Fair Oaks Ranch Photographs, approximately 1878-approximately 1900

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Summary

Title:
Fair Oaks Ranch Photographs
Dates:
approximately 1878-approximately 1900
Abstract:
This collection contains one photograph album and thirty-five loose photographs depicting the Fair Oaks Ranch, in Altadena, California, during the late 19th century. The ranch, owned by businessman and rancher James F. Crank, encompassed a vineyard, winery, and citrus orchards, along with a lavish residence and grounds. Subjects include interior and exterior views of the residence; the Crank family; Chinese agricultural workers and ranch hands in the vineyard; winery operations; fruit orchards; and trees and plant life on the property. Photographs in the album are cyanotype prints; the loose photographs include cyanotypes, cabinet cards, and stereographs.
Extent:
1 Linear Feet (96 photographs (including duplicates) in 1 box)
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Fair Oaks Ranch Photographs, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of one photograph album with 48 photographs and 35 loose photographs (as well as some duplicates), with images depicting the Fair Oaks Ranch in Altadena, California. The photographs in the album are cyanotype prints dating from around 1889; the loose photographs include cyanotypes, cabinet cards, and stereographs that date from the late 1870s to about 1900. The last page of the album contains a travel sketch in pencil, followed by sketches of a room interior and floor plan on two pages laid in. Subjects include interior and exterior views of the residence, landscaped grounds, trees, and plant life; members of the Crank family; ranch workers, including Chinese laborers, working in the orchards and vineyard, harvesting and packing fruit, drying apricots, and loading fruit onto horse-drawn carts; workers' quarters; the operations of the winery and distillery; and also a handful of sweeping views of the San Gabriel Mountains and the Altadena and Pasadena areas taken from vantage points on the property.

The photographer of the album is unknown, but Item 46 shows a wood hutch with a mirror in which the photographer and camera are reflected. Some of the cabinet cards and stereographs have imprints from area photographers: C. McMurtrey (Item 80), C.B. Ripley (Items 73-74), and A.C. Varela (Items 76-78).

Titles have been transcribed from captions on album pages and photo-mounts when present; titles devised by the cataloger are enclosed in square brackets. Additional information was gathered from notes on the backs of some photographs. Approximate dates for the collection were devised by the cataloger based on years noted on certain items, the general history of the property and Crank family, and also on a year visible on a calendar in Item 46. Thirteen photographs have duplicates in the collection, which are noted in the inventory below.

Biographical / historical:

The Fair Oaks Ranch property (now in modern day Pasadena and Altadena, California) was originally part of the Rancho San Pasqual. Eliza Griffin Johnston purchased the property in 1862 from her brother Dr. John S. Griffin, who had large land holdings in the Los Angeles area. Eliza Johnston named the ranch "Fair Oaks" after her hometown in West Virginia, but left California after only two years following the death of her son, Albert S. Johnston II. In 1877, Benjamin S. Eaton took over the property , subdivided the ranch, and sold the northern parcel to businessman James F. Crank (1842-1935) in 1877. Crank had recently moved to Los Angeles, California, from the East Coast with his wife, Mary Agnes Crank (1846-1932), and son, Albert F. Crank (1870-1933). Crank proceeded to plant vineyards and fruit orchards and built a Victorian mansion on the property in 1882. In 1885, he constructed a winery and the next year started the Sierra Madre Vintage Company. Crank was also president of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad. He hit financial hard times and sold the ranch around 1905.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mildred Crank, 1935-1938.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged with the album first, followed by the loose photographs in order of image number.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Lisa Janssen.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-09-09 16:24:42 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Fair Oaks Ranch Photographs, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

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