Photographs of Adobes of Northern and Southern California, approximately 1912-1960, bulk 1930-1949

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Summary

Creators:
Soberanes, Lucius, 1882-1959.
Abstract:
A disbound album of primarily amateur snapshots of 19th century California adobes taken during the 1930s and 1940s by Lucius Panfelo “Paul” Soberanes (1882-1959), a descendant of early Spanish landholders in California. The photographs primarily document the exteriors of the historic adobes and include typewritten captions added by Soberanes in the 1950s. A strong emphasis is given to adobes in Monterey County, especially in downtown Monterey. The album’s strength is in the documentation of lesser-known adobes, which include not only houses, but also commercial and military buildings such as hotels, soldiers’ barracks in Sonoma, and the Bale Grist Mill in Napa.
Extent:
278 photographs in 2 boxes; prints 26 x 32 cm (10.25 x 12.5 in.) and smaller, album pages 37 x 29 cm (14 1/2 x 11 1/4 in.)
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of a disbound album compiled by Lucius "Paul" Soberanes (1882-1959) of primarily amateur snapshots of 19th century California adobes taken during the 1930s and 1940s, with typewritten captions added by Soberanes in the 1950s. Soberanes, a descendant of early Spanish landholders in California, put much of his energy into personally photographing adobes in Northern California for his album; not only did he travel through Monterey County, but also Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Sonoma, Solano, and Ventura Counties. He also added a small number of professional photographs by L.A. Sanchez and E.R. Jackson and a photograph of a drawing by E.A. Burbank into the album.

Some of the adobes are shown to be in disrepair while others had been restored by the then adobes’ owners, state agencies, historical societies, or service organizations. Of the Monterey adobes featured, the best known include Casa Soberanes (House of the Blue Gate), the Cooper-Molera Adobe, Alvarado Adobe, Casa Gutierrez, Casa de la Torre, and Casa Amesti. Various adobes in Monterey County were held by the Soberanes family, including the Alta Vista Adobe, and the Rancho El Alisal and Rancho Ex-Mission Soledad properties. Other prominent adobes in Northern California are the Vicente Martinez Adobe, Petaluma Adobe, Castro Adobe, and Dana Adobe. There are some photographs of Southern California adobes, especially in Santa Barbara and San Diego; adobes from these areas include the Gonzalez House, Casa de Bandini, Casa de Estudillo, and Rancho Camulos. Soberanes, his wife, and his children appear posing on the adobe grounds in some of the photographs.

Photograph captions in the list of photographs are transcribed exactly as they appear in the album. The dates mentioned most often refer to an adobe’s construction date; photographs are printed later. Photographs from pages 119, 121, and 144 are missing from the album. In addition to the prints, there are 2 postcards (Items 155-156), a photomechanical print (page 151), and one cyanotype (page 137).

Biographical / historical:

Lucius Panfelo "Paul" Soberanes (1882-1959) was born in California on December 30, 1882, and was a descendant of Spanish soldier Jose Maria Soberanes, who arrived in California in the 1700s, and Feliciano Soberanes, who purchased the Soledad Mission Rancho in 1846.

City directories indicate that Soberanes worked as a painter and autoworker in Oakland, California. He was married to Vera Irene Soberanes (died 1970) and they had three children: Leonard Soberanes, Vera Soberanes Woodside, and Lois Soberanes Lambert. Soberanes died on April 19, 1959.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mrs. Lois Soberanes Lambert on May 4, 1995.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Note:

Finding aid last updated on April 30, 2014.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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