Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection
- Dates:
- 1920-1969
- Creators:
- Hollingshead, Paul W. (Paul William), 1896-1974 and Hollingshead, William T. , 1937-2021
- Abstract:
- The Paul W. Hollingshead Collection contains photographs of 1920s New York when Paul W. Hollingshead (PWH) was chief photographer for Edward Steichen (1923ā1928), and photographs from the 1930sā1960s documenting life in Northern California through an artist's lens. The majority of the collection contains photographs of Woodland and its residents, but additional highlights include the California Flower Festival in San Leandro.
- Extent:
- 20 linear feet The collection contains 3,789 photos, proofs and slides, as well as a small amount of correspondence, books and pamphlets, and other personal papers.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection, D-742, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains photographs and personal papers spanning the life and career of professional photographer Paul W. Hollingshead. With almost 4,000 photographs in formats that include original silver gelatin prints, glossies, proofs, negatives and glass slides, the materials in this collection showcase life in New York City during the 1920s, life in San Francisco, Oakland and San Leandro during the early 1930s, with the bulk of the collection documenting life in Woodland, CA from the 1930s through the 1970s.
Hollingshead began his career in photography in New York City, where he attended the New York Institute of Photography and served as the chief photographer for Edward Steichen (1923-1928). Materials from the New York era of Hollingshead career include numerous studio portraits of different models, workbooks and pamphlets from the New York Institute of Photography, as well as photographs of Edward Steichen, photographs of Hollingshead taken by Edward Steichen, and correspondence from Steichen. There are also various photographs of New York City streets as well as personal photographs of friends and family, and a small amount of photographs pertaining to the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
When Hollingshead first moved to California in 1928, he set up his photography studio in San Francisco before later moving to Oakland. Photographs from this time mainly include portraits of clients, group portraits for various organizations, photographs of UC Berkeley architecture, and the Oakland branch of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. In 1930 the Hollingsheads moved to San Leandro. Photographs from San Leandro showcase various buildings and landmarks, as well as photographs of San Leandro High School students, which Hollingshead's younger brother Lamar attended. Additionally, Hollingshead served as the official photographer for the Sixth Annual California Flower Festival (c.1930) in San Leandro.
In 1932 the Hollingsheads moved for the final time to Woodland, CA. Photographs from Woodland contain professional portraits of Woodland residents, photographs of various buildings, businesses and landmarks around Woodland, as well as social activities, parades, and various organizations through the years.
While a large number of photographs in this collection are products of Hollingshead's professional photography business, this collection also contains a variety of personal family photographs and snapshots. There are photographs of Hollingshead's family in Wyoming and Utah from the 1910s and early 1920s, before he moved to NYC and when he returned to visit in 1928, as well as photographs of his parents and brothers in San Leandro. However, the bulk of personal family photographs document the lives of Hollingshead's two sons, Bill and Edward, growing up in Woodland, CA.
While this collection was primarily compiled, arranged, and contextualized by Hollingshead's son William (Bill) prior to being donated, a large number of negatives were found in their original envelopes. To that point, there are many photographs that have corresponding negatives scattered throughout the collection, some of which included different contextual information depending on if it was provided by Bill Hollingshead or written on the original envelope for the negatives.
In addition to photographs, this collection also includes personal correspondence, financial records relating to Hollingshead's photography business, memorabilia relating to the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco, and other personal documents and memorabilia that Paul W. Hollingshead collected throughout his life. This collection also contains two binders of photographs with captions written by Bill Hollingshead for photography exhibits, and a binder with a biography and chronology of Paul W. Hollingshead's life compiled by Edward Hollingshead's granddaughter Sydney Hollingshead and Bill Hollingshead's wife Sharon (Dianne).
