Carl Moon Collection of Family Photographs and Ephemera: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Suzanne Oatey.
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
© 2014
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Carl Moon Collection of Family Photographs and Ephemera
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1860s-1930
Bulk dates: 1900-1920
Collection Number: photCL 484
Creator/Collector: Moon, Carl, 1878-1948. Moon, Grace, 1877-1947.
Extent: 173 photographs and ephemera in 5 boxes.
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: Family photographs, albums, clippings and other items relating to the early life and career of photographer Carl Moon (1878-1948) and his wife, Grace Moon.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on January 28, 2014.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administration Information

Publication Rights

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.

Preferred Citation

Carl Moon Collection of Family Photographs and Ephemera. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

A portion of the collection was purchased and the remainder was donated by Louis F. D'Elia and Michael D. Salazar, 2008.

Processing information

This collection was processed by Jennifer A. Watts and the original paper finding aid was prepared in November 1994.

Biographical Note

Carl E. Moon (also spelled Karl) was born in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1878, to parents Sylvester B. Moon and Lucy Brunetta Moon. After graduation from high school, he served two years with the Ohio National Guard before apprenticing with various photographers in Ohio, West Virginia and Texas. He moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1903, where he set up a photography studio and began making "art studies" of the Native Americans of the Southwest, both in photographs and in oil paintings, sometimes living for weeks at a time in Navajo villages. From 1905-1906, Moon had a short-lived partnership in Albuquerque with businessman Thomas F. Keleher, called the Moon-Keleher Studio. After the partnership dissolved, Moon continued working, photographing carefully selected Indian "'subjects"' in a romantic, posed style. His photographs began appearing in magazines and he exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in New York. President Theodore Roosevelt invited Moon to exhibit his Native American photographs at the White House.
In 1907, Moon signed a contract with the Fred Harvey Company to produce photographs for what would be the Fred Harvey Collection of Southwest Indian Pictures. Beginning in 1911, he operated out of El Tovar Studio in the Grand Canyon. While employed by the Fred Harvey Co., he also worked as a photographer for the Santa Fe Railroad. For seven years, from 1907 to 1914, Moon photographed the native people of the Southwest, in his studio and in their villages. His images appeared (often uncredited) in brochures and publications for both companies.
Moon resigned from Fred Harvey Co. in 1914, and he and his second wife, Grace Purdie Moon, moved to Pasadena, California, where he continued to work as a photographer and painter. In 1923, Henry E. Huntington purchased from Moon 293 large, mounted photographic prints and 12 oil paintings (12 more paintings were purchased in 1925). This remains the largest and most complete collection of Carl Moon's work extant.
In 1924, Moon began work on "Indians of the Southwest," a set of 100 of his finest prints. Published in 1936, only ten copies were ever produced. With his wife Grace, he also wrote and illustrated many children's books about the Indians of the Southwest. Moon died in 1948, in San Francisco, at the home of his daughter.

Related collections in the Huntington Library include:

Scope and Content

This collection focuses on the personal lives of photographer Carl Moon and his wife Grace, who wrote a series of children's books revolving around Hopi and Navajo culture in the Southwest. There are several portraits of both of them, some taken by Carl, as well as portraits of other Moon relatives. A photo/clipping album contains many scenes of their early home life in Pasadena, California, with their two children, along with clippings about their careers. There is one view of Grace Moon at El Tovar studio in the Grand Canyon.
Another album details several generations of the Moon family in photographs dating from the mid-19th to early-20th centuries. The photos are identified in ink or pencil, and there is one baby photo of Carl Moon.
There are several photographs of Moon's mother, Lucy Brunetta Moon, and five of her daily diaries. Also included are reproductions of artwork by Grace Moon, and some original drawings by Ernest Moon (Carl's brother). An interesting commercial item is a 1909 brochure for Hotel El Tovar at the Grand Canyon featuring photographs of the hotel (it's unclear if they were taken by Moon).

