A guide to the Hicks family and Hicks Engine Works photograph albums, 1895-1925

Box 1-2; Oversize storage

Series 1. Hicks engines and family photographs, circa 1895-1925

Extent: 3 items (2 photograph albums and 1 mounted print)

Arrangement

Arranged into 3 file units by album and physical form.

Box 1

File Unit 1. A Photographic History of the Hicks Gas Engine photograph album, circa 1895-1920

Extent: 1 photograph album.

Physical Description: 1 photograph album, 8.25 x 11.5 in., with 63 pages containing 90 black-and-white photographic prints, 1 advertising card, 3 non-photographic images, and 1 newspaper clipping; loose items found inside the album: 1 business card, 5 black-and-white photographic prints, 1 set of forms (13 sheets).

Scope and Content Note

Consists of an album containing photographs related to the manufacture and use of Hicks engines. Embossed on the cover are "A Photographic History of the Hicks Gas Engine" and "F. A. Hicks." Includes photographs of San Francisco Bay Area fishing boats, both sail (feluccas) and engine-powered, as well as power yachts. There are photographs of Hicks' San Francisco shops located at 108 Main Street and 967-969 Howard Street, both exterior building shots and views of men assembling engines inside. Also includes photographs of Hicks family members (James L., his sons Frank and Robert, and Frank's daughter Mary). Some of the photographs are hand-colored, and some photographs are embossed or stamped with the logo of Morton Photographs, San Francisco.

Photographs by page:

Page 1: Golden Gate, San Francisco Bay.
Page 2: Portrait of James L. Hicks; two men inside a shop; engine; advertising card for "Hicks' Gas or Gasoline Engines" at 677 Mission Street (office) and 108 Main Street (works) in San Francisco.
Page 3: Horseless carriages; men assembling a carriage inside a shop.
Page 4: Men inside Hicks' works at 108 Main Street, circa 1898; boat hauled out; engine.
Page 5: Engines.
Page 6: Men inside Hicks' works at 108 Main Street, circa 1898; GARIBALDI (power fishing boat) tied up; Mary Hicks (daughter of Frank A. Hicks) posing with an engine.
Page 7: Mechanic's Institute Industrial Exhibition coins. One is dated 1877.
Pages 8-9: Feluccas and fishermen at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Pages 10-13: Engines.
Page 14: Three panoramic views of San Francisco showing the city burning after the April 1906 earthquake, May 1906 ruins, and reconstruction as seen in 1911.
Page 15: Portraits (right to left) of Robert Hicks, James L. Hicks, and Frank A. Hicks; exterior of J.L. Hicks shop at 967-969 Howard Street, San Francisco.
Page 16: Advertisement for Hicks Engines, circa 1915; power boats NEW PRESIDENT, MYRTLE, and unidentified (with Al Nelson on board?).
Page 17: Engine; P. & C. Cutlery & Saw Works truck, circa 1911; power boat underway; power fishing boats docked along a wharf (Includes TON, MARU, SISTER, TAIYO and others. An American Tuna Co. sign is visible on one of the buildings.).
