Finding Aid to the James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family papers and photographs, 1867-2003, bulk 1910-1985
Finding Aid written by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life staff
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family papers and photographs, 1867-2003, bulk 1910-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2010/607
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Finding Aid Written By:
- The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life staff
- Date Completed:
-
May 2011
© 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family papers and photographs
Date (inclusive): 1867-2003,
Date (bulk): bulk 1910-1985
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2010/607
Creators:
Gerstley, James M.
Gerstley, Elizabeth Lilienthal
Extent:
Number of containers: 11 cartons, 13 oversize boxes, and 4 oversize folders
Linear feet: 17.2
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The collection consists of the papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and photo albums of the family of James Mack and Elizabeth
Lilienthal Gerstley. The family papers include some correspondence, a small amount of material from James Mack Gerstley's
tenure at Borax, and historical/ biographical materials about the Gerstley and Mack families. There are a few autograph albums
and scrapbooks in the collection as well. The bulk of the collection is made up of photographs and photo albums documenting
the history of the Gerstley, Mack, Lilienthal, and Sloss families as well as the travels and milestones of James Mack and
Elizabeth Gerstley and their children.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head
of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright
owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition,
the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor
restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public
domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively
with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family papers, BANC MSS 2010/607, The Magnes Collection
of Jewish Art and Life, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Gerstley, James Mack, 1907-2007--Archives
Gerstley, Elizabeth, 1913-2007
Gerstley family
Gerstle family
Mack family
Lilienthal family
Sloss family
Borax Consolidated, ltd
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Avery Brundage Collection
Gerstley, Elizabeth, 1913-2007
Judah L. Magnes Museum. 2009.5
Bancroft Library. Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family papers were gifted to the Bancroft Library by the Judah L. Magnes
Museum in 2010.
Accruals
No future additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life staff in 2011.
Biographical Information
James Mack Gerstley (1907-2007) was born in London to James Gerstley and Adele Mack. The Gerstle(y) family can be traced to
Ichenhausen, Germany, where the oldest identifiable ancestor appears to be Abraham Gerstle (1740-1796). Abraham's son, Isak
Michael Gerstle (1787-1851) married Sara Sofie Weil and had seven children: Abraham, Karoline, Sophie, Handele, Löb, Jette,
and Moritz. Löb Gerstle eventually moved to San Francisco, changed his name to Lewis, and became the patriarch of the Bay
Area branch of the Gerstle family. Lewis married Hannah Greenebaum in 1858 and played key roles in several successful business
enterprises, including the Alaska Commercial Company. Moritz, Lewis' brother, moved to London, where he changed his first
name to Maurice and his last name to Gerstley. Maurice was a successful "fancy goods" wholesaler until his death in 1900.
Maurice and his wife Paulina (Cohn) had four children: Sophia, Frederick Julius, James, and Louisa Paulina. James, born in
1867 (died 1955), was to be the last of the English Gerstleys. James Gerstley Sr. worked for Redwood and Sons, a chemical
firm specializing in food preservatives. Borax or boron was an important ingredient in their enterprise. In 1895, Lewis Gerstle
of San Francisco arranged a meeting with Redwood and Sons and a Bay Area company called Pacific Coast Borax. This meeting
led to a merger between the companies. In 1904, James Gerstley Sr. married Adele Hannah Mack, a granddaughter of Lewis Gerstle.
The company merger and the marriage cemented the links between the San Francisco and London branches of the family.
The Mack family originates in Reckendorf, Bavaria. Abraham Mack (1775-1857) and his wife Luala (1777-1831) had a son named
Lawrence in 1819. Lawrence immigrated to New York in 1836. There he met and married Miriam Massenbacher in 1849 and together
they had nine children. In 1880, Lawrence and Miriam and most of their children moved to San Francisco. One of the Mack children,
Adolph, married Clara Gerstle (born in Sacramento to Lewis and Hannah Gerstle in 1861). Adolph and Clara were the parents
of Edith Miriam (1883-1963), Harold Lewis (b. 1884), and Adele Mack (b. 1886-1973).
James Mack Gerstley, son of James Gerstley Sr. and Adele Mack, grew up in London and attended Cambridge University. He came
to San Francisco in 1929 and worked initially for the Great Western Electric Company. Shortly after arriving in the Bay Area,
Gerstley met Elizabeth Lilienthal (1913-2007), daughter of Samuel Lilienthal and Alice Haas (both from prominent California
Jewish families). Elizabeth was raised in San Francisco and spent her young life in the Haas-Lilienthal House on Franklin
Street. She attended the Burke School, Stanford University and Smith College. James Mack Gerstley and Elizabeth Lilienthal
married at the home of Madeleine Russell in Atherton in 1934. In the mid-1930s, James Mack Gerstley started working for the
Pacific Borax Company in Los Angeles. By 1950, he had become president of the company, which later became known as U.S. Borax
and Chemical Co. The company was cemented in the popular imagination by its 20-mule team, which became an icon of the American
West. James Mack and Elizabeth had two children, Ann and Jimmy (James). Gerstley was also an active philanthropist in the
Bay Area, working particularly on local arts and culture. He was one of the co-founders of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
and was instrumental in securing for the new museum the Avery Brundage collection. Elizabeth was also an active philanthropist.
