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See (Lisa) Collection
photCL 624
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Lisa See collection
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 624
Physical Description:
4.97 Linear Feet
(9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1881-1910
Date (bulk): 1890s-1900s
Abstract: A collection of photographs primarily
of Los Angeles' Old Chinatown and portraits of its Chinese residents, dating from
approximately 1881 to 1910.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information. RESTRICTED: Photograph album (Box 9): Fragile;
available with curatorial approval.
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.
[Identification of item]. Lisa See collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Lisa See, December 2020 and February 2021.
The photographs were found in the 1940s by donor Lisa See's father, Richard See, and her
grandfather, Eddy See, in or around their family's antique business, F. Suie One Company,
when it was located at 510 Los Angeles Street. The store was located on one of the last
blocks of Old Chinatown to be demolished. One cabinet card photograph in the collection is
stamped "Yee, Photo / 510 North Los Angeles Street," the same address, so possibly the
location was formerly a photography studio.
Old Chinatown refers to the original Chinatown of Los Angeles, which thrived mainly from
1890 to 1910, before it was largely cleared in the 1930s for the building of Union Station
and other civic development. In 1938, New Chinatown opened several blocks away in downtown
Los Angeles.
American author Lisa See was born in Paris in 1955 but grew up in Los Angeles. She lived
with her mother, author Carolyn See, but spent much of her time with her father's family in
Chinatown. Her first book, "On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of a
Chinese-American Family" (1995) tells the story of her great-grandfather, Fong See, who
eventually became the godfather of Los Angeles' Chinatown.
This collection contains photographs of Los Angeles' Old Chinatown and portraits of its
Chinese residents, most dating from the 1890s to the 1900s. Together there are 116 glass
plate negatives ranging in size from 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches to 5 x 7 inches, an ornate
photograph album containing 12 studio portraits of Chinese men and women, and six additional
card photograph portraits. Some of the card photographs have the imprint of professional
photographers, but it is unclear who took the glass plate negatives, or if there was more
than one photographer. They may be connected to a photographer "Yee" who at one time had a
studio at 510 North Los Angeles Street in Old Chinatown (see photograph Box 8 (1)). This
could possibly be Wy Yee, a photographer during the same time period. In addition, there are
two glass plate images of a photographer's storefront with a sign in Chinese that translates
to Jinghua Photo Studio.
Scenes in Old Chinatown include: street views of buildings and storefronts; Chinese and a
few white people walking in the streets; the interior of a restaurant and three Chinese
workers posing for the camera; two men on bicycles; and other candid photographs of people
in daily activities. Some buildings have store signs in English and Chinese.
The majority of photographs are portraits of primarily Chinese sitters. Several are posed
studio portraits of men, women, or children, wearing traditional or western clothing, with
elaborate props and backdrops. Other portraits are simple head shots of Chinese men, one of
which has the handwritten date "1902," the year that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was
made permanent and required Chinese residents to register and obtain immigration documents.
The portraits of Chinese women are mostly elegant studio portraits with props, except for
two head shot images of a woman with bare shoulders.
Photographer imprints on card photographs are: Bijou Studio, James Blanchard, George Dewey,
J. H. Lamson Company, Michael A. Wesner, and "Yee," who may be photographer Wy Yee, all of
Los Angeles. There is one portrait of a Chinese woman by William Shew, San Francisco.
Processed by Suzanne Oatey in December 2021.
Organized in three series:
- Series 1. Glass plate negatives, approximately 1890s-1900s
- Subseries 1. Views of Los Angeles' Old Chinatown and vicinity
- Subseries 2. Portraits
- Series 2. Photograph album, approximately 1890s-1900s
- Series 3. Loose photographs, approximately 1881-1910
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized in its entirety and the digital reproductions are
available in the
Huntington Digital Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chinatown (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Photographs
Chinese -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Chinese Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century --
Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century --
Photographs
Photography -- Studios and dark rooms
Card
photographs (photographs)
Glass plate negatives
Photograph albums
Photographs
Portraits
Blanchard, James B., photographer
Dewey, George N., photographer
Lamson, Joseph Harrison, 1840-1902,
photographer
Shew, William J., 1820-1903
Wesner, Michael A., photographer