Brown (A. C.) Photographs Collection, Ca. 1937-1985

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Summary

Title:
A. C. Brown Photographs Collection
Dates:
Ca. 1937-1985
Creators:
A. C. Brown Brown, A. C. Unknown
Abstract:
The A. C. Brown Photographs Collection is comprised of photographic prints and negatives taken by commercial photographer A. C. Brown. Geographically represented is Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Seal Beach, Carson, Anaheim, and Los Angeles from the 1930s to the 1980s. Brown was a commercial photographer located in Long Beach, California. In the 1930s, Brown worked as an assistant for Dick Whittington Photography, the largest commercial firm in Los Angeles. He worked for a number of other companies before opening his own studio.
Extent:
50 cold storage boxes, 9.5 Linear Feet. Approx. 30,000 negatives and 85 prints in both color and black and white
Language:
Preferred citation:

A. C. Brown Photographs Collection, Historical Society of Long Beach

Background

Scope and content:

The A. C. Brown Photographs Collection contains 85 photographic prints and thousands of 4x5, 2x2, 6x6cm, and 6x9cm black and white and color photographic negatives, all taken by commercial photographer A. C. Brown. These images consist mainly of scenes of Long Beach, CA, but also include some neighboring areas such as Signal Hill, Lakewood, Seal Beach, Carson, Anaheim, and Los Angeles from the 1930s to the 1980s. Many of the images were taken for various businesses and companies, including Communication Manufacturing Company, Shell Oil Company, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, General Telephone Company of California, Kit Manufacturing Company, Allstate Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, American Institute of Banking, and others. The images cover a variety of life in and around Long Beach, such as street intersections, the Pacific Coast Club, the Long Beach Pike, construction projects, insurance claims photographs, stores and businesses, houses, events, oil operations, beauty pageants, and more. See attached inventories for the full scope of collection. The prints, which arrived unnumbered, were identified and described by HSLB staff 2020-2021, while the original order of the negatives was preserved as much as possible by using the numbers and descriptions on Brown's original sleeves. Both the sleeves and the negatives were processed and rehoused. Only the negatives and prints are cataloged.

Biographical / historical:

A. C. Brown, full name Austin C. Brown Jr., was a commercial photographer located in Long Beach, California. Brown was born in Sacramento and grew up in Los Angeles. His father was a landscape artist. His parents separated when he was about two years old, and Brown had an assortment of stepmothers growing up. In the 1930s, Brown worked as an assistant for Dick Whittington Photography, the largest commercial firm in Los Angeles. During the Second World War, Brown was a photographer in the Signal Corps. In 1947, Brown joined the studio of commercial photographer Lawrence Inman in Long Beach, and worked there for six years before he started his own studio. In the 1940s, Brown became a photographer for the Pacific Coast Club, photographing parties and other activities at the PCC. Other clients Brown worked for included insurance companies, attorneys, the Shell Oil Company, the City of Signal Hill, the Lakewood Country Club, and various businesses and individuals. HSLB volunteers, Zona Gale Forbes and Dr. Kaye Briegel, interviewed Brown on August 2, 1981 at his home at 5535 Orange Avenue, Long Beach. This interview is also available at HSLB.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated to HSLB by Marilyn Stryker, A. C. Brown’s daughter, in 2008. Partial processing of the collection and creation of this finding aid was done by HSLB staff in 2020 and 2021, thanks in part to support from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association.
Processing information:

An initial assessment was done in 2008 when the items arrived at HSLB. A more thorough assessment was done in 2016, but not entered into the database. Approximately half of the collection was processed by HSLB staff in 2020 and 2021, thanks in part to support from the Long Beach Navy Memorial Heritage Association (LBNMHA). Processing, cataloging, rehousing, integration with the previously processed materials, and cold storage was completed in the 2025-2026 FY with a second grant from the LBNMHA.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by Historical Society of Long Beach staff.
Date Prepared:
July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection open for research upon appointment. Users may search the attached collection inventories for images of interest. Please summit a research request to HSLB in advance to access the materials. Reproductions of images may also be purchased, contact HSLB for details.

Terms of access:

Property rights of the physical materials in the HSLB collection resides with the Historical Society of Long Beach. Users are responsible for obtaining any other applicable copyright information. To reproduce, publish, or purchase the images in this collection, please contact HSLB Staff.

Preferred citation:

A. C. Brown Photographs Collection, Historical Society of Long Beach

Location of this collection:
4260 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90807, US
Contact:
(562) 424-2220
archives@hslb.org
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