Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County: Finding Aid
Finding aid prepared by Sue Tyson.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Photo Archives
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2016
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County
Dates (inclusive): approximately 1887-1913
Collection Number: photCL 280
Creator:
Stiles, Mildred Keith, 1892-1961
Extent:
189 negatives in 9 boxes; chiefly glass-plate negatives; plates chiefly 13 x 21 cm. (5 x 8 in.) and 10 x 13 cm. (4 x 5 in.)
+ 209 prints (chiefly later prints corresponding to the negatives), one cabinet card photograph, and 1 notebook in 1 box
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: This collection contains 209 photographs of families, residences, commercial and municipal buildings, and the natural environment
of South Pasadena, the city and county of Los Angeles, and other locations chiefly in California, taken approximately 1887-1913,
mostly by photographer T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896). The photographs are chiefly later prints from glass-plate negatives and,
to a lesser extent, from copy film negatives; also included are 20 prints without corresponding negatives, one cabinet card
photograph, and a notebook containing three pages of handwritten titles for some of the photographs.
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
[Identification of item], Stiles Collection of Photographs of South Pasadena and Los Angeles County, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Provenance
This collection was a gift of Mrs. Conrad A. Stiles (Mildred Keith Stiles), May 6, 1949.
Biographical Note
T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896), also known as Truman D. Keith, was an American photographer known for his photographs of South
Pasadena and environs. Born in New York, he moved to California in 1887, living in San Bernardino before moving to South Pasadena
later that year. Keith served as postmaster of South Pasadena from approximately 1889-1892, and his wife, Nellie E. Keith
(1851-1935), served as City Librarian from 1895-1930. Their children include Merton E. Keith ([1874]-1908), who worked as
a court reporter, councilman, city clerk, and member of the library board; Mabel Keith (1884-1906); and Mildred Keith Stiles
(1892-1961), wife of Conrad A. Stiles and mother of Keith L. Stiles.
Scope and Content
This collection contains 209 photographs of families, residences, commercial and municipal buildings, and the natural environment
of South Pasadena, the city and county of Los Angeles, and other locations chiefly in California, taken approximately 1887-1913,
mostly by photographer T. D. Keith ([1848]-1896); one undated photograph is by Los Angeles photographer Elkanah P. Tresslar,
and other images taken after Keith's death are by an unidentified photographer.
Photographs chiefly show South Pasadena residents and residences, including Keith's home and family and other families; many
of the photographs provide a glimpse of clothing and dress styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Photographs
also depict South Pasadena buildings and scenes, including the first and second Raymond Hotel and South Pasadena High School;
panoramic views of South Pasadena; railroads; various views of the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles; Santa Catalina Island;
and the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1901 in Pasadena. The collection also includes a few photographs showing scenes from
San Diego County and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and individual images of the San Juan Capistrano Mission and of
a street scene in Tijuana, Mexico. A few images, such as Item 37, are originals with the stamp "Keith" on versos.
The photographs are chiefly later prints from glass-plate negatives and, to a lesser extent, from copy film negatives; these
prints were made by the Huntington photo lab in the 1980s. Also included are 20 prints without corresponding negatives, one
cabinet card photograph, and a chiefly blank notebook containing three pages of handwritten titles for some of the photographs.
The collection contains many duplicates.
Note
Huntington Library volunteer Jane Apostol numbered the photographs, and identified many of them in captions written on the
prints.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
Photographs appear to be generally arranged by photograph number, and were grouped according to general topic by a previous
archivist. The collection is arranged in the following two series:
- Series I. Prints
- Subseries A. South Pasadena and Los Angeles County (Items 1-153, 168-199, 208-209)
- Subseries B. San Diego County (Items 154-165)
- Subseries C. San Juan Capistrano (Item 166)
- Subseries D. Mexico (Item 167)
- Subseries E. San Francisco (Items 200-207)
- Notebook
- Series II. Glass-plate Negatives and Copy Film Negatives
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Pasadena and Pacific Railway Company -- Photographs.
Raymond Hotel (Pasadena, Calif.) -- Photographs.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company -- Photographs.
Airships -- California -- Pasadena -- Photographs.
Architecture, Domestic -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Clothing and dress -- California, Southern -- Photographs.
Dwellings -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Families -- Photographs.
Gardens -- California -- South Pasadena -- Photographs.
Hotels -- California -- Photographs.
Photography of families -- Photographs.
