Background
Preston Sawyer, the main source for the photographs in this collection, was a proofreader
and historical writer, born in Santa Cruz in 1899. He wrote the weekly column, "Santa Cruz
Yesterdays" in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. He and his brother Ariel Sawyer ran
the Sawyer Tile Company. As a youth, Preston Sawyer worked in the early movie industry
located in the Santa Cruz mountains. A prolific amateur photographer, he took hundreds of
pictures of actors, directors, film crews, and locations. He also recorded his family,
friends, neighbors, pastimes, his tenure at Santa Cruz High School and the
Sentinal, as well as local businesses and merchants. Sawyer and his family members
were voracious collectors who bought and exchanged photographs and postcards of early Santa
Cruz and surrounding areas. After his death in 1968, UCSC acquired his photographs.
Extent
102 Linear Feet
153 flats, 33 negative boxes, 1 carton, 2 flat file
drawers
Restrictions
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.