Finding aid to the Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers, 1849-1974
(bulk 1928-1965), MS 2061
Finding aid prepared by California Historical Society staff.
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105-4014
(415) 357-1848
reference@calhist.org
© 2001
Title: Leo L. Stanley scrapbooks and papers
Date (bulk): 1928-1965
Date (inclusive): 1849-1974
Collection Identifier: MS
2061
Creator:
Stanley, Leo L. (Leo Leonidas), b. 1886
Extent:
27 boxes
(8 linear feet)
Repository:
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA, 94105
415-357-1848
reference@calhist.org
URL: http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org/
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection Materials are in
English
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.
Restrictions on Access
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.
3).
Korea: San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island, Tokyo,
Seoul
: Sealed and closed until 2020.
4).
Inspection Tour of Road Camps, Box 22, pages [12]
and [19]: Sealed and closed until 2016. Page [13]: Sealed and closed until 2013.
Restricted documents have been separated and sealed in Box 27.
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Director of Library and Archives, North Baker
Research Library, California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, San Francisco,
CA 94105. Consent is given on behalf of the California Historical Society as the
owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from
the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Leo L. Stanley Papers, MS 2061, California Historical
Society.
Related Collections
Leo Leonidas Stanley reminiscences, MS 3505 [concerning the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake and fire].
Donor
The collection was given to the California Historical Society by Dr. Leo L. Stanley
in 1974.
System of 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.
Biographical Information
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.
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).
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog:
California State Prison at San Quentin--Officials
and employees.
California State Prison at San Quentin.
Watson, J. P.
Convict labor--California.
Human experimentation in medicine--California.
Prison physicians.
Prisoners--California--San Quentin--Fiction.
Prisoners--Medical care.
Prisons.
Ship physicians.
Voyages and travels.
Voyages around the world.
Scrapbooks.
General Note
The following items were formerly cataloged as MS 1303:
Korea:
San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island, Tokyo, Seoul
, 1956; Reports of
State Prison Directors on San Quentin, 1855-1912;
Register of
State Prison at San Quentin 1889
; Federal Executions at the California
State Prison at San Quentin, 1895;
The Evolution of a State
Prison
, by James Wilkins; and
News Men I Have
Known
.
Series 1:
Travel scrapbooks
1911-1972 (bulk 1928-1956)
Scope and Contents
Scrapbooks contain daily accounts of each trip and include photographs, maps,
travel brochures, news clippings, and other printed matter from places
visited. Stanley's observations of conditions at prisons and prison
hospitals, and health conditions aboard ships, are often intermingled with
personal descriptions of his travels.
Box 1
Trident, Scalpel, and Probe: The Adventures of a
Ship's Doctor
(vol. I)
1928 October 4-1928 November 2
Scope and Contents
Stanley acted as the ship's doctor on the
S.S.
City of Los Angeles
voyage around South America. The
scrapbook contains notes on the preparation for the trip and the first
ports of call, including Callao and Lima, Peru; Valparaiso and Santiago,
Chile; the Straits of Magellan; Punta Arenas; and Buenos Aires,
Argentina. News from San Quentin is also featured in this volume.
Box 2
Trident, Scalpel, and Probe: The Adventures of a
Ship's Doctor
(vol. II)
1928 November 3-1928 December 6
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay;
Santos, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Port of Spain, Trinidad;
La Guayra and Caracas, Venezuela; the Panama Canal Zone; San Salvador;
Guatemala; and Mazatlan, Mexico. Significantly, the scrapbooks contain
notes on visits to local prison hospitals.
Box 2
All Pacific Cruise: Japan (vol.
I)
1929 January 14-1929 October 3
Scope and Contents
Stanley was the ship's doctor on the
S.S.
Malolo
's cruise around the Pacific. The beginning of the
scrapbook describes preparations and departure. Travel itinerary
includes Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.
Box 3
All Pacific Cruise: Japan (vol.
II)
1929 October 4-1929 October 12
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Kobe, Nara, and Miyajima.
Box 3
All Pacific Cruise: China (vol.
III)
1929 October 13-1929 October 22
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Chinwangtao, Peiping, the Great Wall, and
Shanghaikun.
Box 4
All Pacific Cruise: Hong Kong, Manila,
Saigon
(vol. IV)
1929 October 23-1929 November 2
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Hong Kong, Kowloon, Canton, Manila, and Saigon.
Stanley describes his visit to an "opium joint" and a "house of ill
fame" in Saigon.