Plants -- California -- Photographs.
Portrait photography -- United States -- Photographs.
Railroads -- California, Southern -- Photographs.
Avalon (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Long Beach (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Los Angeles County (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Pasadena (Calif.) -- Photographs.
San Diego County (Calif.) -- Photographs.
San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Santa Catalina Island (Calif.) -- Photographs.
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- Photographs.
Forms/Genres
Cabinet photographs.
Panoramas.
Photographs.
Stereographs.
Contributors
Keith, T. D., photographer.
Stiles, Mildred Keith, 1892-1961, donor.
Tresslar, E. P. (Elkanah P.), photographer.
South Pasadena and Los Angeles County
Physical Description: 187 photographs
Folders 1-4 (Items 1-40)
Residents and homes.
1899-1907, undated
Includes chiefly images of various members of the T. D. Keith family and exterior views of their home in South Pasadena; also
contains photographs of other South Pasadena residents and residences. People depicted include Roy Stephens, postmaster of
South Pasadena from 1897-1907, dressed in a bullfighter's costume; the George W. Wilson family; the Edward H. Rust family;
the William Brainerd family; the Stephenson family; and the Baker family. The photographs depict outdoor scenes, including
children lighting fireworks or posing with flags during Fourth of July celebrations (Item 10, 1905 and Item 18, 1899?); Mabel
Keith with her bicycle (Item 11); the Keith family during Thanksgiving (Items 13-14, 1903?); and people posing in front of
residences. One photograph, a cabinet card portrait of Merton E. Keith, son of T. D. Keith, is by Los Angeles photographer
Elkanah P. Tresslar (Item 24).
Folders 5-7 (Items 41-69)
South Pasadena, general.
1887-1896, undated
Contains photographs depicting residences, including those of the Reverend A. Moss Merwin, Carolyn W. Dobbins, and Margaret
Collier Graham's Wynyate; gardens and landscaping; El Centro School and students (Items 54-61, approximately 1888-1890); Hotel
Marengo (Item 64, 1887) and Hermosa Vista Hotel (Item 65); a church; Adobe Flores; and Diaspora Villa. Also contains views
of hiking parties and picnickers, including one photograph of the Keith family with the family of Aaron F. McReynolds (Item
52).
Folder 8 (Items 70-79)
South Pasadena, panoramic views.
Approximately 1890-1899
Includes map and legend created by previous archivist showing sites referenced in Item 70, among them the Mohr and Graham
block, South Pasadena Hotel, first Raymond Hotel, El Centro School, Graham House, and the Santa Fe tracks.
Folder 9 (Items 80-87)
Raymond Hotel (first).
1895
Views include photographs featuring the hotel against a backdrop of snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains, with railroad tracks
in the foreground (Items 80-81); a stereograph of people posing in front of a garden with the hotel in the background (Item
83); and images of the hotel as it burned down on April 14, 1895, and subsequently in ruins (Items 85-87).
Folder 10 (Items 88-95)
Raymond Hotel (second) and Painter Hotel.
Approximately 1900-1913
Includes images of the Roy Knabenshue dirigible on site (Items 93-94) and a stereograph of the Painter Hotel (Item 95).
Folder 17 (Items 148-153)
South Pasadena buildings.
Approximately 1887-1896
Includes one panorama and one stereograph of South Pasadena and depictions of the Jersey Dairy and dairy cart; the South Pasadena
Hotel; the interior of a general store, with Aaron F. McReynolds at the counter; the post office; and the Santa Fe Depot.
Folder 20 (Items 184-199)
South Pasadena High School.
Approximately 1910
Includes depictions of a group of students posing on front steps; sports teams and events; orchestra practice; and students
at a "hobo day" event and at graduation.
Railroads.
Approximately 1894-1895
Folder 11 (Items 96-103)
Railroads
Approximately 1894-1895
Includes photographs of the Pasadena and Pacific viaduct through South Pasadena; Pasadena and Pacific railway cars; people
gathered outside of a train on a field; and engines and trains at a Southern Pacific Railroad depot at San Fernando Boulevard
in Los Angeles, possibly the River Station during a labor strike in 1894.
Folder 12 (Items 104-114)
Views.
