for her 4th grade pupils, gradually collecting other topics of personal and classroom interest. She built her collection over decades by combing swap meets, flea markets and thrift stores, and acquiring specific items from dealers. Rothstein also devoted her time to civic and community affairs and was sought out for her knowledge of the history of the city of San Gabriel in Los Angeles County.

approximately 1,500 photographs + ephemera and publications, in 37 boxes

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