Ed Brady Aero Photographers, Inc. San Francisco Aerial Photographs
Finding aid created by San Francisco History Center staff using RecordEXPRESS
San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
2022
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, California 94102
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http://sfpl.org/sfhistory
Title: Ed Brady Aero Photographers, Inc. San Francisco Aerial Photographs
Dates: 1954-1988
Collection Number: SFP 129
Creator/Collector:
Brady, Charles Edward
Extent: 11 boxes of approximately 2,000 photographs and 4,000 negatives.
Repository:
San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
San Francisco, California 94102
Abstract: The collection consists of approximately 2,000 black and white photographic prints and 4,000 negatives of aerial photography
of San Francisco, California from the late 1950s to 1988 taken by Ed Brady and Jack Van Wart of Aero Photographers, Inc. (API).
Includes both photographic prints and contact sheets as well as negatives. The aerial photography documents all areas of San
Francisco including downtown, Civic Center, Nob Hill, and Treasure Island. Between the 1954 and 1988 Ed Brady and Jack Van
Wart of API were hired by land developers, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and other governmental agencies, engineering
firms, the press, universities and others to photograph specific sites. Approximately half the images in the collection come
from these assignments and the other half are what the two photographers chose to photograph as they were flying. Most of
the images are taken at an oblique angle, giving the viewer a richer sense of the landscape. There are vertical aerial photographs
as well and shot from a wide range of altitudes.
Language of Material: English
The collection is currently unprocessed but available for research. Please contact the Photo Curator. The collection is available
for use during Photo Desk hours.
Copyright has been assigned to San Francisco Public Library. All requests for permission to publish from photographs must
be submitted in writing to the Photo Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library
as the owner of the physical items.
Ed Brady Aero Photographers, Inc. San Francisco Aerial Photographs. San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
In August 2006, the Marin History Museum acquired the Ed Brady/Aero Photography Collection from Grethe Brady. In August 2019
the Marin History Museum transferred the San Francisco photographs and negatives to the San Francisco Public Library. 2019-86.
Biography/Administrative History
Charles Edward “Ed” Brady was born on May 10, 1916 to Charles H. Brady and Elizabeth Baldwin in Fort Lupton, Colorado.
During World War II, Brady became a pilot and flew out of Hamilton Airfield. He made Marin County his home after the war.
In 1949, Brady bought a plane and began flying out of the San Rafael Airport in Santa Venetia. Partnering with Jack Van Wart
they founded Aero Photographers, Inc. (API) in 1954. Neither man was a photographer, but Brady owned his own plane and recognized
the need for aerial photography in the rapidly expanding San Francisco Bay Area and throughout California.
Brady married Grethe L. Gustavsen on March 2, 1972.
In addition to being a pilot and aerial photographer, Brady hosted a radio show “Brady Bandstand,” featuring the big band
music of the 1920s and ’30s on KNBR.
Ed Brady died on May 14, 1994 in Petaluma, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of approximately 2,000 black and white photographic prints and 4,000 negatives of aerial photography
of San Francisco, California from the late 1950s to 1988 taken by Ed Brady and Jack Van Wart of Aero Photographers, Inc. (API).
Includes both photographic prints and contact sheets as well as negatives. The aerial photography documents all areas of San
Francisco including downtown, Civic Center, Nob Hill, and Treasure Island. Between the 1954 and 1988 Ed Brady and Jack Van
Wart of API were hired by land developers, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and other governmental agencies, engineering
firms, the press, universities and others to photograph specific sites. Approximately half the images in the collection come
from these assignments and the other half are what the two photographers chose to photograph as they were flying. Most of
the images are taken at an oblique angle, giving the viewer a richer sense of the landscape. There are vertical aerial photographs
as well and shot from a wide range of altitudes.
Aerial photography -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area.
San Francisco (Calif.) -- Aerial photographs.
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.) -- Aerial photographs.
Aerial photographs.