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Guide to the James Porteous Collection, 1877-1947, 1972
MSS #004  
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Table of contents What's This?

Series Description

 

Correspondence (1896-1923)

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged by date and includes personal correspondence (1900-1923), correspondence from Scotland (1896) and Fresno Agricultural Works (1897-1921).
 

Patent and Patent Rights (1882-1920)

Additional Note

Arranged by year and include patents for dirt scrapers, raisin stemmers, vineyard weed cutters, plows, raisin graders, fruit presses, rotary harrows, raisin and fig presses, combined plow and seeders, fruit graders, etc. File 41 holds patents held by other inventors (1881-1929). File 42 holds a few separate unidentified patent drawings.
 

Printed Material

Scope and Content Note

Includes Fresno Agricultural Works stationary, company calendars for 1941-1945, 1947, two company catalogs from c.1904 and 1906, a large catalog (assumed to be a salesman's) with photographs of equipment, a copy of Bill Porteous' yearbook for Fresno High School class of 1921, and newsclippings (1944-1976).
 

Financial Documents

Scope and Content Note

Includes various receipts and bills, including an accounting of taxes for 1880-1881, and a ledger book (1886)
 

Literary Productions

Scope and Content Note

Includes correspondence relating to the publishing of Death and the Reporter (1896-1916) indicating Porteous paid to have 1000 books published with proceeds to be donated to the Board of Foreign Missions. Several journals contain his handwritten manuscript of poetry. A paper entitled "Long Underwear," written by Agnes Porteous and a handwritten account of a person enduring the "London Blitz" is also included.
 

Legal Documents

Scope and Content Note

Include correspondence (1913-1927), mostly between Porteous and his patent attorneys, birth certificates, James Porteous' Letter of Intention/Naturalization, a partnership agreement between Tuttle and Porteous (1880-1881), documents relating to the formation of Knob Hill Oil Company, legal disputes related to rights involved with the Raisin Stemmer, a patent held by William Porteous (son of James Porteous), abstracts of title for land bounded by Tulare, Kern, L, and M streets (1870-1892).
 

Scrapbook and Scrapbook

Scope and Content Note

Materials consist of one scrapbook containing various clippings of actresses.
 

Photographs

Scope and Content Note

Include several photos of agricultural equipment, a photo of Fresno Agricultural Works parade float, a Fresno Agricultural Works promotional wagon, and numerous family photos.

Container List

 

Correspondence

Box Box 1, file 1

Personal incoming 1900-1923

file 2

Letters from Scotland 1886

file 3

Fresno Ag. Works Incoming 1897-1921

 

Patent/Patent rights

Box Box 1, file 4

1882

Scope and Content Note

Dirt Scraper
file 5

1883

Scope and Content Note

Dirt Scraper
file 6

1885

Scope and Content Note

Dusy/McCall Dirt
file 7

1885

Scope and Content Note

Hague Dirt Scraper
file 8

1887

Scope and Content Note

Raisin Stemmer
file 9

1887

Scope and Content Note

Vineyard Weed Cutter
file 10

1887

Scope and Content Note

Lissenden Dirt Scraper
file 11

1888

Scope and Content Note

Plow
file 12

1889

Scope and Content Note

Diedrich Transfer of Scraper Rights
file 13

1890

Scope and Content Note

Raisin Grader
file 14

1890

Scope and Content Note

Patent Transfers
file 15

1891

Scope and Content Note

Dusy Transfer of Rights
file 16

1891

Scope and Content Note

McCall Scraper
file 17

1891

Scope and Content Note

Smith/Hopkins scraper
file 18

1891

Scope and Content Note

Raisin/Fig Press
file 19

1893

Scope and Content Note

Scraper Agreement Cancellation
file 20

1894

Scope and Content Note

Raisin Grader
file 21

1895

Scope and Content Note

Presses for packing fruit-Denotovich
file 22

1896

Scope and Content Note

Combined Plow/seeder
file 23

1897

Scope and Content Note

Draft Connection
file 24

1898

Scope and Content Note

Orchard Plow
file 25

1899

Scope and Content Note

Fruit Grader rights
file 26

1900

Scope and Content Note

Wagon gear
file 27

1901

Scope and Content Note

Disk Harrow
file 28

1902

Scope and Content Note

Raisin Stemmer rights
file 29

1904

Scope and Content Note

Steam Generator
file 30

1909

Scope and Content Note

Brush Chopper
file 31

1910

Scope and Content Note

Adjustable Truck
file 32

1911

Scope and Content Note

Revolving Harrows
file 33

1911

Scope and Content Note

Raisin feeder/sorter
Box Box 2, file 34

1912

Scope and Content Note

Vineyard Plow
file 35

1913

Scope and Content Note

Raisin Stemmer
file 36

1914

Scope and Content Note

Tractor Wheels
file 37

1916

Scope and Content Note

Combination elbows
file 38

1917

Scope and Content Note

Vineyard disk plow
file 39

1920

Scope and Content Note

Non-leaking bearings
file 40

1920

Scope and Content Note

Scraper transfer of rts.
file 41

Patents held by others (1881-1929)

Scope and Content Note

various
file 42

Patent Drawings, n.d.

