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Eastman's Originals Collection
D-051  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Biography
  • Scope and Contents
  • Access
  • Processing Information
  • Acquisition Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Publication Rights

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
    Title: Eastman's Originals Collection
    Creator: Eastman, Jervie Henry, 1880-1969
    Identifier/Call Number: D-051
    Physical Description: 113 linear feet
    Date (inclusive): 1890-1960
    Abstract: Collection includes photographs, negatives, and postcards for a wide variety of northern California locations and events, including dam construction, logging, mining, food processing, and community buildings and activities.
    Physical Location: Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.

    Biography

    Jervie Henry Eastman was born, July 20, 1880, in White Cloud, Michigan. His family moved to northern California in 1886. In 1898, Eastman launched his photographic career in Sisson, California (later named Mount Shasta), as a view photographer. He became a partner in the Shasta View Company in 1907. Eastman lost his entire stock of plates and cards in a fire in 1912.
    In 1921, Jervie Henry Eastman moved to Susanville and established Eastman & Company as a commercial photography and post card studio. In 1936 he hired Mirl Simmons, a young photographer from Hillsborough, West Virginia, to help with the postcard photography. In 1947, Eastman and Simmons became partners. The business had expanded to provide photographic supplies to southeastern Oregon and studios in Westwood, Weed, and Susanville.
    Eastman retired from photography in 1959 and sold his share of the business to Simmons. He died in Susanville on February 11, 1969.
    Simmons ran the Eastman Studios until 1980, when he retired and sold the business to John and Shirley Castle. Mirl Simmons died on April 27, 1987, in Jamestown, California. From 1983 to 1993, George F. Kliewer owned Eastman Studios in Susanville. Following George Kliewer’s death, his wife Marilyn worked with friend and photographer Henry Martinez, Jr. to organize and index the negatives. Marilyn Kliewer subsequently sold the business and offered the photograph collection to Henry Martinez.
    A portion of the Eastman's Originals Collection (the historical postcards and negatives) was sold to Anne Fisher in 1982. She managed this portion of the collection until her retirement in 1994, at which time she donated the materials to the University of California, Davis. Following the sale of Eastman Studios, Henry Martinez, Jr. purchased the portion of the collection remaining with the studio. These images, which include all of George F. Kliewer’s works, were donated to the University of California, Davis in 2019.

    Scope and Contents

    Photographs, negatives, and postcards for a wide variety of northern California locations and events, including dam construction, logging, mining, food processing, and community buildings and activities.

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Levi D. Phillips, Ph.D, Pamela Wilson, and Rebecca L. Wendt; machine-readable finding aid created by Jim Sylva.

    Acquisition Information

    Collection and publication rights - except for the production of commercial postcards by commercial establishments - were donated to the Regents of the University of California by Anne Fisher on March 22, 1994. A second portion of the collection was donated by Henry Martinez, Jr. in 2019.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Eastman's Originals Collection, D-051, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

    Publication Rights

    All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    California, Northern -- Pictorial works
    California, Northern -- History -- Pictorial works
    Eastman, Jervie Henry, 1880-1969 -- Archives