Guide to the Philip P. Choy collection of California and the West M2716
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2021
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Philip P. Choy collection of California and the West
Creator:
Choy, Philip P.
Identifier/Call Number: M2716
Physical Description:
4.5 Linear Feet
(9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1850-2013
Abstract: Collection of photographs and ephemera about California assembled and formerly owned by historian Philip Choy.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Philip P. Choy collection of California and the West (M2716). Dept. of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California.
Related Materials
Philip P. Choy papers
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/13311530
California and the west : collection of travel and history ephemera
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4084780
Scope and Contents
The Philip P. Choy collection of California and the West consists of photographs, books, magazines & ephemera collected by
historian Philip Choy in the course of his research on Chinese immigration and settlement on the west coast, which forms the
Philip P. Choy Papers (https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/13311530). This material was deemed more relevant to general
California and San Francisco history, although a few items do include Chinese American and Chinatown content (some of which
are duplicates). Likewise, some appropriate items remain with Choy's main papers. Subjects covered include the Gold Rush,
1906 Earthquake & Fire, and the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. Much of
the materials are believed to be in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use of public domain materials.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
History -- California
West (U.S.) -- History.
Box 1, folder 1
Wells Fargo Historical Collection calendar/blotters
1946-1949
Box 1, folder 2
Bank of California National Association Bay Area history cards
Box 1, folder 3
San Francisco church & religious organization booklets & ephemera
Scope and Contents
First Congregational Church 1849-1874 Anniversary invitation
First Congregational Church "Parables in Modern Light" Sunday Evening Lectures program 1889
Calvary Presbyterian Church Christmas Day program 1887
Calvary Through the Years 1929
Chronicles of Calvary 1944
Louis H. Blumenthal - 3 Generations of Service to the Community 1877-1954 (Jewish Community Center 77th Anniversary Committee
1954)
Golden Jubilee Souvenir of the Sisters of Mercy San Francisco 1904
The Visitacion: Story of Visitacion Valley, San Francisco (Committee on Press and Publicity, Church of the Visitacion 1907)
Box 1, folder 5
Henry Evans - Bohemian San Francisco (Porpoise Bookshop 1955)
Box 1, folder 5
Union Label Bulletin (San Francisco Labor Council 1904)
Box 1, folder 5
Official Map of Historic Points Showing Location of San Francisco Landmarks (Associated Oil Company 1935)
Box 1, folder 5
The Story of Lake Dolores and Mission San Francisco de Assis Compiled by George A. Merrill 1942
Box 1, folder 5
Mission Dolores program
circa 1990s-2000s
Box 1, folder 5
Comstock Clipper reproduction postcards
Box 1, folder 5
The Belli Building pamphlet (1966)
Box 1, folder 5
printed sketches of San Francisco scenes (unsigned, circa 1960s)
Box 1, folder 5
The California Historical Society Presents...Life Styles & The Land (reprint from The Sense of Security; Security National
Bank)
Box 1, folder 5
Robert H. Power - San Francisco Bay in the Summer of 1579 (Reporter Publishing Co. 1971)
Box 1, folder 5
San Franciscans for Responsible Elections mailer sent to Choy family
1983
Box 1, folder 6
memorial ephemera - President Garfield 1881 ; General Ulysses S. Grant 1885
Box 1, folder 7
miscellaneous bills, receipts, cancelled check
Scope and Contents
Includes blank receipt from Alexander Watson of 74 Montgomery Block, "Agent for Adolph Sutro" ; rest are from 1920s-30s.
