Descriptive Summary
Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Biography/Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Pictorial California Collection, ca. 1926-1970
Dates: 1926-1970
Collection Number: P-049
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 30 linear feet (Boxes: letter, legal, ov)
Repository:
Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Abstract: Photographs from the archives of Pictorial California magazine (later renamed Pictorial California and the Pacific). Bound
and loose issues of the magazine (1926-1970) are available (however there are issue gaps).
Language of Material: English
Access
Research is by appointment only
Publication Rights
Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder
Preferred Citation
Pictorial California Collection, ca. 1926-1970. Seaver Center for Western History Research, Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County
Biography/Administrative History
Pictorial California debuted in December 1925 by founder Eugene Swarzwald. The magazine was self-described as the first rotogravure
magazine with a 24-page picture book format. Volume 5, number 1, January 1930, appeared with a name change to Pictorial California
and the Pacific. The expanded geographic coverage included a new directory of hotels, resorts and other travel information
The magazine was later operated by Vivian Smith Swarzwald as Publisher and Editor through the issue of Volume 43, number 1
Winter 1968. A new incoming owner, William L. Lemons, published the next issue for the Spring of 1968 without introduction,
but the following issue, Volume 43, number 3, introduced the publication in color. For an additional biographical and historical
note, see a related collection at the Huntington Library, the Eugene Swarzwald "Pictorial California and the Pacific" Collection
of Photographs.
Scope and Content of Collection
Photographs from the archives of Pictorial California magazine (later renamed Pictorial California and the Pacific). Bound
and loose issues of the magazine (1926-1970) are available (however there are issue gaps). The magazine heavily promoted Los
Angeles and Southern California but also featured other places of interest throughout California and the Western United States.
Motion picture personalities and prominent individuals were also featured. Part of the collection is arranged by date and
issue number of the magazine (that is, where a photograph appeared in an issue); the balance is arranged by subject or motion
picture personalities.
