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Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs: Finding Aid
photCL 400 volume 2 & volume 3  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Related materials in the Huntington Library
  • Biographical and Historical Notes
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Related Materials
  • Index Terms

    • Overview of the Collection

    Title: Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs next hit
    Dates (inclusive): 1864-1963
    Bulk dates: 1920s-1950s
    Collection Number: photCL 400 volume 2 & volume 3
    Creator: Puck, Charles, 1882-1968
    Extent: 11,400 previous hit photographs next hit in 42 boxes (30.29 linear feet)
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo Archives
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2191
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: The Puck Collection consists of more than 11,000 previous hit photographs next hit and negatives both taken and collected by Los Angeles resident and local history enthusiast Charles Puck (1882-1968), which he donated to the Historical Society of Southern California over more than twenty years in the mid-20th century. The previous hit photographs next hit date from 1864 to 1963 (bulk 1920s-1950s) and depict buildings, monuments, civic happenings, modes of transportation, flora and fauna, and anything else that captured his particular interests. Puck compiled several scrapbooks on topics such as adobes and buildings of Los Angeles, illustrating them with his previous hit photographs next hit and annotating them with historical anecdotes and personal recollections. Puck also collected the work of noted Los Angeles photographers like Charles C. Pierce and James B. Blanchard to supplement his own archive. At the time of his final donation to the Historical Society of Southern California, Puck had amassed a large array of images documenting the changing face of Los Angeles and its environs.
    Language: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    Historical Society of Southern California Collection -- Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and previous hit Photographs next hit . The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Donated by the Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.
    The collection, identified by Huntington Library catalogers as "Volume 2 & Volume 3" was received as a part of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection; Puck had donated the previous hit photographs next hit to the HSSC over more than twenty years.

    Processing Information

    In the mid-1990s, Huntington volunteers recreated the collection by identifying Puck's previous hit photographs next hit (both those taken and collected) and separating them from the remainder of the approximately 15,000 images donated by the Historical Society. They arranged the images by geographic location, numbered, and rehoused them. In 1999, Jennifer Watts created the bulk of this finding aid based, in part, on the original inventory created by the volunteers. In 2006, Sue Luftschein updated the finding aid with information about the previous hit photographs next hit Puck collected.

    Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements

    The collection contains eight previous hit photograph next hit albums created by Puck. These are extremely fragile and are available for researchers only through photocopied surrogates.

    Related materials in the Huntington Library

    The sub-collections of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection of previous hit Photographs next hit are individually cataloged in the Huntington Online Catalog.  

    Biographical and Historical Notes

    Biographical Note of Charles Puck

    There is little information on Charles Puck beyond the basic facts that he was born on July 20, 1882, in California, resided in Los Angeles for many years, and worked in the city as a postal employee. Puck used his leisure hours to indulge his twin passions for regional history and photography. From 1914 until 1958, Puck set out with his camera to record many facets of life in Southern California. Puck occasionally supplied previous hit photographs next hit to commercial photographer Charles C. Pierce, who ran a business providing stock pictures of Southern California to a variety of organizations and publishers. Consequently, Puck’s previous hit photographs next hit have often been incorrectly attributed to Pierce in various publications and periodicals of the era.
    A devoted member of the Historical Society of Southern California, Puck began giving his 11,400 previous hit photographs next hit and negatives to that institution in 1948. previous hit Photographs next hit trickled in for the next decade, with a final donation of three large cartons from Puck’s estate in 1969, following his death in September 1968.
    In the forward of a 1926 scrapbook, Charles Puck expressed the driving motivation behind his work: “Noting how rapidly the old landmarks were disappearing, the writer set forth with camera to record these last remnants of a time that will never again come and it is hoped that these pictures…will be an educational contribution.”

    Historical Note of HSSC

    Founded in 1883, the Historical Society of Southern California (HSSC) is the oldest historical society in California. As part of its mission to collect and preserve Southern California’s history, the HSSC amassed a photo archive over many decades. The HSSC shifted its emphasis to programs and publications in the 1980s and, in 1992, the organization donated its photo archive to The Huntington Library.
    The Historical Society of Southern California Collection contains approximately 15,000 previous hit photographs next hit and negatives focused on Southern California from approximately 1870 to 1980. As such, it is an important visual record of the growth and history of the region. The collection represents a variety of donations made to the Society over many years. It is organized into discrete sub-collections (each with a unique “volume” number) within the overall collection, which is identified by call number photCL 400.

