Warren C. Dickerson was a commercial postcard photographer whose work covers the late nineteenth century through about 1920. While Dickerson’s work as a whole is inclusive of photographs from throughout the United States, about one-third of the photographs are of California, which make up this collection. The photographs feature diverse subjects such as architecturally unique southern California residences, amusement parks, cityscapes and mountain scenes located throughout the counties and cities of the state.

Very little is known about Warren C. Dickerson, who donated his collection of work to the museum in 1934, two years before his death. He traveled throughout the United States ranging from New York and Maine to Southern California, selling photographs to commercial postcard companies. A majority of the Dickerson Collection is contained within the bulk years of 1890-1920, with work that is illustrative of diverse aspects of the United States during the early twentieth century. During the winter of 1991, an edition of Terra, produced by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, featured Dickerson’s work. In a segment titled “Focus on the West”, an image of a new federal building construction site, featuring horse-drawn wagons in front of a city street background, was taken during late 1906 or early 1907.

55.2 linear feet (Boxes: letter, 5x7, 3 ov)

Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Research is by appointment only.