Fowler Brothers papers

Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-3477
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2017
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Descriptive Summary

Title: Fowler Brothers papers
Inclusive Dates: 1880-2014
Collection Number: mssFowler
Creator: Fowler Brothers (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Extent: 464 items in 12 boxes
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-3477
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection includes material related to the history of the Fowler Brothers bookstore in Los Angeles and the Fowler and Lindstrom families of South Pasadena, California.
Language of Material: The records are in English.

Administration Information

Access

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

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 permission rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Fowler Brothers papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Margaret Lindstrom, Siegfried Fowler Lindstrom and John William Lindstrom, November 2014.

Biography

Fowler Brothers bookstore was the oldest family-owned bookstore in Los Angeles, in operation from 1888 to 1994, when it closed due to new, large chain bookstores and subway construction that disrupted shopping downtown. It began initially as a church and Sunday school supply house, but became a book and stationery store that survived six different downtown locations. The store was founded by brothers J. W. Fowler and Robert A. Fowler of South Pasadena, California. When the bookstore closed, Siegfried F. Lindstrom, grandson of J. W. Fowler, and son of Ruth Fowler Lindstrom, was running the store.

Scope and Content

The Fowler Brothers papers contain material related to the history of the Fowler Brothers bookstore, including some records, ephemera, bookmarks, publications, photographs, and six scrapbooks that document the 106-year-old history of the bookstore. Also included is the store’s visitor book which includes signatures of several notable people including: artist Leo Politi, Ray Bradbury (who was a frequent visitor of the store, also he met his wife there), John Philip Sousa, Zane Grey, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charles Lindberg.
The collection also documents the history of the Fowler and Lindstrom families of South Pasadena, California. This material includes diaries and other writings by Ruth Fowler Lindstrom, as well as Warde Fowler’s experiences in World War I, multiple family members’ experiences in World War II, genealogy material on the Fowler, Young, and Lindstrom families, and over 130 family photographs. Some of the material includes notes written by Margaret Lindstrom, wife of Siegfried F. Lindstrom, and donor of the collection.

Arrangement

Organized in the following manner: Manuscripts and Correspondence (Boxes 1-4); Scrapbooks (Boxes 5-10); Ephemera and Photographs (Boxes 11-12).

Indexing Terms

Personal Names

Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012
Fowler, J. W.
Fowler, Robert A.
Lindstrom, Ruth Fowler
Politi, Leo, 1908-1996

Corporate Names

Dawson’s Book Shop
Fowler Brothers (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Subjects

Booksellers and bookselling -- California -- Los Angeles
Bookstores -- California -- Los Angeles
Prisoners of war -- Japan
Women -- California
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese

Geographic Areas

Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

Genre

Diaries -- California -- 20th century
Ephemera -- California -- 19th century
Ephemera -- California -- 20th century
Genealogies (histories) -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- California -- 20th century
Photographs -- California -- 20th century
Scrapbooks -- California -- 20th century
Scrapbooks -- California -- 21st century


 

Manuscripts and Correspondence

Physical Description: Boxes 1-4
Box 1

Account of Ruth Fowler Lindstrom - Miscellaneous Material

Folder 1

Account of Ruth Fowler Lindstrom's Birth and Development (1899-1903)

2 items.
Folder 2

Cattron Family Genealogy (1883-2014)

28 items.
Folder 3

Doris Fowler Hoak (1882-2000)

5 items.
Folder 4

Fowler Brothers Finances (1980-1999)

5 items.
Folder 5

"His Service Book:" album re: William Warde Fowler (1918-2013)

12 items. With loose related items.
Folder 6

Letter to Ruth Fowler Lindstrom from Ed Ainsworth, Los Angeles Times (1942, July 29)

1 item.
Folder 7

Letters by Helen Fowler to J. W. Fowler and Agnese Fowler (1928)

11 items.
Folder 8

Letters by Siegfried F. Lindstrom and Margaret Lindstrom [undated]

2 items.
Folder 9

Letters to Helen Fowler Delos from "Louise" (1927)

4 items. Includes two photographs.
Folder 10

Letters to Robert A. Fowler (1916-1935)

14 items.
Folder 11

Letters to Siegfried F. Lindstrom (1986-1997)

7 items.
Folder 12

Letters to Siegfried F. Lindstrom and Margaret Lindstrom (1962-1996)

6 items.
Folder 13

Lindstrom Family (1918-2014)

55 items.
Folder 14

Miscellaneous Material Related to Fowler Brothers' 100th Anniversary (1988)

5 items.
Box 2

Notes on Fowler Brothers Store - Young and Fowler Family Genealogy

Folder 1

Horse Library - Christie's, etc. (1983-1986)

5 items
Folder 2

Christie's - Neelands (1990-1993)

100 items
Folder 3

Christie, Manson & Woods Horses Library (1983-1992)

45 items
Folder 4

Horse Library - Correspondence, 1989-1991 (1989-1991)

61 items
Folder 5

Horse Library - Correspondence, 1992 to 1994 (1992-1994)

41 items
Box 3

Ruth Fowler Lindstrom Diary (1938-1959)

Box 4

Fowler Brothers' Visitor Book (1919-1990)

 

Scrapbooks

Physical Description: Boxes 5-10
Box 5

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1890-1982)

Box 6

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1900-2001)

Box 7

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1918-2008)

Box 8

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1962-1988)

Box 9

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1963-2007)

Box 10

Fowler Brothers Scrapbook (1975-1994)

 

Ephemera and Photographs

Physical Description: Boxes 11-12
Box 11

Clippings - Miscellaneous Printed Material

Folder 1

Clippings (1910-2014)

7 items.
Folder 2

DVD: A Day in the Life of Fowler Brothers (1988)

1 item.
Folder 3

First Spanish Book (an early book from Fowler Brothers) (1884)

1 item. Fragile.
Folder 4

Fowler Brothers Bookmarks, etc. ([1975]-1988)

7 items.
Folder 5

Fowler Brothers Metal Printing Block [undated]

1 item.
Folder 6

Miscellaneous Printed Material (1929-1987)

3 items.
Box 12

Fowler Brothers Ephemera - Photographs

Folder 1

Fowler Brothers Ephemera

6 items.
Folder 2

Fowler Brothers Photographs

8 items.
Folder 3

Fowler Family Photographs

23 items.
Folder 4

Robert A. Fowler at Ranch Photographs

15 items.
Folder 5

Lindstrom Family Photographs

17 items.
Folder 6

Ruth Fowler Lindstrom Photographs

28 items.
Folder 7

Miscellaneous Photographs

43 items.