Mary Garner Hirsch Collection, 08/08/2023

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Title:: Mary Garner Hirsch Collection
Dates:: 08/08/2023
Creators:: Mary Garner Hirsch Bess Garner Herman Garner Theodore Howard Garner Paul E. Johnson Garner Paul E. Johnson Inc. Philco Vortox
Abstract:
Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (1 box). Plus, additional miscellaneous items.
Language:
Preferred citation:: Mary Garner Hirsch Collection. Claremont Heritage

Scope and content:: The collection contains various household objects. The collection includes shoes, bags, blankets, curtains, a surfboard, Paul E. Johnson Inc. Physical Therapy Equipment, puzzles, games, lamps and lampshades, a table, projector lenses, a Realist Stereo Viewer, and a Philco Television and Turntable.
Biographical / historical:: Mary Garner Hirsch is the granddaughter of Bess and Herman Garner, builders of the historic Garner house on Indian Hill Boulevard in Claremont, California. Herman Garner, who founded the Vortox company, is considered an important historical figure in Claremont who played a significant role in its economic development. The Vortox company designed air filters for agricultural equipment, including oil bath air cleaners for tractor engines. The Mary Garner Hirsch Collection, donated in 2023, includes a collection of physical artifacts from the Garner family and provides a material record of family life in the Garner household in the early to mid-20th century. The collection documents the kinds of objects found in a middle-upper class home in mid-century America and reveals how a family from this period would live.
Acquisition information:: Items donated by Mary Garner Hirsch to Claremont Heritage on August 8, 2023.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by Claremont Heritage staff.
Date Prepared:: 08/08/2023
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: The collection is open for research use.
Terms of access:: Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder (if applicable).

Location of this collection:: Claremont Heritage

840 N. Indian Hill Blvd.

Claremont, CA 91711, US