Box 4
All Pacific Cruise: Siam, Singapore, Java
(vol. V)
1929 November 3-1929 November 11
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Bangkok; Singapore; Jahore; Batavia and
Buitenzorg, Java; and Tanjong Priok.
Box 5
All Pacific Cruise: Australia (vol.
VI)
1911-1929 (bulk 1929 November 12-1929 November 27)
Restriction on Access
Page 284 is sealed and closed until 2029 in Box 27, folder 1.
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Rottnest Island, Fremantle, Perth, Melbourne,
Sydney, and Katoonmba. The volume contains observations on local
hospitals and prisons.
Box 5
All Pacific Cruise: New Zealand, Fiji, Pago Pago,
Hawaii
(vol. VII)
1929 November 28-1929 December 15
Conditions on Access
Pages [330-334] are sealed and closed until 2029 in Box 27, folder 2.
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Auckland; Suva, Fiji; Pago Pago, Samoa; and
Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii. Stanley discusses an outbreak of venereal
disease among the ship's crew.
Box 6
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol.
I)
1929-1971 February 28 (bulk 1931 June 26-1931 July 8)
Scope and Contents
Stanley was a passenger on a voyage bound for Russia. Travel itinerary
includes a trip by train to New York and a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland.
This volume also contains a transcription of a letter and poem sent by
San Quentin prisoner J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson.
Box 7
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol.
II)
1931 July 9-1937 December 15 (bulk 1931 July 9-1931 July 18)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes the Norwegian cities of Hammerfest, Lyngen,
Trondhjem, and Bergan.
Box 8
North Cape-Russia Cruise (vol.
III)
1931 July 19-1971 July 18 (bulk 1931 July 19-1931 August
1)
Scope and Contents
The volume primarily documents the abrupt end of the voyage. Aubrey "Lady
Bob" Montgomery, fellow passenger and friend, died while the ship was
docked in Stockholm. Stanley remained behind to care for her affairs.
Stanley returned with her body via the
Suecia and
S.S. Mauritania
to New York, then by train to San Francisco. Travel itinerary aboard the
Carinthia includes Oslo, Visby
Gottland, and Stockholm.
Box 9
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr. Stanley
(vol. I)
1899-1959 (bulk 1933 June 8-1933 June 11)
Scope and Contents
Stanley and two colleagues from San Quentin, prison dentist Doc Walsh and
prison sheriff Fred "the Baron" Shur, vacationed to Alaska and back. The
trip begins on the coast of Northern California, continues through
Oregon and Washington, and stops in Canada for a voyage from Vancouver
aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamer
Princess
Norah
bound for Alaska. Included is a March 1949 article
authored by Stanley titled "Backward, Turn Backward" for the
Centaur of Alpha Kappa Kappa, with
descriptions of Stanley's childhood in Northern California at the turn
of the century.
Box 10
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr.
Stanley
(vol. II)
1933 June 11-1933 June 13
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary aboard the Canadian Pacific Steamer
Princess Norah includes Alert Bay and Prince
Rupert, British Columbia; and Ketchikan and Juneau, Alaska.
Box 11
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr.
Stanley
(vol. III)
1933 June 14-1933 June 16
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Skagway, Alaska; Bennett, Carcross, and Tagish
Lake, British Columbia; then to Juneau, Alaska, where they begin the
journey home. Stanley quotes extensively from Robert Service's
The Trail of '98 throughout this volume.
Box 12
Alaska: The Trip as Related by Dr.
Stanley
(vol. IV)
1933 June 17-1933 June 22
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Juneau, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; Portland,
Oregon; and San Rafael, California. The last fifty pages are written by
Fred Shur, who relates his account of the trip.
Box 13
Around the World via Siberia: Across America, San
Francisco to New York on the Deportation Train-From New York on the
President Roosevelt Bound for Le Harve
(vol. I)
1934 April 20-1934 September 6 (bulk 1934 April 20-1934 May
8)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled from San Francisco to New York, serving as a doctor on a
deportation train, completing the first stage on a trip bound for the
Soviet Union to study hospitals and prisons. Travel itinerary includes
the journey to New York from San Francisco and the first few days aboard
the
S.S. President Roosevelt bound for Le
Harve. Included are photographs and descriptions of a number of
prisoners aboard the deportation train.