1890, 1901, undated
Includes views of the San Gabriel Mountains, from Altadena (Items 104-107); the Church of the Angels in Pasadena (Items 108-109,
1890); stereographic views of the Eagle Rock outcropping in Highland Park (Items 110-111); the Old Mill in San Marino; and
the Queen Anne Cottage at Baldwin Ranch in Arcadia. Photographs are undated.
Folder 13 (Items 115-122)
San Gabriel Mission
Includes undated photographs of the Mission and of the San Gabriel Cemetery.
Folder 14 (Items 123-132)
Views
Contains undated photographs depicting various scenes in the City of Los Angeles including Echo Park, Eastlake Park, Westlake
Park, oil wells, workers picking oranges, and the residence of General William S. Rosecrans in Gardena.
Miscellaneous Los Angeles County
Folders 15, 22 (Items 133-139, 208-209)
Views.
1902, undated
Includes photographs depicting passengers at the Inglewood train station; beach scenes in Long Beach, including one from the
Fourth of July (Item 135, 1902); boats in San Pedro Harbor; a schoolhouse; images of a Chinese laundry, Lee Hing Laundry,
possibly located in Alhambra; and an Independent Ice Company wagon.
Folder 16 (Items 140-147)
Views.
Approximately 1904
Includes images of Avalon Bay; Sugar Loaf; and residences, tent cabins, and Grand View hotel near the shoreline in the town
of Avalon. Items 141 and 147 are stereographic depictions of Avalon Bay.
Folder 19 (Items 168-183)
Tournament of Roses.
1901
Includes depictions of Maccabees, Americus Club, a Chinese dragon float, and crowd scenes.
San Diego County
Physical Description: 12 photographs
Folder 18 (Items 154-165)
Views.
Approximately 1903, undated
Includes depictions of the city of San Diego from the Coronado Ferry; San Diego Bay from Point Loma; Coronado Island; the
four-mast German bark
Altair, with the Coronado Ferry and anchored off the Spreckels coal wharves (Items 157-159, approximately 1903); an Indian sexton
in Old Town; Estudillo House; Mission San Diego; and a residence in La Jolla.
San Juan Capistrano
Physical Description: 1 photograph
Folder 18 (Item 166)
San Juan Capistrano Mission
Contains one undated image depicting the Mission in ruins.
Mexico
Physical Description: 1 photograph
Folder 18 (Item 167)
Tijuana
Contains one undated image of a man on a street with hotel in background.
San Francisco
Physical Description: 8 photographs
Folder 21 (Items 200-207)
Views of the San Francisco Earthquake.
1906
Contains photographs of buildings in ruins, some with signs visible, including for the Mission Theater, R. N. Mason & Co.,
the First National Bank, and Pete Dailey.
Folder 23
Notebook
Physical Description: 1 item
Chiefly blank undated notebook with three pages containing handwritten titles for some of the photographs, devised by an unidentified
person.
Glass-plate negatives and copy film negatives
Access Information
[RESTRICTED] Please use later prints. Access to the original negatives is restricted. Arrangements for viewing negatives must
be made in advance with the Curator of Photographs.
Includes nine boxes containing 189 negatives, chiefly glass-plate negatives and some copy film negatives; some of the glass-plate
negatives are broken or cracked. Twenty prints do not have corresponding negatives.
Neg. box 2
Items 25-37, 39-41, 43-44, 47
Items 38, 42, and 45 have no corresponding negatives. The glass-plate negative corresponding to Item 46 is in Neg. box 9.
Neg. box 3
Items 48-52, 54-61, 63-64, 66-73
Items 52 and 66 have copy film negatives; Items 53, 62, 65, and 74 have no corresponding negatives.
Neg. box 4
Items 75-83, 85-91, 93-95
The print of Item 85 is larger than the image depicted in the glass-plate negative; Item 87 has both a glass plate negative
and a copy film negative. Items 84 and 92 have no corresponding negatives.
Neg. box 5
Items 96, 98-101, 103-114
Items 97 and 102 have no negatives.
Neg. box 6
Items 115-121, 124-125, 127-132, 135-139
Items 122, 123, 126, 133, and 134 have no corresponding negatives.
Neg. box 7
Items 140-143, 148-153
Item 150 has two corresponding negatives, one 5 x 8 in. and one 4 x 5 in. Items 144, 145, 146, and 147 have no corresponding
negatives.
Neg. box 8
Items 154-209
Items 184-207 have copy film negatives. Item 209 has two variant corresponding glass plate negatives.
Neg. box 9
Item 46 [broken negative]
