David Boulé California Orange Collection, 1882-2016 and undated

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Boulé, David
Abstract:
This collection contains materials related to orange and citrus cultivation in California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Items include advertisements, vendor guides, labor documents, photographs, artifacts relating to production and packing, and a sizable collection of souvenirs and products offered to tourists and consumers. Developed by author, researcher, and avid collector David Boulé, this collection contains many valuable resources relating to the California citrus industry, including rare posters, pamphlets, and candid photographs. Mr. Boulé's collection has long been a fixture of the LA Archives Bazaar and the subject of many exhibits and talks. In 2017, Mr. Boulé chose to donate the entirety of his collection to the Special Collections of The Claremont Colleges Library. The bulk of the materials are made up of advertisements and souvenirs, including posters, magazine ads, booklets, postcards, figurines, pins, and perfume. Items of note include photographs of the people of color who worked as orange pickers and in the packing houses, a rare 1940 Sunkist poster of California with illustrations of the citrus cultivation process, and artifacts such as the first commercial and home electric juicers, an intact packing crate, brass crate printing die, and a "giant orange" papier mache container.
Extent:
27.25 Linear Feet (2 records boxes, 1 doc box, 1 oversize doc box, 2 short doc boxes, 2 flat boxes, 2 oversize flat boxes, 2 multi-tray artifact boxes, 3 sectional artifact boxes, 2 music roll cartons, 1 stereoscope box, 4 cartons, 1 negatives box, 8 custom artifact boxes)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English .

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials relating to the citrus growing industry of Southern California. The majority of these items were created for the marketing and sale of oranges and lemons, including advertisements, recipe booklets, signs and sales guides for vendors, posters, and magazines. Audio and visual materials include sheet music, vinyl records, DVDs, and a large collection of photographs. Photographs of note include rare unstaged images of laborers of Asian and Mexican descent. A small number of business documents include timesheets, receipts, and some correspondence. Artifacts in the collection range from souvenirs such as perfume, candy in novelty orange crates, kitchenware, and jewelry, to items used in the production and packing of oranges, including a Sunkist orange crate, brass crate printing die, an employee identification badge, and smudge pot.

Acquisition information:
Gift of David Boulé, 2017.
Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged into the following series and subseries:

  • Series 1: Marketing Materials, 1882-1984 and undated
  • Subseries 1.1: National Orange Shows, 1893-1981 and undated
  • Subseries 1.2: Vendor Materials, 1925-1981 and undated
  • Series 2: Audio/Visual Materials, 1893-2010 and undated
  • Series 3: Business Documents, 1907-1953
  • Series 4: Artifacts, 1911-1966 and undated
  • Series 5: Research and Exhibit Materials, 1886-2016 and undated

Materials have been organized alphabetically by type, and chronologically within each type.

Physical location:
Please consult repository.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
800 N. Dartmouth Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711, US
Contact:
(909) 607‑3977
specialcollections@claremont.edu
Website