    Scope and Content

    The Puck Collection consists of more than 11,000 previous hit photographs next hit and negatives both taken and collected by Los Angeles resident and local history enthusiast Charles Puck. Puck took (and collected) previous hit photographs next hit of buildings, monuments, civic happenings, modes of transportation, flora and fauna, and anything else that captured his particular interests. He had a penchant for construction, demolition, and disaster of both the natural and human variety, making systematic photographic surveys of anything that fell within these broad categories. He compiled several scrapbooks on topics such as adobes and buildings of Los Angeles, illustrating them with his previous hit photographs next hit and annotating them with historical anecdotes and personal recollections. Puck also collected the work of noted Los Angeles photographers like Charles C. Pierce and James B. Blanchard to supplement his own archive; on many of these pictures he wrote comments on the verso. At the time of his gift to the Historical Society of Southern California, Puck had amassed a large array of images documenting the changing face of Los Angeles and its environs.
    An avid tourist and automobile adventurer, Puck traveled throughout California to historical points of interest. He motored around the sites of the Gold Rush, and frequently ventured into the Sierra Nevada Mountains on camping trips. Aside from pictures of Los Angeles, Puck took shots in many other counties of the state including Orange County, San Diego County, Imperial County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Kern County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, Inyo County, and the counties in the eastern and central portions of California.
    Puck also traveled by car to places outside California, mostly in the Southwestern states and to Mexico. Pictures of trips taken between 1918 and 1953 to such places as Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Nevada and Mexico are included in the collection, primarily in the form of negatives.

    Arrangement

    The Puck Collection is divided into two parts. Volume 2 contains approximately 10,000 previous hit photographs next hit and negatives made by Puck; volume 3 contains approximately 1400 previous hit photographs next hit collected by Puck and taken by other photographers. The material in both groups are arranged geographically, beginning with Los Angeles city and county, Puck’s primary interest and the bulk of the collection, and followed by neighboring counties, and then by regions in the northern part of the state and outside California. The larger cities and counties, Los Angeles for instance, also have a number of subject divisions such as parks, buildings, etc.
    The Historical Society separated by region the previous hit photographs next hit from Puck’s numerous automobile trips. Huntington volunteers endeavored to note the route of various trips and brought together images from specific trips where possible. In most instances, however, previous hit photographs next hit of Puck’s trips are scattered throughout the geographical headings.
    The architecture of California and the Southwest (particularly the early adobe structures) fascinated Puck and a separate inxdex titled "Charles Puck previous hit Photographs next hit of Adobes and Ranchos in the United States and Mexico" is included in this finding aid. Additionally, there are many previous hit photographs next hit of California missions and mission architecture. There is also a list of previous hit photographs next hit depicting Charles Puck found in the collection.
    Puck’s albums containing both text and previous hit photographs next hit on different historical topics are at the end of volume 2 (boxes 31-37). They contain previous hit photographs next hit both taken and collected by Puck. The original albums are extremely fragile and photocopies are available for research.

    Related Materials

    Related materials in the Huntington Library

    The sub-collections of the Historical Society of Southern California Collection (photCL 400) are individually cataloged in the Huntington Online Catalog.  

    Related Secondary Sources

    For a complete history of the Historical Society of Southern California see Jane Apostol, The Historical Society of Southern California: A Centennial History. Los Angeles: The Historical Society of Southern California, 1991.
    See also Tom Andrews, "The Historical Society of Southern California Photo Archive," Southern California Quarterly (Spring 1993), 51-63.

    Index Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    People:

    Blanchard, James B., photographer.
    Pierce, C. C. (Charles C.) 1861-1946.

    Organizations:

    Union Passenger Terminal (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    United States Postal Service -- Buildings -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Olympic Games (10th : 1932 : Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936 : San Diego, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Union Stockyard Company -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Panama-California Exposition (1915 : San Diego, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .

    Places:

    Alameda County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Amador County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Arizona -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Bunker Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Calaveras County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Chávez Ravine (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Chinatown (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Colorado -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Contra Costa County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Death Valley (Calif. and Nev.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    El Dorado County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Fort Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Fresno County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Idaho -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Imperial County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Inyo County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Kern County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- History -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Madera County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Mariposa County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Mexico -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Mexico -- Boundaries -- United States -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Montana -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Monterey County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Nevada -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Nevada County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    New Mexico -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Orange County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Oregon -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Owens Valley (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Palm Springs (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Placer County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Riverside County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Sacramento County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Benito County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Bernardino County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Diego County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Francisco (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Luis Obispo County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    San Pedro (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Santa Barbara County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Santa Clara County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Santa Cruz County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Sawtelle (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Sonoma County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Texas -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Trinity County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Tuolumne County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    United States -- Boundaries -- Mexico -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Utah -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Ventura County (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Washington (State) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Wilshire Boulevard (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Wyoming -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Yosemite National Park (Calif.) -- previous hit Photographs next hit .

    Subjects:

    Adobe houses -- California -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Building construction -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Circus -- California -- Los Angeles County -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    City halls -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Disasters -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Earthquakes -- California -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Elementary schools -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Express highways -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Fires -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Floods -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Follies (Architecture) -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    High schools -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Kitsch -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Neighborhoods -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Parks -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Postal service -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Railroads -- California -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Railroads, Cable -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Ranches -- California -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Roadside architecture -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Social and civic facilities -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Street-railroads -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Streets -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Universities and colleges -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .
    Wrecking -- California -- Los Angeles -- previous hit Photographs next hit .

    Document Types:

    Black-and-white negatives.
    previous hit Photographs next hit .
    previous hit Photograph next hit albums.

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    Collection Contents
    Container List
    Photographs taken by Charles Puck [8 hits]
    Photographs taken by photographers other than Charles Puck [14 hits]
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