Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers, 1849-1974, bulk 1928-1965

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Abstract:
Comprises scrapbooks, correspondence, writings, publications, and other materials created or collected by Dr. Leo Leonidas Stanley documenting his personal research and professional work as a prison doctor, ship's physician, and medical experimenter (1913-1974). The scrapbooks contain Stanley's observations of conditions at prison hospitals and road camps in the United States and abroad, as well as descriptions of his travels. Scrapbooks, autobiographical writings, and other materials document the experimental testicular transplant surgeries Stanley performed during his tenure at San Quentin. The collection also contains Stanley's correspondence with prisoners, including J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson; Watson's writings, including his novel Tangled; and official reports and records Stanley collected or transcribed from San Quentin.
Extent:
8 Linear Feet (27 boxes)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Leo L. Stanley Papers (MS 2061), California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Stanford University Libraries, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection materials document Stanley's personal research and professional work as a prison doctor, ship's physician, and medical experimenter (1913-1974). The scrapbooks contain Stanley's observations of conditions at prison hospitals and road camps in the United States and abroad, as well as descriptions of his travels. Much of the material contains personal and professional anecdotes, and punctuated throughout the collection are a number of autobiographical works ( News Men I Have Known, Three Ways To Win, A Long and Happy One: Autobiography of Leo L. Stanley, and Twenty Years at San Quentin). Significantly, this material includes disparate versions of the experimental testicular transplant surgeries Stanley performed during his tenure at San Quentin. Also noteworthy is Stanley's correspondence with prisoners, including J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson (1879-1939), who was incarcerated and ultimately died at San Quentin State Prison after he was convicted of the murder of fifteen women. As executor of Watson's estate, Stanley retained a number of his writings, including poems, musings, and two versions of Watson's novel Tangled, which are included in the collection. The collection also contains a number of official reports and records Stanley collected or transcribed from San Quentin, including a published register of convicts complete from 1851-1859 ( Register of State Prison at San Quentin 1889).

Biographical / historical:

Leo Stanley was born in Oregon in 1886 and raised in San Luis Obispo County, California. After receiving his bachelor's degree at Stanford University in 1903 and matriculating to Cooper Medical College in 1908, Stanley served his medical residency at San Quentin State Prison. In 1913, Stanley accepted the position of Chief Medical Officer at the prison, a position he held until his retirement in 1951. During his tenure at San Quentin, Stanley performed medical experiments on prisoners involving testicular transplants, attracting national media attention (the "Buck" Kelly case). This notoriety would cling to him until his death in 1976.

Throughout his life, Stanley traveled the world, working as a physician, studying prison hospitals, and observing conditions at prison road camps. He penned a number of articles for San Francisco Bay Area newspapers and medical journals and published several books, including My Most Unforgettable Convicts. The final years of his life were spent writing and working on his farm ("Crest Farm") in Marin County, California, with his second wife Bernice Holthouse.

Acquisition information:
The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Dr. Leo L. Stanley in 1974. Transferred to Stanford University Libraries in 2025.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into three series: 1) Travel scrapbooks, which contain daily descriptions of journeys in the United States and abroad, with accompanying photographs and ephemera; 2) Prison scrapbooks and related material, which include materials pertaining to San Quentin State Prison and prison road camp inspections in California; and 3) Personal papers, articles, and writings, which contain several autobiographical manuscripts, newspaper articles and magazine clippings, correspondence, and a manuscript written by Stanley's father, Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Please note that materials must be requested 36 hours in advance of intended use.

Documents in the Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers (MS 2061) containing personally identifiable health information are restricted during the lifetime of the person in question. Individuals are presumed to be deceased 100 years after the date of their birth or the date of record creation, whichever occurs first.

The following documents are sealed and closed until the date indicated:

1). All Pacific Cruise: Australia (vol. VI), Box 5, page 284: Sealed and closed until 2029.

2). All Pacific Cruise: New Zealand, Fiji, Pago Pago, Hawaii (vol. VII), Box 5, pages [330-334]: Sealed and closed until 2029.

Restricted documents have been separated and sealed in Box 27.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Leo L. Stanley Papers (MS 2061), California Historical Society Collection at Stanford, Stanford University Libraries, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Department of Special Collections, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6004, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
chscollection@stanford.edu
Website