Collection Guide
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Guide to the Edward T. and Marion R. Parsons photographs FIC.2020.001
FIC.2020.001
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
William E. Colby Memorial Library
Title: Edward T. and Marion R. Parsons photographs
Creator:
Parsons, Edward Taylor, 1861-1914
Creator:
Parsons, Marion Randall, 1878-1953
Identifier/Call Number: FIC.2020.001
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/2/resources/53
Physical Description:
8 Linear Feet
in 3 manuscript boxes, 2 bound albums, and 6 other non-oversize boxes
Date (inclusive): 1900-1920
Abstract: The Edward T. and Marion R. Parsons Photographs (1900-1920) is composed of approximately 2000 images – both film and prints
-- housed within 9 boxes and 2 albums. Images document the travels of Edward and Marion Randall Parsons, who were early Sierra
Club members, primarily through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range in the early 1900s. Images document the first Sierra Club
outing trips as well as trips with the Mazamas group to the Pacific Northwest, travels to Hawai'i and the Grand Canyon, and
images from Marion's service as a Red Cross member in France around WWI. Additionally, the collection contains images of the
San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of California, including Berkeley, San Francisco, and Monterey.
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is divided into six series, two of which have been further arranged into subseries. Both Series I and Series
II are arranged chronologically by year, and each subseries therein is arranged consecutively by image number with unnumbered
images at the end. Series III, Series IV, and Series V are arranged consecutively by image number, with unnumbered images
at the end. Series VI contains no images; it consists of many of the original film envelopes with hand-written notations,
likely made by Edward Parsons. The series and subseries arrangement of the records is as follows:
SERIES I: Sierra Club Outings, 1900-1904, 1907-1915;
SUBSERIES I.A: Yosemite, 1900;
SUBSERIES I.B: First Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows, 1901;
SUBSERIES I.C: Second Sierra Club Outing, Kings River Canyon, 1902;
SUBSERIES I.D: Third Sierra Club Outing, Kern River Canyon, 1903;
SUBSERIES I.E: Fourth Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows and Hetch Hetchy, 1904;
SUBSERIES I.F: Seventh Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Merced and Tuolumne Canyons and Hetch Hetchy, 1907;
SUBSERIES I.G: Eighth Sierra Club Outing, Kern River Canyon, Mts. Whitney, Williamson and Tyndall, Kaweah Peaks, 1908;
SUBSERIES I.H: Ninth Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Mts. Ritter, Lyell, and Dana, Hetch Hetchy Valley, 1909;
SUBSERIES I.I: Tenth Sierra Club Outing, Kings River Canyon, 1910;
SUBSERIES I.J: Eleventh Sierra Club Outing, Little Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Tuolumne Canyon, 1911;
SUBSERIES I.K: Twelfth Sierra Club Outing, Kern Canyon and Mt. Whitney, 1912;
SUBSERIES I.L: Thirteenth Sierra Club Outing, The Mountaineers (Seattle) Joint Trip with Appalachian Mountain Club, Mazamas,
and Sierra Club - Olympic range, Washington, 1913;
SUBSERIES I.M: Fourteenth Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Mts. Ritter, Lyell, and Dana, Hetch Hetchy Valley,
1914;
SUBSERIES I.N: Fifteenth Sierra Club Outing, Yosemite, Tuolumne Meadows, Mts. Lyell, Dana, Conness, Ritter, 1915
SERIES II: Mazamas Outings, 1908, 1910-1911;
SUBSERIES II.A: Mazamas Outing, Mt. St. Helens and Spirit Lake, August 1908;
SUBSERIES II.B: Mazamas Outing, The Three Sisters, Oregon, 1910;
SUBSERIES II.C: Mazamas Outing, Glacier Peak and Lake Chelan, 1911
SERIES III: Hawai'i Trips, 1907-1908
SERIES IV: Parsons' Berkeley Home, circa 1900-1920
SERIES V: Various Other Locations, circa 1900-1920
SERIES VI: Original Photograph Envelopes, circa 1900-1915
Unless otherwise indicated, all images are described according to their original image number at the item level. In a few
instances, multiple images are gathered in one folder or envelope and are described at the file level; these folders/envelopes
are included at the end of each series or sub-series as "Various." Many image numbers are repeated by the photographer(s)
throughout different years, but none repeat within the same year.
Every attempt has been made to maintain the original image numbers, titles, and dates. However, if an image did not have a
number assigned by the photographer or that number is unknown, it is labeled "unnumbered." If an unnumbered image once included
a cellulose silver nitrate film negative and is now represented by a digital object, "unnumbered" is followed by "[#nn]" for
"no number" along with a number assigned by the archivist in consecutive order, such as #nn01, #nn02, #nn03, etc. (which corresponds
to the digital object file name). In cases where an image has no original title, a descriptive title has been added in brackets
by the archivist. Unnumbered images reside at the end of each series.