Box 1, folder 8
The City, Booklets 1-6 (San Francisco Unified School District 1953-1954)
Box 2, folder 1
The Laws of the Town of San Francisco, 1847 (Friends of the Huntington Library, 1947)
Box 2, folder 1
Bernard R. Maybeck - Palace of Fine Arts and Lagoon, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915 (P. Elder and Co, 1915)
Box 2, folder 1
Official Guide of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, July Edition (Wahlgreen Co. 1915) [cover and outer pages missing]
Box 2, folder 1
Robert A. Reid - The Exposition (Panama-Pacific Exposition Co. 1915)
Box 2, folder 2
Souvenir-- Portolá: Public Work of San Francisco Since 1906. Supplement to Municipal Reports, 1908-9 (Neal Pub. Co., 1909)
Box 2, folder 2
Clay M. Greene - Park Development in San Francisco: Past, Present and Future (James H. Barry [1924])
Box 2, folder 2
Edward Morphy - The Port of San Francisco (Board of State Harbor Commissioners 1923)
Box 2, folder 2
Fred Brandt and Andrew Y. Wood - Fascinating San Francisco (San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 1924)
Box 2, folder 2
John J. Cuddy - The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco and the California It Centers (Californian, Inc. 1948)
Box 2, folder 2
What To Do And What To See in San Francisco (E.F. Clements circa 1950s- early 60s)
Box 2, folder 2
A Factful And Colorful Guide to San Francisco (Smith News Co. circa 1950s- early 60s)
Box 2, folder 4
Harper's New Monthly Magazine No. 396
May 1883
Box 2, folder 4
National Geographic v.136 n.5
November 1969
Box 2, folder 5
San Francisco [printed photo album, unidentified publisher, text possibly on missing pages]
circa 1909
Box 2, folder 5
In Remembrance: Zum Andenken, En Mémoire, of the Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, Cal., 1894
Box 2, folder 5
Views of San Francisco and California (E.P. Charlton Co. 1905)
Box 2, folder 5
Law and Order in San Francisco, A Beginning (San Francisco Chamber of Commerce 1916)
Box 2, folder 5
American History Illustrated v.10 n.4
July 1975
Box 2, folder 5
A Picture Tour of San Francisco (Sunset Press [1928])
Box 2, folder 6
Ernest C. Mensch - The Golden Gate Bridge: A Technical Description in Ordinary Language
1935
Box 2, folder 6
California Highways And Public Works - San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge Dedication Number
November 1936
Box 2, folder 7
Cliff House - Sutro Baths Acquisition Study (San Francisco Department of City Planning 1967)
Box 2, folder 7
A Trip Through Golden Gate Park (F.W. Woolworth 1937)
Box 2, folder 7
David Seifkin - Meet Me at the St. Francis (St. Francis Hotel Corp. 1992)
Box 6, folder 1
Jackson Square (San Francisco Department of City Planning 1971)
Box 6, folder 2
San Francisco history newspaper clippings
1970s-1980s
Box 3, folder 1
Old San Francisco - Illustrated by Will Wilke, Descprions by Edward F. O'Day, Reprinted from the San Francisco News
Box 3, folder 1
The Shakeable- Rebirth of S.F. Chinatown in 1906 (San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Congress 2006)
Existence and Location of Copies
Duplicate from Choy collection
Box 3, folder 1
Date Line - San Francisco (San Francisco Federal Savings & Loan Association 1960)
Box 3, folder 1
The Urbanist Issue 527: Unbuilt San Francisco
September-October 2013
Box 3, folder 1
San Francisco Bay Architect's Review No.26
Fall 1982
Box 3, folder 1
Graphic Proof (Industrial Association of San Francisco 1926)
Box 3, folder 1
San Francisco Examiner Image
November 26, 1989
Box 3, folder 2
New San Francisco Magazine v.1 n.1 (cover missing), v.1 n.3
1906
Box 3, folder 3-4
San Francisco Newsletter
1891-1937
Scope and Contents
v.29 n.6 August 24, 1878
v.43 n.7 February 14, 1891
v.55 n.26 December 25, 1897
v.57 n.25 December 24, 1898
v.63 n.25 December 21, 1901
v.107 n.10 September 5, 1925
v.108 n.52 December 25, 1926
News Letter and Wasp v.81 n.51 December 17, 1937 [cover missing]
Box 3, folder 5
Miles Bros. & George H. Lawrence earthquake panoramas clipped from newspapers
1906
Box 3, folder 6
San Francisco photo reproductions (most copied from Bancroft library)
Box 3, folder 7
two real photo postcards of orchards captioned "Blossom Time, California" and "California Blossoms"
Box 3, folder 7
two real photo postcards of Paiute Indians in Yosemite - "Leme" and "Ta-Bu-Ce" (AKA Maggie Howard)
Scope and Contents
With handwritten notes on their backs describing encounters:
Ta-Bu-Ce, Yosemite [card stamped Boysen Studio, Yosemite National Park]
"Maggie makes baskets and bead belts and bracelets. I talked Chinese to her and she was very interested. The ranger had fun
talking to her and getting her to talk to the guests. She is quite old."
