Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Ralph Arnold Photograph and Map
Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1880-1954
Bulk dates: 1905-1935
Collection Number: photCL 311
Creator:
Arnold, Ralph,
1875-1961
Extent:
Approximately 16,000 photographs in 97 boxes: 64 photograph albums, lantern
slides, glass and film negatives + 346 rolled maps.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: A collection of photographs and maps compiled by American
geologist and petroleum engineer Ralph Arnold (1875-1961), documenting his
pioneering work in oil and mineral exploration, chiefly in the Western United
States, Mexico and Venezuela, from 1900 to 1954, with the bulk of materials from
1905-1935.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ralph Arnold Photograph and Map Collection, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Ralph Arnold, 1955-1961.
Custodial History
These materials were originally received with the Ralph Arnold papers (mssArnold
papers) and were transferred to the Photo Archives Sept. 7, 1974.
In 2018, an additional 382 loose photograph album pages were transferred from Box
216 of the Ralph Arnold papers and reunited with the corresponding photograph
albums in this collection.
Biographical Note
American geologist and petroleum engineer Ralph Arnold (1875-1961) was born in
Marshalltown, Iowa, on April 14, 1875. His father, Delos Arnold (1830-1909), was a
lawyer and Iowa state senator who became interested in the study of fossils after
the discovery of crinoids fossils in LeGrand, Iowa. The Arnolds moved to Pasadena,
California in 1886, and Ralph attended Pasadena High School and Throop Polytechnic
School (now the California Institute of Technology) before receiving a B.A. in
geology and mining from Stanford University in 1899. He also completed an M.A.
(1900) and Ph.D. (1902) in geology and paleontology at Stanford. In 1899, Arnold
married Frankie Winninette Stokes, the daughter of Frank and Oraletta Stokes, who
had settled in South Pasadena in the 1880s. Ralph and Winninette Arnold had two
daughters, Winninette (Noyes) and Elizabeth "Betty" (McKee), and they lived in a
house at 1205 Wilson Avenue, South Pasadena (later San Marino).
Arnold worked
for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1900 to 1909, and from 1903-1909
published a variety of paleontological articles. He was active in petroleum surveys
throughout the United States, and organized the Petroleum Branch of the U.S. Bureau
of Mines. In 1910, he left the USGS and spent 1911-1916 leading a team in a landmark
survey of petroleum resources in Trinidad and Venezuela, about which he published
The First Big Oil Hunt: Venezuela, 1911-1916
(1960).
After his successful South American explorations, Arnold
conducted independent petroleum and mineral explorations from Canada to Mexico,
including valuable surveys in Alaska, Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Montana, Texas and Washington.
In the 1920s Arnold’s interests turned to
politics, and he was active in the Herbert Hoover presidential campaign. He remained
committed to the California Academy of Sciences, the Cooper Ornithological Society,
and the Sierra Club, among other organizations. Arnold died in Santa Barbara,
California, in 1961.
Scope and Content
This collection centers on 64 photograph albums compiled by Ralph Arnold that span 50
years of his life and work. The albums are arranged into subgroups of nine series
based on Arnold's original schema. They are chiefly in chronological order.
Photographs are accompanied by Arnold’s typed captions identifying geological
features; oil and mining activities; technical data; and dates and locations, i.e.
often an oil or mining “district” or “field,” such as “Sunset Field” (California).
The first series of albums begins in 1904 and the ninth (and last) series ends in
1954. (See “Arrangement” for dates and locations for each series of albums.) Subject
matter includes geological and topographical features such as rock formations,
faults and schisms, mountain structure, geothermal activity, and open land with
potential drilling or mining spots. Earthquake faults are seen and described in many
of Arnold's California investigations. There are also views of small and large-scale
oil operations (by individuals and by organized companies); details of oil flow and
reservoirs; asphalt; drilling equipment; workers and fields of oil wells. Arnold’s
work took him all over the Western United States, particularly California oil
fields, but also Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, Alaska and other states. From 1911-1916 he
was primarily in South America, and in the 1920s-1940s, mostly in the U.S., Canada
and Mexico. The majority of photographs were taken by Arnold, with some by other
geologists, whom Arnold credits.
Mining operations are the focus of some albums, showing investigations for tin, gold
and other minerals; mines and shaft openings; piles of ore; and various methods of
processing, all with detailed descriptions. Arnold also often photographed people:
colleagues and business associates, oil lease owners on their properties; workers
(particularly Black and Asian workers in Venezuela); and friends and family.
