Title: Beckett(C.Tucker), 1912-1969

Dates: 1912-1969

Collection Number: C. Tucker Beckett

Creator/Collector:

Extent: approximately 7 linear feet

Repository: California State Library. Sutro Library

Abstract: This collection consists of photographs and diaries that belonged to Clarence Tucker Beckett, a Presidio soldier, and help to document the immense changes that occurred in the machinery of war at a nascent era of American military power.

Language of Material: English

Please contact the Sutro Library to arrange a time to research the collection.

The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary property.

Beckett(C.Tucker), 1912-1969. California State Library. Sutro Library

Clarence Tucker Beckett was born in West Point, Mississippi in 1878 and died in California in 1969. He attended the Davis Military Academy, Georgetown University (Kentucky), and the University of Mississippi. Educated as an attorney, he worked for the secretary of the San Francisco Bar Association from 1919-1924. Through his long military career he saw vast changes, witnessing the last time a United States Army’s Cavalry would play a significant role in warfare; while at the same time seeing the First Aero Squadron engage in military action. He was involved in the Spanish-American War, the Philippines during the Moro uprising, Pershing’s expedition into Mexico in 1916, and the First World War (although he was stationed in Texas). One of Beckett’s lifetime interests was photography and during his service in the military, Beckett spent hours on this hobby. “First and foremost a soldier,” he was nevertheless dedicated to getting the perfect shot and with his Kodak 3A slung over his shoulder, he captured Army life in intimate and momentous ways. He endured remote outposts and deserts, managing to produce pictures which provide insight into Army life at a pivotal time, where the United States’ military might was just beginning to flourish. Bibliography Bonnett, Wayne. Presidio Soldiers: San Francisco and Beyond: The Photography of C. Tucker Beckett 1912-1917. Sausalito, CA: Windgate Press, 2012. P.

The collection consists of diaries, approximately 5600 photographic negatives (including panoramas), 10 scrapbooks of photographic prints (of the Phillipines, Alaska, Texas, and Mexico), short stories written by Beckett, and printed matter. The photographs are, by and large, arranged chronologically and are described in detail by Beckett. The date range is 1912-1969.