Arrangement

The collection is organized in 5 boxes:
  • Boxes 1-2: Portraits and other photographs
  • Box 3: Artwork; high school diplomas; family photo album (bulk 1905-1916)
  • Box 4: Moon family portrait album (mid-19th to early-20th c.)
  • Box 5: Journals and ephemera

Indexing Terms

Moon, Carl, 1878-1948.
Moon, Grace, 1877-1947.
Moon, Lucy Brunetta.
Hotels -- Arizona -- Guidebooks.
Hotel El Tovar
Pasadena (Calif.)
Photographs.
Portraits.
Photograph albums.
Scrapbooks.
Tintypes.
Ephemera.
Clippings.
Diplomas.
Pamphlets.
Diaries -- 20th century.
Drawings.


Box 1

Portraits and other photographs

Box 1

Portraits and other photographs (Items 1-51)

Box 1, Item 1

Portrait of Karl E. Moon, August 27, 1900. Photographer: Bellsmith, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Box 1, Item 1a

Portrait of Karl Moon.

Box 1, Item 2

Portrait of young adult Karl Moon in tall collar. Photographer: Bellsmith.

Box 1, Item 3

Portrait of Karl Moon in circular mount (variant of (2)).

Box 1, Item 4

Portrait of young adult Karl Moon wearing a straw hat.

Box 1, Item 5

Small photo showing two men and a woman on side of hill. Appears to be Karl and Grace Moon with an older man.

Box 1, Item 6

Seated portrait of Karl Moon as a young man, wearing hat, holding gloves. Photographer identified on mat as Griffin, Wheeling.

Box 1, Item 7

Self-portrait character study of Karl E. Moon with long hair, mustache, and Van Dyke beard. Signed "'Yours truly K. E. Moon."'

Box 1, Item 8

Similar character study of Karl Moon. On verso, in pencil: "'An attempt at Mephisto, Aug. 6, 1903."'

Box 1, Item 9

Seated portrait of Karl Moon wearing a Western-style hat and holding a well-smoked cigar. Signed in ink on mat "'Karl E. Moon, 1906."'

Box 1, Item 10

Early photo of adult Carl Moon sitting on chair.

Box 1, Item 11

Oval-shaped portrait card of Carl Moon (on left) with 3 other men.

Box 1, Item 12

Carl Moon portrait in dark brown folio.

Box 1, Item 13

Seated portrait of Grace Moon. Photo by Karl Moon. Inscribed on the mat: "'To Maude with love from Grace. June 1911."' [Same as image (54).]

Box 1, Item 14

Portrait of Grace Moon wearing hat.

Box 1, Item 15

Portrait of Grace Moon holding 7-week old son, Francis-Maxwell. Signed Karl Moon on mount.

Box 1, Item 16

Portrait of Grace Moon with daughter Mary and son Francis-Maxwell, April 7, 1917. "'Photo by Karl Moon"' on original mount.

Box 1, Item 17

Photograph of Francis-Maxwell at 4 months (1 of 4). Photo by Karl Moon.

Box 1, Item 18

Photograph of Francis-Maxwell at 4 months (2 of 4). Photo by Karl Moon.

Box 1, Item 19

Photograph of Francis-Maxwell at 4 months (3 of 4). Photo by Karl Moon.

Box 1, Item 20

Photograph of Francis-Maxwell at 4 months (4 of 4). Photo by Karl Moon.

Box 1, Item 21

Large portrait, "'Francis-Maxwell's first Christmas tree, 1913."' Photo shows little Francis-Maxwell on rocking horse in front of large Christmas tree.

Box 1, Item 22

Portrait of Francis-Maxwell as adult, 1930 (Copy 1 of 2). Photo by Noel Studio, Pasadena, California.

Box 1, Item 23

Portrait of Francis-Maxwell as adult, 1930 (Copy 2 of 2). Photo by Noel Studio, Pasadena, California.

Box 1, Item 24-25

Portrait of young Ernest Moon (2 copies). [Possibly fell from family album.]

Box 1, Item 26

Portrait of Ralph Moon. In pencil on verso: "'Age 18. Made Feb. 1900 by Karl."'