Box 13
Around the World Via Siberia: France: Paris and
Versailles-Germany: Berlin and Potsdam
(vol. II)
1934 May 9-1964 April (bulk 1934 May 9-1934 May 18)
Scope and Contents
Documents Stanley's trip from Paris to Berlin, where he boarded an
airplane bound for Russia. A newspaper clipping and a passage about Abel
George Warshawsky is included in this volume, along with Stanley's
reminiscences about meeting the artist in Paris.
Box 14
Around the World Via Siberia: Russia: Leningrad
and Moscow
(vol. III)
1933-1962 September 29 (bulk 1934 May 19-1934 May 24)
Scope and Contents
Includes arrival in Leningrad and a day trip to Moscow accompanied by a
guide. Stanley visited hospitals in Leningrad, and an experimental
prison commune in Moscow. Included is an English language newspaper
Moscow Daily News, dated 1934 May 23,
and various period guidebooks to the U.S.S.R.
Box 14
Around the World Via Siberia: Manchoukuo: Chinese
Eastern Railway
(vol. IV)
1934 May 31-1934 June 3
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes a trip along the Chinese Eastern Railway with
stops in Tsitsihar, Anda, Harbin, Hsinking, Mukden, and Shanhaikuan.
Stanley visits a prison in Manchuli and a hospital in Mukden, and quotes
extensively from the 1934
Guide to
Manchoukuo
. Also included are photographs and transcriptions
from a journal describing his 1929 visit to the area.
Box 15
Around the World Via Siberia: China: Peiping and
Shanghai
(vol. V)
1934 June 4-1938 October 12 (bulk 1934 June 4-1934 June
8)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Peiping, Tientsin, Nanking, and Shanghai, where
Stanley boards the
M.S. Chichibu Maru.
Photographs and descriptions of a prison in Peiping and a "red light
district" are included.
Box 15
Around the World Via Siberia: Japan: Kobe and
Yokohama; Hawaii: Honolulu
(vol. VI)
1934-1966 (bulk 1934 June 9-1934 June 22
Scope and Contents
Stanley travels aboard the
M.S. Chichiba
Maru
with stops in Kobe, Kyoto, Yokohama, Pearl Harbor, and
Oahu, Hawaii, ending in San Francisco. Stanley records his thoughts on
prostitution houses in Japan and discusses a recent rash of "suicide
mania" in Oshima. While in Hawaii, Stanley presents a paper regarding
the care of prisoners convicted of "sexual perversions." The volume
contains a newspaper clipping from the
Honolulu
Star Bulletin
dated 1934 June 22 about the speech, quoting
Stanley's thoughts on the voluntary sterilization of prisoners. A folder
of mixed materials, including correspondence related to this part of the
trip, is included with the volume.
Box 16
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With
Mother in 1932
(Vol. I)
1929-1972 November 22 (bulk 1932 October 4-1932 October 9)
Scope and Contents
Along with his mother, Stanley travels to Juarez, Mexico, with stops at
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, to attend the 30th
annual meeting of the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. While in
Juarez, Stanley visited a prison and a house of prostitution. The volume
includes Stanley's mother's account of the trip and Stanley's associate,
Dr. George Waldo Burgess', version. Copies of Stanley's articles "The
Testicle" (published in 1932, concerning testicle transplants and the
experimental surgery performed on prisoners at San Quentin) and
“Syphilis Among State Prisoners” (1929) are included.
Box 16
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With
Mother in 1932
(vol. II)
1932 October 10-1972 September 3 (bulk 1932 October 10-1932
October 15)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes Chihuahua, Jimenez, Escalon, Torreon, Toluca,
and Mexico City. A visit to a prison in Toluca is recorded, along with a
trip to the National Palace where Stanley met President Abelardo
Rodriguez.
Box 17
Mexico: Jaunts to Mexico and Back, Trip With
Mother in 1932
(vol. III)
1932 October 11-1962 (bulk 1932 October 16-1932 October
19)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled from San Juan Teotihuacan to Guadalajara, then home to
San Francisco with stops in Cholula, Tepic, Mazatlan, and Nogalas,
Mexico. Volume contains a visit to a prison in Guadalajara and a
transcribed copy of a letter written by San Quentin prisoner J.P.
"Bluebeard" Watson.
Box 18
Mixing in Mexico, 1937 (vol.
I)
1937 June-1937 October 11
Scope and Contents
Stanley travels to Guadalajara, Mexico, to attend the annual meeting of
the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. The volume describes the
train trip to Guadalajara. The later part of the volume primarily
contains the case history of San Quentin prisoner Jose Alonzo, who
worked as an assistant to Dr. Stanley while incarcerated. Paroled to
Mexico in 1932, Alonzo and Stanley exchanged a number of letters.