Personal photographs are throughout the album, such as of his wife, Winninette, and
their two daughters; Stokes family members (Winninette’s family) in South Pasadena;
and alumni of Pasadena High School and Stanford University. Arnold was an avid
gardener and the albums contain detail views of cactus and tropical plants, and
scenes of Arnold collecting wild orchids in Trinidad, Venezuela and Mexico.
Following the photograph albums (Series 1-9), are lantern slides (Series 10). The 193
slides were made from Arnold’s photographs and were used by Arnold to accompany
lectures 1914-1916. Most of the slides are grouped into themes such as Production,
Technology, and Structure, and have handwritten captions. The Ralph Arnold papers,
Box 132 (mssArnold) contain lectures he gave at Harvard University and Massachusetts
School of Technology in 1915, and some say “with lantern slides,” though it is
unclear which slides were used for which lectures.
Series 11 is a group of glass negatives, approximately 1902 to 1904, which are mostly
personal photographs made shortly after Ralph and Winninette Arnold were married.
They are primarily of Arnold and Stokes family members and houses, and document
travels to visit family and various universities. It is worth noting that Arnold was
already interested in photography at this early date, using a large glass plate
camera for his personal photographs.
Series 12 is a box of handwritten file cards with names of oil companies, arranged by
district, in California. Some have names of people or numerical notations.
The maps and charts (Series 13) that belonged to Arnold made up part of the working
tools of an early-20th century geologist and petroleum/mining engineer. The maps
cover roughly the same geographical territory as the photograph albums, and most
date from 1910s-1940s. They include machine-printed U.S.G.S. survey and contour
maps, but also hand-drawn maps and charts of soil composition; layouts of mines;
maps of oil fields and wells (with tracts and owner’s names). They are useful for
geographical research, as well as containing information on California ranchos and
landowners, oil company-owned land, and land leased or owned by individuals. Some
are in fragile condition and require special handling and/or curatorial approval.
Related materials in the Huntington Library
Arrangement
- The 64 photograph albums are arranged into 9 series based on Arnold's original
schema:
- Series 1. Vols. 1-6. United States, 1904-1911
- Series 2. Vols. 1-5. Curacao, Grenada, Trinidad, and Venezuela,
1912-1918
- Series 3. Vols. 1-18. United States, Mexico, Trinidad, and Venezuela,
1910-1916
- Series 4. Vols. 1-12. United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico,
Panama, and Venezuela, 1901-1927
- Series 5. Vol. 1. "Technical" (primarily California), 1913-1914
- Series 6. Vol. 1. Harold Hannibal photographs, Pacific Coast and New
Mexico, 1909-1915
- Series 7. Vols. 1-3. "Graphite" (mining, primarily Texas),
1916-1919
- Series 8. Vols. 1-9. United States, Canada, and Mexico,
1923-1935
- Series 9. Vols. 1-9. United States, Canada, and Mexico,
1936-1954
- Other materials are arranged into Series 10-13:
- Series 10. Lantern slides, approximately 1905-1915
- Series 11. Glass negatives, 1902-1904
- Series 12. Card file of oil companies in California
- Series 13. Maps and charts (rolled), 1880-1948
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Arnold, Ralph,
1875-1961
Crocker, William H. --
Photographs
Hoover, Theodore J.
(Theodore Jesse), 1871-1955 -- Photographs
Shackleton, Ernest
Henry, Sir, 1874-1922 -- Photographs
Geological Survey
(U.S.)
Faults (Geology)-- California --
Photographs
Geology -- United States --
Maps
Mines and mineral resources -- Canada --
Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- Cuba --
Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- Mexico --
Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- South
America -- Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- West
(U.S.) -- Photographs
Mines and mineral resources -- Canada --
Photographs
Mining engineers -- West
(U.S.)
Oil fields -- Photographs
Oil wells -- Photographs
Orchids -- Mexico
Orchids -- Trinidad and Tobago
Orchids -- Venezuela
Petroleum -- Geology -- California --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- Canada --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- Cuba --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- Mexico --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- South America --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- United States --
Photographs
Petroleum -- Geology -- Venezuela --
Photographs
Petroleum geologists --
Photographs
Petroleum industry and trade
Petroleum workers --
Photographs
Prospecting
Surveying
Unskilled labor -- Venezuela --
Photographs
California --
Photographs
Mexico --
Photographs
Trinidad and Tobago --
Photographs
Venezuela --
Photographs
West (U.S.) --
Photographs
Forms/Genres
Photograph albums.
Photographs.
Film negatives.
Glass negatives.
Lantern slides.
Maps.
Topographic maps.