Box 1, Item 27

Portrait of unidentified male (possibly Ralph Moon?) (Copy 1 of 2). Photographer: R. P. Bellsmith, Cincinnati.

Box 1, Item 28

Portrait of unidentified male (possibly Ralph Moon?) (Copy 2 of 2). Photographer: R. P. Bellsmith, Cincinnati.

Box 1, Item 29

Unidentified--appears to be Lucy Brunetta Moon with her new grandchild (Francis- Maxwell?).

Box 1, Item 30

Similar view to (29).

Box 1, Item 31

Oval-shaped portrait of Lucy Brunetta Moon. Photographer: Bellsmith, Cincinnati.

Box 1, Item 32

Portrait of Lucy Brunetta Moon (Copy 1 of 3).

Box 1, Item 32a

Portrait of Lucy Brunetta Moon (Copy 2 of 3).

Box 1, Item 32b

Portrait of Lucy Brunetta Moon (Copy 3 of 3).

Box 1, Item 33

Old home alongside road. [Possibly East Main Street, Wilmington, Ohio, birthplace of Karl Moon.]

Box 1, Item 34

Photo postcard of Tom Smith Davies. Card addressed to Miss Reba Davies, St. Joseph, Mo.

Box 1, Item 35

Photographic portrait of Victorian-era young woman. Photo embossed on mount: Bellsmith, Cincinnati.

Box 1, Item 36

Unidentified woman (Copy 1 of 2). Portrait by Orr-Kiefer.

Box 1, Item 37

Unidentified woman (Copy 2 of 2). Portrait by Orr-Kiefer.

Box 1, Item 38

Unidentified woman in long dress.

Box 1, Item 39

Unidentified woman with little dog on steps of brick house.

Box 1, Item 40

Unidentified young woman, seated. Portrait by Orr-Kiefer.

Box 1, Item 41

Unidentified woman.

Box 1, Item 42

Head and shoulders portrait of unidentified man with beard.

Box 1, Item 43

Unidentified young man. [Appears to be Ernest Moon (Carl's brother).]

Box 1, Item 44

Group portrait of four unidentified young men. Photo by N. T. Bell, Cambridge, Ohio.

Box 1, Item 45

Karl Moon. Note on verso: "'Made by M. C. S., Sunday, January 22, 1899."'

Box 1, Item 46

Photo of unidentified man in suit standing in front of small tree.

Box 1, Item 47

Carl and Grace Moon with an unidentified man.

Box 1, Item 48

Unidentified baby. Photo by Excel, New Vienna, Ohio.

Box 1, Item 49

Francis-Maxwell Moon as a child.

Box 1, Item 50

"'An Arizona Squall."' Karl Moon photograph of a Native American child in tears.

Box 1, Item 51

Landscape view of Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico.

Box 1, Item 52

Large Indian basket. Pencil note on verso: "'Hopi basket valued at $600."'

Box 1, Item 53

Unidentified man and woman in old car.

Box 2, Item 54

Portrait of Grace Moon wearing what appears to be her wedding dress. Signed "'Karl Moon."' [Same as image (13).]

Box 2, Item 55

Portrait of Carl Moon.

Box 2, Item 56

Portrait of an elderly Lucy Brunetta Moon.

Box 3

Artwork, high school diplomas and family photo album (bulk 1906-1915)

Box 3, Item 57

8 x 10"' photograph of a cartoon drawing by J. Swinnerton entitled Another Apache Outrage. Shows photographer (Moon?) taking a photo of an Indian baby tied to a post and offering candy cane to baby. Photo inscribed in ink "'To Mary from Uncle Karl, 1910."'

Box 3, Item 58

Photograph of artwork by Grace Moon entitled "'The Hunter."'

Box 3, Item 59

Photograph of artwork by Grace Moon. Portrays very young Indian girl.

Box 3, Item 60

Reproduction of artwork entitled "'Autumn,"' by Ernest Moon (trees by a river). [See photographs of artwork, Box 3, Items 61-62.]

Box 3, Item 61

Photograph of artwork entitled "'Autumn,"' by Ernest Moon (trees by a river). [See reproduction and additional photograph of artwork, Box 3, Items 60 and 62.]