Included is their correspondence and a description of a pack trip to
Chapala and the countryside taken together.
Box 18
Mixing in Mexico, 1937 (vol.
II)
1937 October 11-1954 (bulk 1937 October 11-1937 October
19)
Scope and Contents
Travel itinerary includes the second half of the pack trip to the Mexican
countryside, then to San Luis Soyatlan, Tuscueca, Chapala, Mescala, back
to Guadalajara, and a train trip bound for San Francisco.
Box 19
Viva Mexico: Trip to Mexico City by Judge Edward
I Butler, Mr. Basil H. Holthouse, Mr. Tillius Cordone, and Dr. Leo
L. Stanley
1955 January-1972 (bulk 1955 January)
Scope and Contents
Stanley, along with friends Judge Edward I. Butler, Basil H. Holthouse,
and Tillius Cordone, traveled by car and plane to Juarez, Mexico. This
scrapbook contains their accounts, which include the drive to El Paso,
Texas; flight to Mexico City; Jaurez; tour of the countryside; and the
return drive home. Correspondence between Stanley and former San Quentin
inmate Jose Guadalupe Rosas Alvarez, whom Stanley visited during the
trip, is included.
Box 27, Folder 3
Korea: San Francisco, Honolulu, Wake Island,
Tokyo, Seoul
1956 February 8-1956 February 29
Scope and Contents
Stanley acted as a medical attendant for the U.S. Immigration Department
on a deportation trip involving a Korean college student deported to
Seoul. Stanley describes the trip from San Francisco to Korea, with a
brief stop in Hawaii and longer layover in Tokyo. The majority of the
trip was spent in Seoul, though Stanley arranged a visit with friends in
Japan and a tour of the medical school at the University of Tokyo on the
return trip home. Stanley observes the devastation of war in both Korea
and in Japan. Travel ephemera, Japanese and Korean English language
newspaper clippings, and photographs are included.
Restriction on Access
Volume sealed and closed until 2020 in Box 27, folder 3.
Box 20
Railroad Surgeons Meet in Mexico
1964-1966 (bulk 1965 October-1965 November)
Scope and Contents
Stanley traveled by train to Mexico City to attend the annual meeting of
the Pacific Association of Railway Surgeons. The scrapbook contains
descriptions of the trip, though most of the narration in the volume
concerns former San Quentin inmate Jose Guadalupe Rosas Alvarez, then
serving time in a prison in Mexico City following a conviction of rape
and murder. The volume includes lengthy correspondence between Stanley
and Alvarez, in which Stanley urges Alvarez to write an autobiography
and Alvarez discusses his criminal history. The volume also documents
Stanley's visit to see Alvarez while in Mexico City to attend the
conference.
Series 2:
Prison scrapbooks and related material
1851-1968
Scope and Contents
Prison scrapbooks and related materials include accounts of trips taken by
Stanley to United States prisons and road camps; correspondence and writings
of San Quentin inmate J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson; official San Quentin State
Prison records and reports collected or transcribed by Stanley; and San
Quentin ephemera.
Box 21
Reports of State Prison Directors on San Quentin
1855-1912
Scope and Contents
Typed and bound copy of reports from the Office of the Board of State
Prison Inspectors on prison conditions at San Quentin.
Box 21, Folder 1
Reports of the Committee on State Prisons
1857-1938 February 2 (bulk 1857-1871)
Scope and Contents
Typed copies of San Quentin reports from 1857-1871, including testimonies
from state superintendents and prison committee members describing
prison conditions. The reports also contain statistics, property
inventories, and expenditures.
Box 21
Register of State Prison at San Quentin
1889
Scope and Contents
Bound volume containing lists of convicts on the Register of State Prison
at San Quentin, published by the State Office at Sacramento in 1889.
Alphabetically arranged and complete from 1851 to 1859, with date of
arrival, name, crime, term, date of discharge, and occasional
remarks.
Box 22, Folder 1
Federal Executions at the California State Prison at San
Quentin
1895 October 18
Scope and Contents
Typed copy with excerpts of testimony from report detailing the
executions of Hans Hansen, Herman Sparf, and Thomas C. St. Clair.