- Biographical / historical:
-
Paul William Hollingshead (December 2, 1896 - February 5, 1974) was born in Minersville, Utah. A year later the family moved to Fort Bridger, Wyoming. He received his first box camera in 1911 which he used to take full-length portraits of his family. In 1918 he enlisted in the Army during WWI. He was stationed near San Diego from September 1918 until January 1919 when he was honorably discharged. In 1923, Paul Hollingshead headed to New York to attend the New York Institute of Photography. He graduated after attending a three-month full-time program which included courses on general photography and motion picture photography. Upon his graduation, he became an apprentice of the photographer Edward Steichen in New York which lasted five and a half years. In 1928 Hollingshead moved to San Francisco with his wife, Vera Hollingshead, to open the first Hollingshead Studio. In 1932 the Hollingsheads opened the Hollingshead Studio at 325 2nd Street in Woodland, California, across from the Woodland Opera House. There Hollingshead continued to photograph Woodland and California daily life and history. Hollingshead was inducted into the New York Institute of Photography Hall of Fame in 2015, and they created a new course based on his life: "Evolution of the Photographer", which captures the scope of his life and career.
Paul W. Hollingshead's parents were William Thomas Hollingshead and Daisy Estella Rollings. He had five brothers (Grant LaMar, Barlow Winfield, Forrest Maurice, August Belmont, Legrande Rodney) and one sister (Rosemond). Hollingshead met his wife Vera Mary Tilly in NYC in 1926. She was an immigrant from London who came to the United States to take a post-graduate course in dietetics at John Hopkins Hospital before moving to NYC to work as an inspector for Childs Restaurants. Hollingshead and Vera Tilly were introduced by Emanuel Popolizio, a fellow photography classmate of Hollingshead and boyfriend of Vera Tilly's roommate. Paul and Vera Hollingshead were married February 19, 1927. They had two sons, Edward Paul Hollingshead, born July 24, 1929, and William (Bill) Thomas Hollingshead, born May 24, 1937. Hollingshead died February 5, 1974.
Hollingshead son Bill, a UC Davis Alumni, took on a stewardship role over his father's photographs by preserving and organizing the vast collection in the years following his father's death. He added context to many of the photographs and negatives and organized the bulk of the photographs into binders, providing write ups and captions for special exhibits. He also undertook large scale project with photographer Ben Wong, to get modern reprints of a large number of negatives that were never printed. Bill Hollingshead's work and dedication to his father's legacy was instrumental to Paul W. Hollingshead being inducted into the New York Institute of Photography Hall of Fame in 2014. After Bill Hollingshead's death in 2021, his wife Sharon Dianne Hollinghsead, UC Davis Class of 1963, generously donated the collection to the UC Davis Library.
Sources
Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection Background compiled by son Bill Hollingshead. Box 25 Folder 16. Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection, D-742, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Biography Chronology Chapter compiled by son Bill Hollingshead. Box 25 Folder 15. Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection, D-742, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Acquisition information:
-
Gift of William T. and Sharon D. Hollingshead.
Hollingshead's son Bill, a UC Davis alumnus took on a stewardship role over his father's photographs by preserving and organizing the vast collection in the years following his father's death. He added context to many of the photographs and negatives and organized the bulk of the photographs into binders, providing write-ups and captions for special exhibits. He also undertook a large scale project with photographer Ben Wong, to get modern reprints of a large number of negatives that were never printed. Bill Hollingshead's work and dedication to his father's legacy was instrumental to Paul W. Hollingshead being inducted into the New York Institute of Photography Hall of Fame in 2014. Bill Hollingshead died on February 1, 2021, and his wife Sharon Dianne Hollinghsead, also a UC Davis alumnus, generously donated the collection to the UC Davis Library in 2022.
Sources:
Kevin Miller. Paul W. Hollingshead photography collection donated to UC Davis Library ā UC Davis Library, May 9, 2023. https://library.ucdavis.edu/news/paul-w-hollingshead-photography-collection-donated-to-uc-davis-library/.
"William Hollingshead Obituary - Woodland, ca, ca (1937-2021)." Daily Democrat, March 14, 2021. https://www.dailydemocrat.com/obituaries/william-t-hollingshead-woodland-ca-ca/.
- Processing information:
-
Vanessa Cardona Ocegueda created the preliminary finding aid with information compiled by Bill and Dianne Hollingshead. Elizabeth Wood processed the collection and expanded the finding aid in 2026.
- Physical location:
- Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
- Physical facet:
- 3,789 photos, proofs and slides
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-07-27 09:26:42 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Paul W. Hollingshead Photography Collection, D-742, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621