Box 3, Item 62

Photograph of artwork entitled "'Autumn,"' by Ernest Moon (trees by a river). [See reproduction and additional photograph of artwork, Box 3, Items 60 and 61.]

Box 3, Item 63

Original artwork: "'Autumn,"' by Ernest Moon. In color on paper.

Box 3, Item 64

Original artwork: Pen and ink drawing by Ernest Moon of two boys and a dog: "'Gee, I'm glad he's a toy dog."'

Box 3, Item 65

Original artwork: Pen and ink drawing by Ernest Moon: "'Any Indian braves in camp? Naw, only some squawks."' Signed in ink by Ernest Moon.

Box 3, Item 66

Reproduction of drawing, "'The Awakening of Spring"' by Y. De La Neziere.

Box 3, Item 67

Wilmington (Ohio) Public Schools high school diploma, Literature and Science, granted to M. Maude Moon, June 19, 1890.

Box 3, Item 68

Wilmington (Ohio) Public Schools high school diploma, Literature and Science, granted to Ernest R. Moon, June 15, 1893.

Box 3, Volume 1

Moon family photo/clipping album

Scope and Content Note

Approximately 52 photos, bulk approximately 1906-1915. Bound paper album with "'Seattle"' on cover. [Note: Moon's photos pasted inside are not related to Seattle, however.] Contains early career photos and publicity clippings for both Carl and Grace Moon, many with notations in pencil and pen. Album documents their early life at El Tovar studio in Arizona; their new craftsman-style home and studio on N. Mentor Avenue in Pasadena, Ca., and also photographs of their two young children, Francis-Maxwell and Mary.

Album:

  • 1. Portrait of Carl Moon.
  • 2. Magazine article on Karl and Grace Moon.
  • 3. Clippings: Moon-Keleher Studio; Moon report on photographing bridge at Belen cut-off; Moon dispatch on dam at Zuni. Two photos of Francis-Maxwell, "'Boss of the family. Just beginning to walk."'
  • 4. Photo of Grace Moon in horse-drawn carriage (photo loose in album).
  • 5. Clipping: Karl Moon shows his Indian photographs.
  • 6. Four photos: Grace Moon and baby
  • 7. Clipping on Indian talks; photo of young Francis-Maxwell
  • 8. Portrait of Francis-Maxwell in high chair; snapshot of Karl Moon holding Francis-Maxwell; Easter card with photo of Francis-Maxwell, 1910, 6 months old. (Card loose in album.)
  • 9-17. Snapshots: Moons with children. Exterior of Pasadena house (565 N. Mentor) on pp. 11, 15, 17.
  • 18-19. Clippings on Moon as author, photographer. (# 19 loose in album.)
  • 20. Blank page.
  • 21. Clipping on Moon (biographical).
  • 22-24. Blank pages.

Following pages have copies of commercially produced photos of Seattle:

  • 25. Roman Catholic Cathedral and three churches: Pilgrim Congregational, Trinity Episcopal, and Plymouth Congregational.
  • 26 - 30. Blank pages.
  • 31. University of Washington.
  • 32. Blank page.
  • 33. Puget Sound Salmon Catch
  • 34 - 38. Blank pages.
  • 39. Scenes of lumber industry (copyright 1899 by D. R. Kinsey).
  • 40. Blank page.
  • 41. Mt. Baker, Washington.
  • 42. Blank page.
  • 43. Puget Sound Indians.
  • 44. Blank page.
  • 45. Snoqualmie Falls, near Seattle.
  • Newspaper clipping on pueblos, Navajos, with Moon illustrations. New York Herald, April 15, 1906. [Clipping was loose in album—now in folder.]
Box 4

Moon family portrait album (mid-19th to early-20th c.)

Box 4, Volume 2

Moon family portrait album

Scope and Content Note

65 photographs, dating from mid-19th c. through early-20th c. Mostly cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards, but also several tintypes. Photographs of Moon family members, with names noted in pencil on album page below. Baby photo of Karl Moon near end of album. Very fragile; binding has broken.

