Finding aid prepared by Sue Luftschein.
The Huntington Library
August 02, 2006
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA
91108
Overview of the Collection
Repository:
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA
91108
Phone: 626-405-2180
Email: jwatts@huntington.org
Creator:
Parker, Harold A. (1878-1930)
Title: Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies
Dates: ca.1900-1930
Quantity: 1.67 linear feet, 4 boxes
Abstract: The Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies consists of 96 hand-colored lantern slides and
autochrome lantern slides, and 52 color transparencies, ca. 1900-1930, depicting, for the most part, unidentified houses,
landscapes, plants and gardens in and around Pasadena; the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena; aerial views, presumably of Pasadena;
mountain lakes and landscapes; desert landscapes and flora; the Grand Canyon, Pueblo ruins, and the Petrified Forest; unidentified
landscapes; and the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Identification: photLS 402
Language of Material: English
Biographical/Historical Note
Harold A. Parker (1878-1930) was born in Iowa and immigrated to Pasadena with his parents in 1892 at the age of 14. He became
interested in photography at an early age, and began working professionally in 1900. He opened his Pasadena studio in 1904
and operated it until his death in 1930 at the age of 52. Parker also operated a studio in the Tahoe Tavern at Lake Tahoe
between 1908 and 1910, where he produced a number of images of the Tavern, Lake Tahoe, and the surrounding areas. Parker
was noted for his photographs of California, especially his images of the California Missions and the Tournament of Roses
parades; he was also responsible for the earliest aerial images of Pasadena. A commercial photographer, Parker worked as a
contract photographer for the
Pasadena Star-News Tournament of Roses edition, and took pictures of civic and social organizations, local retailers, and private individuals
who commissioned him to record their gatherings, buildings, and various rites of passage.
After Parker's death in 1930, the studio was operated by his wife, Marjorie. Sometime in the 1930s, Dickson and Thurber Studios
purchased the business and operated it until shortly after World War II when it was subsequently purchased by Lee and Mac.
J. Allen Hawkins, who had worked for Parker as a teenager, purchased approximately 35,000 glass plates and negatives from
Lee and Mac and moved them to his studio on North Lake Avenue, Pasadena. They were stored there until construction began
for the 210 Freeway, when a large number were destroyed. Hawkins sold the remainder to a movie photographer who later gave
them to Donald Parker, Harold Parker's son.
Scope and Contents
The Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies consists of 96 hand-colored lantern slides and
autochrome lantern slides and 52 color transparencies (copies of earlier hand-colored photographs), ca. 1900-1930, depicting,
for the most part, unidentified houses, landscapes, plants and gardens in and around Pasadena; the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena;
aerial views, presumably of Pasadena; mountain lakes and landscapes; desert landscapes and flora; the Grand Canyon, Pueblo
ruins, and the Petrified Forest; unidentified landscapes; and the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Many of
the unidentified landscape images may depict Lake Tahoe and its environs.
The collection does not contain any of Parker's Tournament of Roses photographs.
It is not known whether Harold Parker traveled to San Francisco after the earthquake, and thus the attribution of the transparencies
is questionable.
Arrangement
The images are arranged first by format: lantern slides and autochromes followed by color transparencies. Arrangement is by
subject: identifiable images of Pasadena followed by images of mountain landscapes, desert landscapes, sites outside of California,
and unidentified and miscellaneous images.
Related Material
See also:
Identifier/Call Number: PhotCL 402,
Title:
Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Negatives, 1898-1949.
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 330,
Title:
J. Allen Hawkins Collection.
Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Places:
Huntington Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.)--Photographs.
Grand Canyon (Ariz.)--Photographs.
Pasadena (Calif.)--Photographs.
Petrified Forest National Park (Ariz.)--Photographs.
Subjects:
Architecture, Domestic--California--Pasadena--Photographs.
Bird's-eye views.
Desert plants--California--Photographs.
Deserts--Arizona--Photographs.
Deserts--California--Photographs.
Gardens--California--Photographs.
Gardens--California--Pasadena--Photographs.
Indians of North America--Antiquities--Photographs.
Lakes--Photographs.
Landscape--California--Photographs.
Mountain plants--Photographs.
Mountains--Photographs.
San Francisco Earthquake, Calif., 1906--Photographs.
Document Types:
Autochromes.
Color transparencies.
Lantern slides.
Restrictions on Access
Access is granted to qualified researchers and by appointment.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Photographs. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Huntington 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.
Preferred Citation
PhotLS 402, Harold A. Parker Studio Collection of Lantern Slides and Transparencies, ca. 1900-1930.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Roy Dickson, 1999.
Processing Information
The collection was numbered and rehoused by Sue Luftschein in August 2006. This finding aid was created by Sue Luftschein
in August 2006.
Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements
Arrangements for viewing the collection must be made with the Curator of Photographs.
Box 1, Item 1-12
Pasadena gardens and houses,
undated
Note
[Number 1 depicts the John Henry Meyer Residence, "Villa Alegre," 1021 Oak Grove Avenue, San Marino, California; Marston and
Van Pelt, architects; Paul G. Thiene, consulting landscape architect. Number 2 depicts the Charles S. Eaton Residence, 1161
Virginia Road, San Marino, California; Robert Farquhar, architect. Numbers 3 and 4 depict the garden of the Loring Residence,
700 South San Rafael, Pasadena; Myron Hunt, architect.]
Box 1, Item 13-17
Autochromes of Pasadena houses and gardens,
undated
Box 1, Item 18
Huntington Hotel,
undated
Box 1, Item 19-21
Aerial views of Pasadena taken from a balloon,
undated
Note
[Number 20, portrait of Harold Parker.]
Box 1, Item 23
Santa Barbara--Cross in the Cemetery,
undated
Note
[Original number 1265.]
Box 1, Item 24-32
Mountain lakes,
undated
Note
[Possibly Lake Tahoe.]
Box 2, Item 35-46
Mountain landscapes; Streams and rivers; Waterfalls; Mountain skies; Geyser,
undated
Box 2, Item 53-59
Desert landscapes and flora,
undated
Box 2, Item 60-63
Fields of wildflowers,
undated
Box 3, Item 82
Petrified Forest,
undated
Box 3, Item 83
Solar eclipse,
January 3, 1908
Box 3, Item 84-87
Unidentified gardens and plants,
undated
Box 3, Item 88-92
Miscellaneous landscapes,
undated
Box 4, Item 95-147
San Francisco Earthquake,
1906