Box 22, Folder 2
The Evolution of a State Prison: Historical
Narrative of the Ten Years from 1851 to 1861, During the Period When
the Care and Employment of Convicts Was Turned Over to the
Lessess
, by James Wilkins
1918
Scope and Contents
Typed copy of a narrative originally printed in
The Bulletin, a San Francisco newspaper, extending from
1918 June 13 through 1918 July 10, detailing the history of San Quentin
State Prison from its inception to 1861, including state legislative
reports, county records, correspondence and interviews from state
officials, and testimonies from court proceedings.
Box 22
Prison Camps of Northern California
1929-1960 March (bulk 1929)
Scope and Contents
San Quentin Warden James B. Holohan, Superintendent of Prison Road Camps
Uriah A. Smith, and Stanley formed a self-appointed committee to inspect
the prison camps of Northern California. Stanley notes the conditions of
Lake County prison camp, in Lower Lake; Schilling prison camp in
Redding; Payne's Creek prison camp in Red Bluff; Paxton prison camp in
Feather River; and Oroville prison camp in Quincy, California.
Significantly, Stanley describes a "hushed up" incident involving a camp
sergeant and camp nurse accused of acquiring bootleg, visiting
prostitutes, and mistreating prisoners.
Box 22
Twenty Years at San Quentin
1933-1960 (bulk 1933)
Scope and Contents
Stanley recounts his first twenty years at San Quentin (1913-1933) and
medical procedures performed, such as spinal anesthesia. The scrapbook
also describes the history of San Quentin. Significantly, Stanley notes
the changes in prison population correlating with World War I, anecdotes
concerning escapees, and various construction projects seen during his
tenure. Photographs of San Quentin documenting changes at the prison are
included.
This volume includes the following articles by Stanley: "Tuberculosis in
San Quentin," reprinted from
California and
Western Medicine
, vol. 40 (6), December 1938, and vol. 50
(1), January 1939; "Spinal anesthesia," reprinted from
California and Western Medicine, vol. 52
(1), January 1940; and "Health reactions of San Quentin inmates to the
treatment of periodontitis and gingivitis," reprinted from
The Journal of the American Dental Association and
the Dental Cosmos
, vol. 24, May 1937.
Box 23
Inspection Tour of Road Camps
1937 May 14-1968 December (bulk 1937 May 14-1937 May
28)
Restriction on Access
Pages [12] and [19] are sealed and closed until 2016 in Box 27, folder 4.
Page [13] is sealed and closed until 2013 in Box 27, folder 4.
Scope and Contents
Stanley and the Warden of San Quentin, Court Smith, drove from San
Quentin to Southern California and then to Northern California to
inspect the prison road camps and the inmates tasked with constructing
the California highway system. Stanley also attended the annual
Northwestern Pacific Railroad Surgeon's meeting in Eureka. The prison
road camps described include Number 26 in Anderson Canyon; an unnamed
camp near Mt. Wilson in Southern California; Camp 30 in Oroville;
Feather River Highway; and Trinity road camp. Photographs, maps, and
highway travel brochures are included.
Box 23
Prison Camp Revolt
1939 March 14-1962 January 29 (bulk 1939 March 14-1939 March
17)
Scope and Contents
The scrapbook documents a trip taken with San Quentin Warden, Court Smith
and George A. Tilton, Superintendent of Road Construction for the
California State Highway Commission, to Camp 34 in Escondido, San Diego
County, in order to inspect a report that the road camp prisoners had
gone on a "semi-hunger strike." Stanley documents the trip in a daily
journal. Photographs and descriptions of work conditions are included,
as are detailed histories of the five prisoners accused of inciting the
hunger strike. The latter half of the scrapbook documents a road trip
Stanley and his companions take to Mission San Luis Rey and a visit with
friends in Los Angeles.
Box 24
We Visit Some Pens
1948 June 19-1948 July 9
Scope and Contents
The scrapbook documents a 26-day trip taken with Dr. David Akers, a
physician at San Quentin, Stanley's stepson, David Campbell, and
Campbell's friends, two nurses from Minnesota, who travel by car to
visit penitentiaries and study their medical programs. Itinerary and
prisons visited include: Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise, Idaho;
Yellowstone National Park; South Dakota Penitentiary in Sioux Falls;
Detroit, Michigan; State Prison of Southern Michigan in Jackson; Indiana
State Prison in Michigan City; Joliet Sate Prison in Chicago, Illinois;
Federal Penitentiary in Terra Haute, Indiana; Sullivan, Indiana; Medical
Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri; Colorado State
Prison in Canon City; and Utah State Penitentiary in Salt Lake City. The
scrapbook also contains a Stanley family history compiled by Ruth
Sullivan, and photographs and ephemera from penitentiaries visited.