Names transcribed from album pages:

  • 1. Netta Moon
  • 2. Darius Moon
  • 3. Osie Moon [also spelled Osee Moon]
  • 4. Maude Moon (graduate). Also loose photo of Moon and son (?).
  • 5. [Unidentified baby]
  • 6. Nellie and Minnie Moon
  • 7. C (illegible) Moon
  • 8. Ernest Moon
  • 9. (illegible) Deskin
  • 10. George Gudgeon [Also spelled "'Gudgen"']
  • 11. Sophronia Gudgeon
  • 12. Unidentified woman
  • 13. Sherman(?) Hedges and wife, Nan(?) Gudgeon
  • 14. Reuben Moon, Louisa Moon, Jeptha Moon, Osie Moon
  • 15. (illegible) Moore(?); 3 missing photos.
  • 16. Four missing photos
  • 17. Emma (Moore?), Mr. and Mrs. George Irwin, Carrie Denham, Kate Davis
  • 18. Oliver Gudgeon, oldest half-brother, and wife Mary, Sylvester Moon and wife
  • 19. Mina Hopper Desoden, Mary Wolf, Dalton Hudson, Mattie Hudson
  • 20. (illegible) Morgan
  • 21. Marion Moore and wife, Mary Moore, Cornelius Douglas, Phoebe Douglas
  • 22. Mary Hunt, Ralph Moon as baby, Maude(?) Moon as child.
  • 23. Ralph Moon, Vernon Moon, Ernest Moon.
  • 24. Lizzie White, Tiny L (illegible), Karl Moon, Vernon Moon
  • 25. Mrs. Gelsong(?), Japanese. [Photo of Japanese woman.]
  • 26. W. Wolf
  • 27. Amanda Wolf
  • 28. George Gudgeon
  • 29. Mary Phelps
  • 30. Clinton Gudgeon (Will's son)
  • 31. Netta Moore
  • 32. "'Baker girls"' [Group photo of six young women.]
  • 33. Osie Moon
  • 34. Mary Ann (Baxter) Moon. (Grandma Moon)
  • 35. Aunt Mary Gudgeon
  • 36. Ethel Gudgeon (brother George's baby)

Loose photos found in album:

  • 37. Rose Moon; Lima, Ohio
  • 38. Osie Moon. Photo by Van de Grift, Lima, Ohio
  • 39. Unidentified woman
  • 40. Unidentified man
  • 41. Unidentified man and child
  • 42. Memorial card for Mary E. Gudgeon, died December 4, 1894.
  • 43. Moon brothers and sister (except William, who died): Jeptha, Lydia, Reuben, Lawson, Marion, Sylvester, Darius, Milton
Box 5

Journals and ephemera

Scope and Content Note

Five handwritten journals that all appear to be by Lucy Brunetta Moon (Carl Moon's mother) and two other items.
Box 5, Volume 3

Bound journal labeled in ink "'1903. Karl Moon Gen. History."'

Scope and Content Note

Many handwritten pages on daily activities. Starts with a few school essays, perhaps by Karl; the remainder seems to be a diary by Lucy Brunetta Moon. Entries at back mention Karl and first wife, Bessie.
Box 5, Volume 4

Daily Reminder 1917.

Scope and Content Note

Many diary entries on daily activities. Signed by Lucy Brunetta Moon at back.
Box 5, Volume 5

"'1918"' Diary.

Scope and Content Note

Many diary entries on 1918 activities.
Box 5, Volume 6

Physician's Daily Visiting List and Record, 1922.

Scope and Content Note

Diary entries on 1922 activities.
Box 5, Volume 7

Diary 1924.

Scope and Content Note

Many diary entries on 1924 activities.
Box 5, Volume 8

Publicity folio for "'Hotel El Tovar, on the rim of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, Management of Fred Harvey."'

Scope and Content Note

Text and photographs. Copyright 1909.
Box 5, Folder 1

One copy of "'The Century"' magazine, Oct. 1907, with four photographs of Southwest Indians by Karl Moon.