Finding aid of the Lottie L. Tillotson Collection

Harold Christianson, Sharon Johnson, Tracy Brown
Autry Library
Autry National Center of the American West
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (323) 667-2000 ext. 383
Email: cmiller@autrynationalcenter.org
URL: http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/institute.php/
© 2008
Autry National Center of the American West. All rights reserved.

Finding aid of the Lottie L. Tillotson Collection

Collection number: 90.253.4125

Autry Library

Autry National Center of the American West

Los Angeles, California
Processed by:
Harold Christianson, Sharon Johnson, Tracy Brown
Date Completed:
January 2002
Encoded by:
Cheryl Miller
© 2008 Autry National Center of the American West. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Dates: 1850-1916
Bulk Dates: 1896-1903
Collection number: 90.253.4125
Creator: Tillotson, Lottie L.
Collection Size: 8.75 linear feet
Repository: Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Abstract: The Lottie L. Tillotson collection contains material that Tillotson collected on her travels throughout the American West between 1896 and 1903.
Physical location: Autry Library, Los Angeles, Calif.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/research_application.php or contact library staff at (323) 667-2000.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Library, Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Item identification] , 90.253.4125. Autry Library, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA

Acquisition Information

Rosenstock Collection of Western Americana.

Biography / Administrative History

Little is known about Lottie Tillotson. What is known about her can only be guessed based on the material in the collection, since she left no diary or other information about herself behind. She was clearly an educated woman of some means, for she made trips of long duration and to many destinations over a period of about seven years (1896-1903). She visited no fewer than 21 states; she even ventured to the Klondyke in 1902. She was most likely single, for no husband or family members appear in any of the photographs. She did have traveling companions, however, who can be seen in some of the photos that were most likely taken by Tilltoson herself. There is one photograph of Tillotson at Eagle Rock in the Petrified Forest in Arizona (see Arizona photographs).

Scope and Content of Collection

The Lottie L. Tillotson collection contains material that Tillotson collected on her travels throughout the American West between 1896 and 1903. The collection contains a few hundred stereocards and photographs, as well as travel brochures, magazines, books and viewbooks from the places she visited. Each piece is inscribed with her name, and the date that she visited the location. Most of the images in the collection come from California, Wyoming, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, North and South Dakota and Washington. Yellowstone Park, Yosemite, and the Indians of the Southwest seem to have been among Tillotsons favorite topics.
The collection is broken down into five series: monographs (viewbooks, promotional material, books), photographs (boxes 4-10), postcards (box 10), serials (magazines and journals; box 11) and stereocards (boxes 12-13). The photographs and stereocards comprise the bulk of the collection. There are 446 photographs, plus an album containing 24 more photographs; 361 stereocards; 64 monographs; and 55 magazines and journals covering six different titles. The postcard series is quite small; there are three individual postcards as well as one mailer containing 22 views from Salt Lake City.

Arrangement

Organized into five series: mongraphs, photographs, postcards, serials and stereocards.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Tillotson, Lottie L.
Women travelers -- West (U.S.)
Tourism -- West (U.S.)
Resorts -- West (U.S.)
West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Photographs
Viewbooks
Postcards
Stereographs