Edward Taylor Parsons (March 14, 1861 – May 22, 1914) and Marion Randall Parsons (December 14, 1878 – July 17, 1953) were
early members of the Sierra Club and attended the Club's earliest outings. They met in 1903 on the third Sierra Club Outing
to Kern River Canyon and married four years later.
Born in 1861, Edward Parsons received a degree from the University of Rochester in 1886 and became one of the first salesmen
for the Sherwin-Williams Company. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, Edward was active in outings clubs in the Pacific Northwest.
When he learned about the Sierra Club after settling in San Francisco around 1900, he told Club member William Colby about
the outings conducted by the Mazamas group. Colby was impressed and proposed to the Sierra Club Board of Directors that the
Club conduct similar outings. Edward subsequently assisted Colby in establishing the Sierra Club's outings program, with the
first one held in 1901. He served as the Sierra Club's outing assistant and as the Sierra Club's High Trip photographer from
1901 until his death in 1914.
Marion Randall was born in San Francisco in 1878. In 1902, her family moved from Piedmont, California to Berkeley where she
met John Muir's daughter, Wanda Muir, leading to a lifelong involvement in the Sierra Club. Her first Sierra Club outing was
its third, held in 1903, where she met Edward. The two married in 1907 and traveled to numerous locations together – including
Hawai'i and the Grand Canyon – in addition to those locations travelled to on Sierra Club High Trips. Edward and Marion also
participated in and photographed numerous outings trips with the Mazamas group as well as joint trips with the Mountaineers,
Appalachian Mountain Club, Mazamas, and the Sierra Club.
Edward died in May of 1914 after a short illness. At the time of his death, he was a member of the Sierra Club Board of Directors.
Marion was elected to take his place and continued on the board until resigning in 1936, serving as the Sierra Club's first
female board member. She was also an Honorary Vice-President and served on the Editorial Board of the
Sierra Club Bulletin continuously from 1911 until her death in 1953, contributing 17 articles and many reviews in the course of that time. In
addition to being on the board, Marion continued practicing photography and documented additional Sierra Club outings as well
as travels to Europe in the Civilian Relief Branch of the American Red Cross. She was also an accomplished writer, contributing
many articles on her mountaineering experiences to publications like
Sunset and
Out West. Additionally, she worked with John Muir on
Travels in Alaska, preparing it for publication after his death. As a visual artist, she also exhibited many of her sketches and paintings
toward the later part of her life.
Both Edward and Marion participated in the production of the
Sierra Club Bulletin, contributing articles and images. Characteristics of Edward Parsons's visual work are his panoramic photographs – many of
which are included in this collection – that were instrumental in the preservation of national parks and forests. His images
also contributed to the promotion of the Sierra Club's outings program, which still continues today.
Repository permission is required for access. Please contact the Colby Library, colby.library@sierraclub.org, 415-977-5506.
Sierra Club has no information about copyright ownership for this collection, and is not authorized to grant permission to
publish or reproduce it. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of the collection. Unpublished works are
expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation.
A number of the images in this collection are published in early editions of the
Sierra Club Bulletin and are in the public domain. For a list of these images, please contact the Colby Library directly.
Although the date of donation and donor information were not documented, the collection was likely given to the Sierra Club
in the 1950s by Marion's sister, Mary Randall, who died in 1958 and was the executor of Marion's estate. In Edward's Last
Will and Testament, it is stated that all his property be transferred to Marion upon his death (1914). Marion's property was
subsequently transferred to her sister Mary upon her death (1953). In the September 1958 issue of the
Sierra Club Bulletin, an article titled "Club Receives Generous Bequest" states, "In his will leaving his estate to his wife Marion, Edward Taylor
Parsons expressed the wish that the bulk of the estate should eventually go to the Sierra Club, and in her own will she gladly
carried out this wish."
It is unknown how many images and formats this collection originally contained at the time of donation to the Sierra Club.
The collection was likely split between the Sierra Club and the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley
in the 1950s, as generally referenced in several documents, but the details around this are unclear.
The oldest film formats in this collection are the cellulose silver nitrate negatives (bulk of collection) and silver gelatin
prints. In 1983, a selection of around 300 silver nitrate negatives were transferred to interpositive film from which safety
film and contact prints were produced. From those, a sampling of reference prints was created and arranged in albums (Album
1 and Album 2) and made available for purchase through the Colby Library. All image formats are recorded in the finding aid's
container list under the original image number and creation year. In 2019 and 2022, the entire collection of cellulose silver
nitrate film was digitized and subsequently destroyed for safety reasons.
Existence and Location of Copies
Edward T. Parsons photographs also available online:
https://sierraclub.canto.com/v/colbylibrary/album/Q3OJC?viewIndex=0&display=fitView
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials found in collection; there is no documentation concerning the provenance of these materials.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Original nitrate negatives have been removed from collection. Use electronic surrogate access files, when applicable.
Identification of item, date; Edward T. and Marion R. Parsons photographs; FIC-2020-001; box number; folder number or item
identifier; William E. Colby Memorial Library, Sierra Club.
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 have not been recorded.
However, at an unknown date, materials were housed in acid-free envelopes, folders, and boxes, and original image numbers
and titles were transcribed onto negative envelopes and print folders (with additional titles to print folders added in 2022).
Many of the original cellulose silver nitrate film negatives were reproduced as prints, inter-positives, and safety film in
the 1980s, as part of a photographic preservation grant (items were likely re-housed into acid-free envelopes/folders/boxes
at this time, although there is no specific documentation stating this). In 2019 and 2022, all cellulose silver nitrate film
negatives were digitized and destroyed for safety reasons.
Many of the images are represented in multiple formats and are arranged physically according to format: boxes 1, 2, and 3
contain interpositive film; boxes 4, 5, and 6 contain safety film; boxes 7, 8, and 9 contain prints and safety film; and albums
1 and 2 contain prints. All cellulose silver nitrate film negatives were removed from the collection and are represented as
digital objects in this finding aid.
Two related collections documenting the photography of Edward and Marion Randall Parsons are held at Bancroft Library:
1. Photographs from the Marion Randall Parsons papers [graphic] - BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC (Album);
BANC PIC 1956.009--AX;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC A.Box 1;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC Carton 2;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC NEG.Box 1;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC NEG.Box 2;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC NEG.Box 3;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC NEG.Box 4;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC NEG.Box 5;
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC
BANC PIC 1956.009--PIC
2. Sierra Club pictorial collections - (call number varies)
A related collection is also held at the Huntington Library:
1. Parsons Family Papers - mssParsons
The Edward T. and Marion R. Parsons photographs (1900-1920) is composed of approximately 2000 images – both film and prints
-- housed within 9 boxes and 2 albums. Most images have a corresponding image number and title assigned by the original photographer,
Edward Parsons, or by his wife, Marion Parsons, who continued Edward's photography after his death in 1914. Although the date
of donation and donor information were not documented, the collection was likely given to the Sierra Club in the 1950s by
Marion's sister, Mary Randall, who was executive of Marion's estate. The collection has been partially inventoried and re-housed
several times, with attempts in the 1980s to convert some of the original cellulose silver nitrate film negatives into acetate
safety film and reference prints. Consequently, the collection often holds multiple photographic formats of the same image.
Photographic images document the Parsons' trips with the Sierra Club, of which Edward was the official High Trip photographer
until his death in 1914. Images also reflect the Sierra Club's partnership with Mazamas, a mountaineering organization out
of Washington State founded the same year as the Sierra Club in 1892. Additional images in the collection document the Parsons'
travels to Hawai'i (where Edward frequented for business), Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, as well as numerous unidentified
locations on the west coast of the United States. Also included are images of the Parsons' home in Berkeley, California as
well as images of San Francisco and Monterey. Marion continued Edward's photography practice after his death in 1914, and
it is very likely that images dated from or after that year were created by her. Images created prior to 1914 were created
primarily by Edward.
Many of the images in this collection are represented in multiple formats. Originally, images were created on cellulose silver
nitrate film, a common format during that time. However, due to the hazardous nature of this material, a sampling of these
cellulose silver nitrate film negatives were converted in the 1980s to interpositives, acetate safety film, and prints. All
the cellulose silver nitrate film negatives were digitized and safely disposed of in 2019 and 2022 by the digitizing vendor,
at the direction Colby Library staff. As the cellulose silver nitrate film negatives are no longer part of the collection,
they are represented in the finding aid as digital objects. For more information about the original cellulose silver nitrate
film negatives, please contact the Colby Library staff.
Nitrate negatives have been removed from collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Camping
High Trip outings
Landscape photography
Mountaineering
National parks and reserves
Outdoor photography
Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)
Cascade Range
Oahu (Hawaii)
Sierra Club
- Collection Overview
-
Collection Details
- Arrangement
- Biographical Note
- Conditions Governing Access
- Conditions Governing Use
- Custodial History
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
- Preferred Citation
- Processing Information
- Related Materials
- Scope and Contents
- Separated Materials