Guide to the Herbert L. Minshall Papers MS 262

Finding aid prepared by Sandra Kirkwood
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
San Diego History Center Document Collection
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA, 92101
619-232-6203
January 8, 2013


Title: Herbert L. Minshall Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 262
Contributing Institution: San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 0.25 Linear feet (1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1929-1938
Abstract: The collection consists of examples of commercial projects as well as some original artwork by Herbert L. Minshall.
creator: Minshall, Herbert L., 1912-

Biographical / Historical Notes

Herbert L. Minshall was born on August 23, 1912, in Marietta, Ohio, and came to San Diego with his family two years later in 1914. Herbert grew up with a love of the natural world and developed an early interest in art and archaeology. After high school, he spent a few years working as a commercial artist, but then attended the California Maritime Academy, graduating as a third mate in the Merchant Marines. Minshall resumed his art career in the late 1930s and married Henrietta Rau in 1938. A few years later, he joined the U.S. Navy Reserves as a naval officer and served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II. After his service, Minshall attended San Diego State University and the University of Southern California, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in fine art, respectively. For more than 20 years, he taught art history, drawing, and painting at local San Diego colleges. Minshall retired in 1969 and spent the following decades pursuing his personal interests in human prehistory and painting. He considered himself a nonprofessional archaeologist and wrote many papers and books on the subject. Minshall’s books include Glimpse of the Sea (1970), Yonder and the Sea (1973), The Broken Stone (1976), Window on the Sea (1980), and Buchanan Canyon: Ancient Human Presence in the Americas (1989). He was also civically engaged, being a member of San Diego Art Guild, Audubon Society, and Ducks Unlimited, as well as a supporter of the San Diego Zoo. In 1982, Herbert’s wife Henrietta passed away, and in 1983, he married Mary Ladd Saul. Herbert L. Minshall passed away on September 23, 1991, at age 79.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

Preferred Citation

Herbert L. Minshall Papers, MS 262, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Sandra Kirkwood on January 8, 2013.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

Scope and Content

This collection is comprised of commercial projects by Herbert L. Minshall including advertisements, logos, programs, stationary, proofs, menus, magazine clippings, and posters. There are also examples of his original artwork of sketches and watercolors. Additionally, there is a high school yearbook, "The Grey Castle," from 1929.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged by subject.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number 2003.018.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Agua Caliente Turf Club.
Del Mar Turf Club.
Minshall, Herbert L., 1912-
New Paris Inn.
Red Sail Inn.
U.S. Grant Hotel (San Diego, Calif.).
United Polytechnical Institute.
Art
Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
Commercial art
Del Mar (Calif.)
Painting
San Diego (Calif.)
San Diego Poultry Journal
Box-folder 1:1

Trade Magazine Illustrations, 1938 and undated

Includes:

Horse and Plow
Santa Chicken
Ducks in Flight
Cow Jumping Over the Moon
Annual Meeting Notice, 1938
San Diego Poultry Journal, No. 339, June 10, 1938
San Diego Poultry Journal, No. 352, December 25, 1938
Eat Vitagold
Box-folder 1:2

Adverstisements, Logos, and Stationary, 1938 and undated

Includes:

United Polytechnical Institute Logo
Trailer Cities Ltd. Logo
Kosher Cosmetics Label, 1938
Golden Pack Prune Label
Ad for LeRoy Carroll and Son Engravers
Crofton Ranch Stationary
Drawing of Bellhop
The Fact-o-graph by Willis Werner
Knoxage Mountain Springwater
Ad for Dal’s and Dixon Silver
Five Pieces of Chinaware
Five Pieces of Dixon Silver
Ad for Universal Boot Shops
Ad for Del Monte Tomato Juice
Box-folder 1:3

Programs and Badges, 1938 and undated

Includes:

Agua Caliente Turf Club Badge, 1938
Agua Caliente Turf Club Press Badge #105, 1938
Del Mar Turf Club Official Program Proof
Chonita Program, 1938
Box-folder 1:4

Menus, 1938 and undated

Includes:

New Paris Inn
Red Sail Inn
Grant Hotel Coffee Shop, 1938 (in Oversize F4D1)
Box-folder 1:5

Posters, undated

Includes:

“Visit Your Zoo”, San Diego Zoo
“Ride… Park Bridle Paths”, Balboa Park Riding Academy (in Oversize F4D1)
“Deep Sea Fishing”, Star and Crescent Boat Company (in Oversize F4D1)
Box-folder 1:6

Original Artwork, 1932 and undated

Includes:

Sketch of a Three Gabled House
Portrait of a Lady
Watercolor of Two Duck Heads
Old Man with a Bucket
Watercolor of Capri, 1932 (in Oversize F4D1)
Box-folder 1:7

Miscellaneous Illustrations, undated

Includes:

Drawing of Three Females with Flowers and Fruit
Reduced facsimile of Three Females with Flowers and Fruit
Text block “Gulbransen Aristocrat”
Twelve Sporting Vignettes
Ten Comic Vignettes
Box-folder 1:8

"The Grey Castle" (high school yearbook), 1929