Includes formal portrait photographs and snapshots of Walter S. Johnson; his family, friends and other associates; and events pertaining to his business and philanthropic pursuits. Also includes photograph albums pertaining to Johnson's early career as a lawyer and partner in the Stockton Box Corporation; to his leadership of the American Box Corporation; and to the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Some material depicts logging, lumbering and other aspects of wooden box manufacturing. Also includes other photographs depicting P.P.I.E. and the Palace of Fine Arts, as well as portraits of architect Bernard Maybeck. Ambrotype depicts Alfred A. Johnson, father of Walter S. Johnson.

Walter S. Johnson (1884-1978) was a businessman and philanthropist based in San Francisco, California. An early partner in the Stockton Box Corporation, he helped to develop the company into the American Box Corporation, which later became the American Forest Products Corporation. He also helped establish the Friden Calculuating Machine Company (Friden, Inc.). In 1959 Johnson donated $2 million for the preservation of the Palace of Fine Arts, and continued to support the Palace financially for the rest of his life. In tribute, the city named the surrounding grounds the Walter S. Johnson Park. In 1968 Johnson established the Walter S. Johnson Foundation to support his various philanthropic interests.

3 boxes, 3 oversize folers, 3 albums (circa 1,100 photographic prints, including 2 tintypes), 4 framed photographs, 67 negatives and 1 cased photograph : b&w and color ; 53 x 43 cm or smaller.

NITRATE NEGATIVES CLOSED TO RESEARCH DUE TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESTRICTIONS.