Description
Maynard L. Parker negatives, photographs, and other material consists
of 58,093 black-and-white negatives, color transparencies, black-and-white prints, and color
prints; 39 presentation albums; and 17 boxes of office records, 1930-1974. Created primarily by
Maynard Parker, the archive documents the residential and non-residential work of architects,
interior designers, landscape architects, artists, builders, real estate developers, and clients
associated with these fields, foremost among them the magazine
House
Beautiful
. Also included in the collection are photographs taken by other individuals,
such as architect Cliff May and Parker's assistant, Charles Yerkes.
Background
Maynard L. Parker (1900-1976), known sometimes as "Mike," was born and raised in Vermont.
Parker worked in New England at a variety of jobs, including office boy, machinist, and
gardener, before turning to photography as a profession. Parker traveled to California three
times in the 1920s, finally settling in Los Angeles in 1929. He and his wife, Annie, lived in
the Echo Park neighborhood, where Parker built a house on Lemoyne Street designed by a draftsman
in architect Richard Neutra's office. The New England saltbox-style house served as residence
and studio, as well as the backdrop for many of Parker's published photographs. Parker's
personal interests included archery, home renovation, and building furniture. [See photocopies
of Maynard and Annie Parker's journals, and interview transcript with Ann Carawan and Diane
Parker, February 14, 2008, in collection files].
Extent
231 boxes (150.01 linear feet)
Restrictions
Copyright for the photography of Maynard L. Parker has been assigned to the Huntington
Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108. All requests for permission to publish
photographs in any and all formats must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Photographs.
Availability
The collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader
Services Department. For more information, please visit the Huntington's website: www.huntington.org.