Page 18: Combine harvester; engine.
Page 19: Interior view of Hicks' Gas Engine Works machine shop in San Francisco. James L. Hicks is on the right, wearing a vest.
Pages 20-21: Engines.
Page 22: Trophy engraved with "Presented by Cav. J. F. Fugazi to the North Beach Thanksgiving Carnival Nov. 24th 1910 Frank A. Hicks." (Cavalier John F. Fugazi was a prominent San Francisco travel agent, banker and philanthropist).
Page 23: Trophy engraved with "Presented by Castagnetto & Matteucci to the North Beach Thanksgiving Carnival Assoc'n. Nov. 24th 1910 Won By: Frank A. Hicks." (Castagnetto & Matteucci were San Francisco jewelers or watchmakers).
Pages 24-25: Engines.
Page 26: Mary Hicks (daughter of Frank A. Hicks) with an engine.
Page 27: PILOT (launch); NONE SUCH (schooner, 2m); newspaper clipping about PILOT of San Diego.
Page 28: INDEPENDENT (power fishing boat) with men, women, and a child on board.
Page 29: OHIO, SAN DIEGO(?), and an unidentified power fishing boat; engine.
Pages 30-32: Fishing fleets moored and hauled out.
Page 33: Engine installed aboard a vessel.
Page 34: Boats hauled out in front of Genoa Boat Builders boatyard, San Francisco; Captain San [Fuleppo?] and boat at Monterey, California.
Page 35: Fishing fleet docked at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Pages 36-37: ROSALINA (schooner, 2m) on the ways at B. Caviglia Boat Builders boatyard, San Francisco.
Page 38: ISABEL (cruiser yacht) underway.
Page 39: Five trophies. Annotated with handwritten notes. Upper left: "C.Y.C. 1st prize regatta." Lower left: "Pac Motor Boat Club Handicap Race 1912." Center: "Commodore Hawkins Trophy. 1912 Series of 10 races. Walter McCarthy. " Upper right: "Long distance races Sacramento to Sausalito. Time 11 hrs 23 min. Distance 107 miles." Lower right: "Cal. Y. Club Regatta 1st prize Cruiser Race." Note: Walter McCarthy was the owner of the cruiser ISABEL.
Pages 40-41: Trophies (not marked) possibly related to yacht racing.
Page 42: Feluccas at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Page 43: Power fishing boats at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Pages 44-45: Unidentified power yachts underway.
Page 46: Engine.
Page 47: Men assembling Hicks engines. James L. Hicks is the man wearing the suit and hat.
Page 48: Exterior of Hicks Iron Works at 967-969 Howard Street, San Francisco.
Page 49: Drying fishing nets. Pittsburg Machine Works is in the background.
Pages 50-51: Unloading fish from CENTURY (power fishing boat). Boxes stacked on the dock are stamped "Property of F.E. Booth Co."
Page 52: Power fishing fleet.
Page 53: MARINICE (power boat) underway, flying a "Jos. Ullmann" flag.
Page 54: Japanese fishing fleet docked.
Page 55: Three men and a woman at work inside an office. Frank Hicks is the man standing next to the table by the window.
Pages 56-57: Men building Hicks engines.
Pages 58-63: Engines.