Leme, Yosemite
"His costumes are very spectacular and he sings and danced the Dance of the Acorn, Coyote, and Medicine Man."
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Paiute Indians
Box 3, folder 8
photograph of Colombo Building, corner of Columbus Avenue and Washington Street
circa 1980s
Box 3, folder 8
two small mounted prints of Muni buses and street traffic
circa 1970s
Box 3, folder 8
photograph of Golden Gate Bridge
circa 2000s
Box 3, folder 9
Mobile Carriage Company at Golden Gate Avenue & Gough Street - two mounted prints
circa 1910-1920
Box 3, folder 10
earthquake & reconstruction photographs (17 prints)
1906-1907
Scope and Contents
From box labeled "Fine Historical Pictures of S.F. ; property of J. [James] M. Leonard"
Box 3, folder 11
commercial portraits (5 cabinet cards - Bradley & Rulofson etc.)
19th century
Scope and Contents
From box labeled "Fine Historical Pictures of S.F. ; property of J. [James] M. Leonard"
Box 3, folder 12
San Francisco photographs - street scenes, parades, ferries, etc. (36 prints - most or all copies of older images)
circa 1910-1930
Scope and Contents
From box labeled "Fine Historical Pictures of S.F. ; property of J. [James] M. Leonard"
Box 3, folder 13
San Francisco photographs (19 prints, including images credited to Hecht, Waters, Moulin)
circa 1910-1930
Scope and Contents
From box labeled "Fine Historical Pictures of S.F. ; property of J. [James] M. Leonard"
Box 3, folder 14
1681 Bird Street, Oroville California. Hogan, Photographer
circa 1891
Box 3, folder 15
Los Angeles photographs (22 copy prints)
circa 1883-1910
Box 4, folder 1
postcards - Vallejo, Napa
Box 4, folder 1
Daniel H. Bradley - Alameda County, California (Publicity Commissioners of Alameda County 1915)
Box 4, folder 1
Historic California - Sonoma, Benicia (American Institute of Architects, East Bay Chapter)
Box 4, folder 1
Napa Chamber of Commerce History of Napa Valley flier
1979
Box 4, folder 2
Master Plan of the City of Monterey
1939
Box 4, folder 2
Historic California - San Juan Bautista, Monterey (American Institute of Architects, Monterey Chapter)
Box 4, folder 2
Monterey's Adobe Heritage (Monterey Savings & Loan Association 1968)
Box 4, folder 2
A Short History of the Beach at Pajaro & Vicinity (Hare, Brewer & Kelley, Inc.)
Box 4, folder 2
Monterey, Carmel & Pacific Grove ephemera
Box 4, folder 3
(Sacramento County) Evidence Taken Before the Swamp Land Committee (California Assembly)
1861
Box 4, folder 3
Sherrill Halbert - In Re Dr. Morse's History (Sacramento Book Collectors Club 1965)
Box 4, folder 3
Golden Notes v.16 n.2-3 (Sacramento County Historical Society)
July 1970
Box 4, folder 3
Historic Old Sacramento (City of Sacramento Redevelopment Agency)
Box 4, folder 3
The Legacy of Gold Mountain: A History of the Chinese in Sacramento (Discovery Museum 1994)
Existence and Location of Copies
duplicate from Choy collection
Box 4, folder 4
The Chinese of the Mendocino Coast - Mendocino Historical Review v.15
Winter/Spring 1990-1991
Existence and Location of Copies
duplicate from Choy collection
Box 4, folder 4
The Joss House at Mendocino (photocopied handout)
1960
Existence and Location of Copies
Duplicate from Choy collection.