Box 24
Poems, correspondence, and miscellaneous writings of and about
J.P. "Bluebeard" Watson
1929-1938
Scope and Contents
Contains a typed and bound collection of poems by Watson titled
Writings of JP Bluebeard Watson Vol. I
(1930-1938). Some poems include introductory text by Watson and all are
followed by a signature. A folder containing typed correspondence
written to Stanley by Watson is included. The letters (1929-1930)
describe the relationship between the Stanley and Watson, and concern
Watson's plans to speak to reporters and publish his novel. The folder
also contains a copy of E.B. Hoag's & E.H. Williams' 1921 article
"The Case of J.P. Watson, the Modern Bluebeard" from the
Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law
and Criminology
, vol. 12 (3).
Box 25
Tangled, by J.P. Watson
1930
Scope and Contents
A bound and typed draft of J.P Watson's unpublished novel
Tangled given to Stanley while Watson was
under his care. The novel, a love story, is centered around several
characters and involves a foiled plot to either murder or marry for
money.
Box 25
Tangled: a Revised Copy, by J.P.
Watson
1913-1932 (bulk 1932)
Scope and Contents
A bound and typed draft of J.P Watson's unpublished revision of his novel
Tangled. Also includes two undated
photographs of Watson (a portrait and a photograph with two unknown men)
and a picture of San Quentin's garden (1913). The forward contains a
letter to Stanley asking him to destroy the earlier version.
Box 25
San Quentin ephemera
1909, undated
Scope and Contents
Folder contains two San Quentin souvenir poetry booklets,
A Song of Freedom (1909) and
Forget Me Not (undated). Phil Thatcher's
undated religious tract,
San Quentin
Alumnus
, published by the Shepherd Foundation in Lynwood,
California, is also included.
Series 3:
Personal papers, articles, and writings
1849 - 1970
Scope and Contents
Contains family manuscripts, newspaper clippings and articles authored by and
about Stanley, travel brochures and ephemera, correspondence, and
autobiographical writings.
Box 26, Folder 1
Diary of a California Pioneer:
typescript
1849?
Box 26, Folders 2-3
The Lost Ledge, written by Dr. Hartwell
B. Stanley (handwritten manuscript)
1897-1946 (bulk 1897)
Scope and Contents
Handwritten family history written by Leo Stanley's father, Dr. Hartwell
B. Stanley. Includes a note written by Stanley describing the gift of
the manuscript from his mother on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
Box 26, Folder 4
The Lost Ledge, by Dr. Hartwell B.
Stanley (typed and bound copy)
1897-1972 (bulk 1897)
Scope and Contents
Typed and bound copy of Dr. Hartwell B. Stanley's manuscript "The Lost
Ledge" (1897). Includes loose newspaper clippings (1972, undated) and a
preface written by Leo Stanley (1946).
Box 26, Folder 6
Articles and newspaper clippings
1931-1971
Scope and Contents
Contains articles written by and about Stanley, mostly concerning his
medical career.
Box 26, Folder 7
Correspondence
1932-1965
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence to Stanley from friends, mostly pertaining to his
scrapbook collection or to his publications.
Box 26, Folder 8
Three Ways To Win
1952-1974 (bulk 1952)
Scope and Contents
As a member of the press, Stanley reported on a pioneer military air
landing exercise in Hawthorn, Nevada. Contains a narrative of the event,
a letter to press correspondents attending, accompanying photographs,
and a press booklet.
Box 26, Folder 9
News Men I Have Known
after 1967
Scope and Contents
Typed autobiographical manuscript documenting Stanley's overlapping
careers as an occasional reporter for San Francisco Bay Area newspapers
and doctor at San Quentin, including newspaper clippings of some of his
work. Notably, Stanley recounts the testicular implantation experiments
and the attention of the press that followed, including a variant
version of the "Buck" Kelly case.
Box 26, Folders 10-11
A Long and Happy One: Autobiography of Leo L.
Stanley
1968
Scope and Contents
Autobiography of Stanley documenting his early childhood to his
retirement. Includes notes about experimental testicular implantation
surgeries performed on prisoners in San Quentin and sterilization
procedures, including the "Buck" Kelly case.
Box 26, Folder 12
Portrait
1970
Scope and Contents
Brief autobiographical portrait written by Leo Stanley.