James and Elizabeth both died in 2007 at the respective ages of 99 and 94.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of family papers, scrapbooks, photographs, and photo albums. The family papers include some correspondence,
a small amount of material from James Mack Gerstley's tenure at Borax, and historical/ biographical materials about the Gerstley
and Mack families. There are a few autograph albums and scrapbooks in the collection as well. The bulk of the collection is
made up of photographs and photo albums documenting the history of the Gerstley, Mack, Lilienthal, and Sloss families as well
as the travels and milestones of James Mack and Elizabeth Gerstley and their children.
Series 1
General family papers,
1890-2005
Physical Description:
Cartons 1-2, Oversize Folders 2B and 3B
Carton 1, Folder 1-6
Family history and biography,
1940-1989
Oversize Folder 4B
Family trees (Mack family, Lilienthal family, Gerstle family),
undated
Carton 1, Folder 7
Family documents,
1907-1942
Carton 1, Folder 8
Lilienthal family materials,
1957-1993
Carton 1, Folder 9
Sloss family materials,
1958-1996
Carton 1, Folder 10
Menu and guest register, 25th anniversary of Bella Sloss and E.R. Lilienthal,
1901
Carton 1, Folder 11
Letter to Alice Haas from "Harry",
1904
Carton 1, Folder 12
Invitations to wedding of Alice Haas and Samuel Lilienthal,
1909
Carton 1, Folder 13
Alice Haas' wedding memory book,
1909
Carton 1, Folder 14-15
J.M. Gerstley General Correspondence,
1940-2005
Carton 1, Folder 16-17
Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley Correspondence and personal papers,
1920-1996
Carton 1, Folder 18
J.M. Gerstley Birthday binder,
undated
Carton 1, Folder 19-20
J.M. Gerstley and E.L. Gerstley 60th wedding anniversary,
1994
Carton 1, Folder 21
Family reunions,
1957-1992
Carton 1, Folder 22
E.L. Gerstley's address book and autograph book,
1920-1950
Carton 2, Folder 1
Alice Haas' autograph book,
circa 1890
Carton 2, Folder 2
E.L. Gerstley gifts and givers book,
undated
Carton 2, Folder 3
Adele Mack Gerstley memorial book,
1986
Carton 2, Folder 4-6
Poems, skits for family events,
1940-1990
Carton 2, Folder 7-8
Borax materials,
1940-1985
Carton 2, Folder 9-10
J.M. Gerstley Asian Art Commission materials,
1970-2002
Carton 2, Folder 11
J.M. Gerstley, correspondence with Avery Brundage,
1958-1967
Carton 2, Folder 12
Asian Art Commission Handbook,
1987
Carton 2, Folder 13
J.M. Gerstley Asian Art Commission cards for 90th birthday,
undated
Carton 2, Folder 14, Oversize Folder 3B
J.M. Gerstley resolutions and commendations,
1973-1997
Carton 2, Folder 15
Edgar Walter sketch,
1891
Carton 2, Folder 17-18, Oversize Folder 2B
Gerstley family miscellaneous,
undated
Series 2
Loose Photographs,
circa 1880-2005
Physical Description:
Carton 3, Oversize Box 1, and Oversize Folder 1A
Scope and Content Note
Alice Haas and Samuel Lilienthal family; Mack and Gerstley family; early Gerstley family photos; Sloss-Lilienthal family;
"Beaulieu Gerstley"-Jim and Adele; James Mack and Elizabeth Lilienthal Gerstley family; Ann and Jimmy Gerstley; Debbie Fulmer
and family; James Mack Gerstley Borax photos; Miscellaneous.
Carton 3
Loose photographs,
1880-2005
Oversize Box 1
Oversize loose photographs,
Circa 1910-1980
Oversize Folder 1A
Oversize loose photographs: Elizabeth Lilienthal wedding photos,
1934
Series 3
Photo Albums and Scrapbooks,
1904-2000
Physical Description:
Cartons 4-11 and Oversize Boxes 2-12
Oversize Box 11
Adele Mack and James Gerstley, Sr. scrapbook of telegrams on occasion of engagement and wedding,
1904
Oversize Box 2
Alice Haas and Samuel Lilienthal honeymoon in Honolulu,
1909
Oversize Box 7
Alice Haas Lilienthal's photo album with childhood pictures of Elizabeth and Ernest,
1910-1920
Oversize Box 5
Adele Mack's photo album from the Hospital of Officers, London,
1917
Oversize Box 4
Elizabeth Lilienthal's photo album,
1920s
Oversize Box 5
Elizabeth Lilienthal's postcard album,
1920-1930
Oversize Box 6
Elizabeth Lilienthal's memory book,
1931-1934
Oversize Box 3
Gerstley family photo albums,
1930-1950
Oversize Box 8
Gerstley family photo album,
1930-1940
Oversize Box 9
Gerstley family photo album, Europe,
1939
Carton 4
Gerstley family photo albums,
1952,
1954,
1957,
1958,
1962,
1969
Oversize Box 13
Gerstley family photo albums,
1964-1966
Carton 5
Gerstley family photo albums,
1966,
1970,
1973,
1977
Oversize Box 10
Gerstley family photo album,
1972
Oversize Box 12
Gerstley family photo albums,
1957,
1980
Carton 6
Gerstley family photo albums,
1970-1979
Carton 7
Gerstley family photo albums,
1970-1979
Oversize Box 13
Gerstley family photo albums,
1976-1980
Carton 8
Gerstley family photo albums,
1980-1989
Carton 9
Gerstley family photo albums,
1980-1989
Carton 10
Gerstley family photo albums,
1980-1989
Carton 11
Gerstley family photo albums,
1990-1999