Box 4, folder 5
Los Angeles Corral n.93
September 1969
Box 4, folder 5
Famous Southern California Scenes (B.R. Baumgardt & Co. 1899)
Box 4, folder 5
Hill's Official City Maps & Tourist Guide of Los Angeles, Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley Addition (Hill Map Company)
Box 4, folder 5
C.E. & Marilyn Parker - Orange County: Indians to Industry (Orange County Title Company 1963)
Box 4, folder 6
postcards - Oroville, Turlock, Calico Ghost Town, Yreka
1960s
Box 4, folder 7
The Covered Wagon (Shasta Historical Society 1966)
Box 4, folder 7
Shasta, Queen City of the North
Box 4, folder 7
Historical Map of Siskiyou Co. California (Siskiyou County Historical Society)
Box 4, folder 7
Gold Mining Areas & Trails & Roads of Whoa Navigation in Early Siskiyou Co. (Siskiyou County Museum)
Box 4, folder 7
Beautiful Amador County: Heart of the Mother Lode (Amador County Chamber of Commerce)
Box 4, folder 7
Wallace R. Hagman - The Chinese Cemetery at Nevada City, California (Cowboy Press 1998)
Existence and Location of Copies
Duplicate from Choy collection.
Box 4, folder 7
Lee Family Ranch House, A Folk Arts & Visitor Center (Trinity County Arts Council)
Existence and Location of Copies
Duplicate from Choy collection.
Box 4, folder 7
Lincoln County Driving Tour & Walking Tours of Alamo, Caliente, Panaca & Pioche (Lincoln County Commissioners)
Box 4, folder 7
First Stanislaus County Centennial Celebration, La Grange, Calif.
1948
Box 4, folder 7
California Mining Journal - Gold Show & Rodeo Official Program, Auburn
June 1934
Box 4, folder 7
Las Calaveras (Calaveras County Historical Society v.53 n.1)
October 2004
Box 4, folder 7
Pony Express Courier (Placerville) v.3 n.11
April 1937
Box 4, folder 7
Tuolumne County Gold Centennial (Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce)
1948
Box 4, folder 7
Kenneth M. Castro and Doris Castro - Murphys, California Short History and Guide
1972
Box 4, folder 8
Western Mining News v.1 n.2
Christmas 1933
Box 4, folder 8
offprint from California Mining Journal
May 1968
Box 4, folder 8
The Elephant As They Saw It: A Collection of Contemporary Pictures and Statements on Gold Mining in California (Centennial
Supplement to the Journal of Mines and Geology for October 1949)
1953 edition
Box 4, folder 8
Louise E. Taber - Gold Rush Days v.1 n.1
1936
Box 4, folder 8
Robert Neil Johnson - Gold Diggers Atlas (Cy Johnson & Son 1971)
1972 edition
Box 4, folder 8
Land Laws of the Mining Districts (Johns Hopkins University Studies 1884)
Box 4, folder 8
Aubrey Neasham - Sutter's Sawmill (California Historical Society Quarterly article)
1947
Box 4, folder 8
Book Club of California Letters of the Gold Discovery no.2-4
1948
Box 5, folder 1
China and California: The Impact of 19th & 20th Century Chinese Art & Culture on California (University of California Davis
Art Department 1966)
Existence and Location of Copies
Duplicate from Choy collection.
Box 5, folder 1
California 200 (California Bicentennial Commission [1969])
Box 5, folder 1
Peter Thomas Conmy - The Constitutional Beginnings of California (Native Sons of the Golden West 1959)
Box 5, folder 1
John F. Davis - The History of California (reprint from The Pacific Ocean in History)
1915
Box 5, folder 1
California Historical Landmarks (State of California Department of Natural Resources 1960)
Box 5, folder 1
California Centennials (California Centennials Commission 1948)
Box 5, folder 1
California Centennials Official Newsletter v.1 n.4
July 1948
Box 5, folder 1
Life in California in 1849 (California Historical Society Quarterly article)
March 1941
Box 5, folder 2
Redwood Manufacturers Company Illustrated Catalogue v.1
Box 5, folder 2
Phillip Pierce - Ghost Town Directory of the West (Pierce Publishing 1964)
Box 5, folder 2
William B. Secrest - Joaquin, Bloody Bandit of the Mother Lode (Saga-West Publishing Co.1967)
1970 edition
Box 5, folder 2
Motorland v.91 n.1
January 1970
Box 5, folder 2
1971 Wagon Train (Highway 50 Association)
January 1970
Box 5, folder 3
newspaper clippings re: mining, labor, politics, etc.