Loose items found between the album pages:

Between cover and first page: 1 business card for J. L. Hicks; 1 black-and-white photographic print of men at work in the Hicks Gas Engine Works machine shop; 4 sheets of J. L. Hicks Machine Tools/Gas Engines forms.
Between Pages 4-5: 2 black-and-white photographic prints of feluccas and power fishing boats at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco; 1 black-and-white photographic print of an engine designed in 1900 by Frank Hicks.
Between Pages 56-57: 1 black-and-white photographic print of men at work in the Hicks machine shop (duplicate of print that appears on album Page 56).

Box 2

File Unit 2. Untitled photograph album, circa 1900-1925

Extent: 1 photograph album.

Physical Description: 1 photograph album, 8.25 x 11.5 in., with 58 pages containing 91 black-and-white photographic prints; 25 loose black-and-white photographic prints

Scope and Content Note

Consists of an album containing photographs related to Hicks engines, Frank A. Hicks' machinery business in Los Angeles, and the Hicks family. Includes photographs of fishing boats, both sail (feluccas) and engine-powered, as well as power yachts. Some photographs were taken in Oregon and Washington. There are also photographs of the Hicks family vacationing in Lake County, California. Some of the photographs appear more than once inside this album.

Photographs by page:

Page 1: Feluccas docked at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Page 2: SKALU and other power boats docked; power boats CROFTON, DEFIANCE, MOLLUSK II, and MADELEINE docked (Grand Trunk Pacific sign is on a building in the background).
Page 3: Fishing fleets in various locations. (The photo in the lower right has a building with "I Wharf Fish Market" and "B.S. Snow & Co." painted on it.)
Page 4: DIVER (built 1917; power boat) hauled out at Astoria, Oregon (built by Wickstrom and Nyman); docked power boats including ADRIATIC, PROSPERITY, MAGNET, TACOMA, NOME, VEGA, and OJOA.
Page 5: MAINE (power fishing boat) underway with men, women, and children aboard.
Page 6: Lifeboats built by Wickstrom and Nyman, Astoria, Oregon.
Page 7: Unidentified power yacht underway; MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch.
Page 8: ROSALINA (schooner, 2m) on the ways at B. Caviglia Boat Builders boatyard, San Francisco; MARINICE (power boat) underway, flying a "Jos. Ullmann" flag.
Page 9: NEW PRESIDENT (fishing boat?) in the stream; MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch.
Page 10: Unidentified power yacht underway; MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch.
Page 11: Boat on a marine railway (engine visible); unidentified power yacht underway.
Page 12: MARIA (fishing boat?); MAINE (power fishing boat).
Page 13: MAINE (power fishing boat); OHIO, SAN DIEGO(?), and an unidentified power fishing boat.
Pages 14-15: Unidentified power boat underway; crowd of people aboard a power boat; MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch.
Page 16: Monterey clippers docked; SKALU and other power fishing boats docked.
Page 17: MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch.
Page 18: MAINE (power fishing boat) ready to launch; two unidentified men; view aboard a fishing boat.
Page 19: MAINE (power fishing boat) underway with men, women, and children aboard; unidentified street scene.
Page 20: Interior of a machine shop.
Page 21: Engines.
Page 22: Men working outside of Frank A. Hicks Machinery shop at 242-244 Central Avenue, Los Angeles, California; Atlas Auto Repair Co. building.
Page 23: Salvador posing with an engine; machinery close-up.
Page 24: Machinery loaded on a truck and flatbed train car in Los Angeles.
Page 25: Mary Hicks (daughter of Frank A. Hicks) with an engine; shop interior.
Pages 26-30: Engines. One photograph on Page 30 was taken in Walla Walla, Washington, of an engine on a combine harvester.
Page 31: Exterior of Frank A. Hicks Machinery shop at 242-244 Central Avenue, Los Angeles.
Page 32: Engines.
Page 33: Hicks-Bull Machine Co. and Star Iron Works in Tacoma, Washington; machinery loaded on a flatbed train car in Los Angeles.
Pages 34-36: Engines.
Pages 37-38: Exterior of Frank A. Hicks Machinery shop at 242-244 Central Avenue, Los Angeles.
Page 39: Machinery loaded on a flatbed train car in Los Angeles; Atlas Auto Repair Co. building.
Pages 40-41: Engines.
Page 42: Machine shop interior; window of Frank A. Hicks Machinery shop with trophies in view.
Page 43-44: Engines.
Page 50: Portrait of a man in New York, 1905.

The photographs on Pages 44-58 had been removed from the album by the donors. Due to the difficulty of determining the original order of the photographs, they are housed separately from the album. The photographs show friends and family at leisure in Lake County, California, 1913-1916. Includes photographs of Frank A. Hicks' children, James W., Mary, and Edward. Also includes photographs of Sidney H. McKinley, operator of McKinley Brothers flour mill. Photographs of other people are not identified. Other photographs include the Callayomi schoolhouse in Middletown, a street scene (parade?) in Middletown with a banner for the Lake County House visible, the Calistoga Palisades pinnacles, and the Cobb tollbooth.

2 additional black-and-white photographs of engines were also with the Lake County photographs.

Oversize storage

File Unit 3. Mounted print, circa 1920

Extent: 1 photograph.

Physical Description: 1 black-and-white photographic print, 11 x 14 in., mounted on 16 x 17 in. mat.

Scope and Content Note

Consists of a photograph of men at work in the engine assembly area of Hicks Iron Works, San Francisco, California. The image is captioned: "Engine Assembly Area circa 1920. Expanded production facilities as a result of the business expansion efforts during the Demarest era (1918-1924) is revealed in this orderly engine assembly scene. Courtesy of the Hicks Family and Harcourt Hervey III."

The same image appears in the photograph album in File Unit 1, page 46.

Collection Contents