Guide to the American West Travel Photograph Album and Journal MC302

Liz Phillips
University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
2021
1st Floor, Shields Library, University of California
100 North West Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292
speccoll@ucdavis.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Title: American West Travel Photograph Album and Journal
Identifier/Call Number: MC302
Physical Description: 1 volume Colored paper-covered boards showing caricatures of 4 individuals and with the title (Ye Old Family Album) in red. Album is tied at spine with cord. 56 pages with 72 views in corner mounts, all are well identified in white ink beneath; 27 silver gelatins, black and white, measuring 3 1/2" x 5" and 45 commercial views (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") that are interspersed in the three separate sections. There are 15 views of San Francisco which are tinted; 16 black and white views of the California Redwood Forest and 14 black and white views of Redmond, Oregon. 10.25 x 13.25 inches
Date: 1950
Abstract: Photo album and journal of a family car trip in the American West.
Physical Location: Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.

Scope and Contents

Photo album and journal of a family car trip in the American West. The beauty of this travel photo journal is that it contains lengthy descriptions throughout in white ink. There are also a handful of pieces of trip related ephemera (motel letterhead, menu, etc.) in corner mounts. Two mounts are empty. The photo journal begins on September 29, 1950 in Caldwell, Idaho and continues across northern Nevada through Donner Pass and into San Francisco, before heading north through the redwood forests of Northern California and arriving in Redmond, Oregon. Among the narrative are lengthy manuscript descriptions of Winnemucca, Nevada, San Francisco and the Winchester Mystery House. Excerpts of the journal include: "California Here We Come!" "The night we started on our vacation trip, I worked at the telephone office till 11 o'clock. The following morning about 15 after 4, our "party" was underway headed for California. Our "party" consisted of my Mother, Aunt Flora, my sister Martha Grace, Uncle Francis who did the driving and myself. We started from Caldwell toward Jordan Valley, Oregon. My uncle and aunt were the only ones who had been very far beyond Jordan Valley, so from there on the road was unfamiliar to all. The road went straight for mile after mile, with not much scenery - mostly sagebrush and salt grass." "We stopped on the summit of Donner Pass (something like 7,135 ft). The wind was blowing about sixty per and it was really cold. It was cloudy but it was a pretty view from there." "...A bell boy came out and took it. The clerk told him to take me up to the room where the other two ladies were. So we rode up the elevator - all alone. The bell boy wanted to know where I was from and when I told him he wondered what we were doing there. I told him we were on our vacation and were going on to San Jose in the morning. He said something to the effect that he wished we were staying longer so he could show us the town. I was so excited or scared or something that I never thought of it and, mama and Martha Grace didn't either, but we forgot to tip him. Wonder what he thought then. Probably he was glad we weren't going to be around any longer. We slept three in a bed. We had a real nice room,. With bathe $5.00" 'After supper Mable and Josie took us over to Warren's to see television. We saw the Joe Louis - Ezard Charles boxing match. We Idaho Rumbaughs don't care for the fights but it was a treat to know that we were seeing T.V." "After dinner we again boarded up our cars and headed for Santa Cruz to get our first glimpse of the Pacific. At Santa Cruz we drove out on the wharf and walked around." "Next morning after breakfast we went to the "Winchester House" and what a house!! It took us 2 hours to go over about 1/3 of the house. It was really pretty and interesting. Jose had to go to work so he took Mable, Martha Grace, Mom and I out to the house and left us." "I'd never even been on a boat before. We drove on the ferry and went up on deck. It took somewhere around 15 to 20 minutes to make the crossing. We saw part of San Quinten before we docked and on the way across we saw a little island called Angel Island. (Not Alcatraz)" "The next event was the crossing of the Golden Gate. Mable said that in the middle it swings 12 ft back and forth but you couldn't tell it when you were going across. It looked just like a road when you were on it." "On to San Francisco. One day, in San Francisco was probably the most exciting of all because all of us Idahoans were there and Warren was doing the driving and taking us where we could see everything of interest. We went to the Ferry Building where they have a huge relief map of California with all the towns, etc. We walked along fisherman's wharf and visited fisherman's grotto. We went up on telegraph hill and visited Coit tower. From there you could see every where - the Golden Gate, the bay, Alcatraz and San Francisco spread over the hills and stacked up in places. A lot of the time we were riding on the up hill and down streets. We drove through Golden Gate park but we didn't stop because it was getting pretty late. We stopped at Seal Rocks and saw the seals. Also in San Francisco we saw a square under which was a parking lot with space for about 1700 cars." "The "free" zoos in California are really jips. They let you in free and you have to pay to get out..." "We ate late breakfast at the bus depot in Redmond and started out again. Got home about 8 o'clock that night. Mama said she thought it was the best trip she had ever been on. The rest of us agree that it was really swell."
[Description provided by Buckingham Books]

Access

Collection is open for research.

Processing Information

Liz Phillips created this finding aid with information supplied by Buckingham Books.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Buckingham Books, 2020.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], American West Travel Photograph Album and Journal, MC302, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Publication Rights

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

San Francisco (Calif.) -- Pictorial works
Oregon, Eastern -- Pictorial works
Redwoods -- Pictorial works