 

Printed Material

Box Box 3, file 43

Stationary

file 44

Calendars 1941, 1942

file 45

Calendars 1943, 1944

file 46

Calendars 1945, 1947

file 47

Catalogs c. 1904

Scope and Content Note

Catalog #6
file 48

Catalogs 1906

Scope and Content Note

Catalog #7
file 49

Newsclippings (1944-1976)

Scope and Content Note

various
 

Financial Documents

Box Box 3, file 50

Receipts/bills

Scope and Content Note

various
file 51

Taxes 1880-1881

 

Literary Productions

Box Box 3, file 52

Correspondence 1913-1927

file 53

Manuscripts n.d.

Scope and Content Note

Death and Reporter Sep. Sheet to Box 6
file 54

Manuscripts n.d.

Scope and Content Note

Long Underwear, London Blitz
file 55

Bills/Receipts 1913

 

Legal Documents

Box Box 3, file 56

Correspondence 1913-1927

file 57

Birth Certificates

file 58

Decl. of Intention/Naturalization 1877, 1879

file 59

Tuttle Porteous Prtnrshp 1800-1881

file 60

Knob Hill 1900-1909

file 61

General

file 62

Raisin Stemmer

file 63

Wm. Porteous Patent

 

Miscellaneous

Box Box 3, file 64

Prescription, landscape plan

 

Legal Documents

Box Box 4

General

 

Financial Docs

Box Box 5

1886

 

Lit Prod, Legal, and Printed Material

Box Box 6

General

 

Printed Material, Scrapbook

Box Box 7

General

 

Photographs

Box Photo Box 1, file 1

Fresno Agricultural Works Building

file 2

Man at drafting table Interior photos of showroom and shop

file 3

Interior of store, counter area

file 4

Interior of shop with 4 men

file 5

Interior of shop with 3 men

file 6

Interior of shop (1910)

file 7

Interior of showroom

file 8

Construction of Fresno Agricultural Works, courthouse and water tower in background

file 9

Fresno Scraper

file 10

Interior showroom, machinery

file 11

flat bed wagon, rubber tire buggy c.1890's

file 12

interior of showroom

file 13

G. A. Gordon's Combine harvester c.1907

file 14

machinery c.1898, machinery

file 15

Fresno Ag. Works parade float

file 16

8-horse drawn earth packer, harrows

file 17

harrows

file 18

Fresno Scraper (So. Methodist Church in background)

file 19

7 different photos of dirt-movers

file 20

Fresno Vineyard Disk

file 21

plows

file 22

Porteous Header, plow

file 23

parts

file 24

Fresno Sulfur duster, Exterior of Fresno Ag. Works, Tractor pulling machinery

file 25

oil well

file 26

misc. equip

file 27

Fresno Ag. Works staff photo and promotional wagon

file 28

motorized wood reducers

file 29

mechanized field equipment

file 30

3 wheel wagon

file 31

tree plow pulled by tractor

file 32

portrait of children, Bill, Agnes, Margaret and Mary

Box Photo Box 2, file 33

James Porteous

file 34

Jenny Ritchie Porteous

file 35

Jenny Porteous and Bill

file 36

Jenny Porteous

file 37

Margaret, James Jr., Agnes and Mary Porteous

file 38

Mary, Margaret, and Agnes Porteous

file 39

Mary, Bill, Margaret, Agnes, Jimmy Porteous

file 40

Agnes, Margaret, Mary Bill Porteous

file 41

Mary, Margaret, and Bill Porteous

file 42

Mary Porteous

file 43

Porteous children and Jenny

file 44

Porteous children and auto c.1910

file 45

Bell Ritchie with Bill and Mary Porteous

file 46

Porteous Children

file 47

Mary Porteous (baby)

file 48

Jenny and Mary Porteous

file 49

Mary, Bill, and Jenny Porteous

file 50

Mary, Bill and Jenny Porteous at the Cherry/Church Ranch

file 51

Agnes Porteous

file 52

Margaret Porteous (1907)

file 53

Bill and Mary Porteous (1905)

file 54

Jenny, Mary, Bill Porteous (1905)

file 55

Proofs of Porteous children

file 56

Porteous children

file 57

Porteous children with Jenny

file 58

Porteous children with Jenny

file 59

Porteous children with Jenny

file 60

Porteous home on Van Ness and T St.

file 61

Bill Porteous

file 62

Bill Porteous

file 63

Bill Porteous

file 64

Bill Porteous

file 65

Mary Porteous

file 66

Agnes Porteous

file 67

Jenny Porteous at the beach

file 68

Bill Porteous on a burro

file 69

Mary Porteous on a burro

file 70

Margaret Porteous on a burro

file 71

Agnes and Jimmy Porteous on a burro

file 72

Jack Porteous

file 73

John (Jack) Porteous

file 74

Ritchie Family

file 75

Bell T. Ritchie

file 76

grandchildren

file 77

scrapbook page of photos

file 78

misc. pictures

file 79

agricultural implements

file 80

Fresno Agricultural Works Exhibition