1850-1870
Box 4, folder 7
Oscar Lewis - Hot Springs Hotel, Calistoga (E Campus Vitus reprint of Book Club of California article)
Box 4, folder 8
Five Cent Gulch (Conference of California Historical Societies 1969)
Box 5, folder 4
Virginia City postcard book (Reno-Tahoe Specialty, Inc. 1988)
Box 5, folder 4
Virginia City Nevada (Nevada Historical Society)
Box 5, folder 4
(Wyoming) Facts & Fantasy of Uinta County's Past
1987
Box 5, folder 4
Oregon Historical Quarterly offprints
Box 5, folder 4
Leadville, Colorado postcard
Box 5, folder 4
Janice K. Duncan - Minority without a Champion: Kanakas in the Pacific Coast 1788-1850 (Oregon Historical Society 1972)
Box 5, folder 5
The Pacific Tourist: Williams' Illustrated Trans-Continental Guide of Travel, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Containing
Full Descriptions of Railroad Routes ... a Complete Traveler's Guide of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads (Henry T.
Williams 1877)
Box 5, folder 6
George A. Crofutt - Crofutt's New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide: Over the Union, Central and Southern Pacific Railroads,
Their Branches and Connections, by Rail, Water and Stage Vol. 2 1879-1880 (Overland Pub. Co, 1879)
Box 5, folder 7
Beadles Monthly vol.2 n.7 [cover missing]
August 1866
Box 7, Folder 1-12
photographic negatives - San Francisco architecture, ships
Scope and Contents
5" x 7" glass negatives
1. Fire Tug David Scannell
2. [unidentified vessel, same as #3]
3. [unidentified vessel, same as #2]
8" x 10" glass negatives
4. [Taft and Pennoyer building, northwest corner of Clay and 14th Streets, Oakland]
5. 194. [Gladstone Apartments, 700 Polk Street, San Francisco]
6. [Grattan School, 185 Grattan Street, San Francisco]
7. [unidentified three-story building on corner, sign for "Broadway Garage" to right]
8. 138 [13S?]. [Sherman, Clay & Co. building, 161 Kearny Street, San Francisco]
9. [Goodfriend Hotel, 225 Powell Street, San Francisco]
10. [unidentified two-story building, probably municipal]
11. A40. [Cargo ship Colin H. Livingstone at dock. Completed in October 1920 and renamed in 1925]
8" x 10" film negatives
12.1 [Joshua Hendy Iron Works, 75 Fremont Street, San Francisco]
12.2 large building at 351 Geary Street, San Francisco]
12.3 [unidentified five story building, address is 1051-1055, probably San Francisco]
12.4 [Baldwin Hotel at 321 Grant Avenue and adjacent buildings, San Francisco]
12.5 1920. [700 Polk Street, San Francisco, same building as glass negative #5]
12.6 550 Leavenworth [later caption, Colonade Apartments, 550 Leavenworth Street, San Francisco]
12.7 [office interior, name printed on door is "James H. Vinter"]
Box 8, Folder 1-9
photographic negatives - Monterey
Scope and Contents
Nine 8.25" x 6.5" glass negatives, many cracked and repaired with tape. Enclosed are scraps of paper reading "Pillsbury, Cypress,
Monterey" and "J. Fox Antiques, Porterville, CA." One plate is captioned "Cypress Point, Monterey. Pillsbury's Pictures No.
8171."
Box 8, Folder 10
photographic negative - unidentified town
Scope and Contents
8" x 10" glass negative numbered 10350 in caption. Aerial view of town with railroads, factories, hills in background - possibly
East Bay?
Box 9
lantern slides
Scope and Contents
Views of San Francisco, nature, lakes, Big Trees, Yosemite, Southwest/Grand Canyon, etc. published by Underwood & Underwood,
Southern Pacific Railroad, George Kanzee, and Chas. Beseler.
Box 9
stereographs
Scope and Contents
J.J. Reilly - Views of American Scenery
-Geyser Springs (5 cards)
-San Francisco (9 cards)
-C.P.R.R. (5 cards)
Carleton Watkins
-Watkins' New Series/Central And Union Pacific Railroads 77, 2759, 2767, 4204, 4242 (5 cards)
-Pacific Coast Views (1 card with no number or caption, view of Geyser Hotel, Sonoma County, matches copy numbered 1584)
C.W. Carter – Of Utah Scenery (2 cards)
Continent Stereoscopic Company – 1087 A Bee Ranch in California (1 card)
Keystone View Company – 13720, 16718, V27203, V32589 (4 cards, views of Taos Pueblo, Sioux, Eskimo, Blackfoot Indians)