The Breo Freeman World War I Photograph Collection visually documents soldier life, foreign dignitaries involved in peace negotiations, and the destruction caused by the First World War. Many of the photographs include captions, agency stamps, or hand-written notes on the back.  Photographs with agency stamps appeared in various publications during and after the war. The collection is divided into four series: Foreign Dignitaries and Admirals; Camp Life and Battlefields; Battleships, Submarines, and Zeppelins; and British and German Landmarks.

Breo Freeman was born in Lousiana on September 10, 1892. He studied architecture at the Armour Institute in Chicago, and in 1914 moved to Pasadena where he worked for Harrison Albright. Under Albright, Freeman worked on the music space for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park and on the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego. In 1917, he enlisted with the United States Navy, and was stationed in London where he oversaw repairs to navy vessels. After the war, Freeman returned to Pasadena to resume work as an architect. His most prominent designs include the Los Angeles County Court Building, the Washington Theater in Pasadena, and the R.K. Collins House. He also served as the first president of the Pasadena Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Freeman passed away in 1975. He had a wife and two sons.

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These materials are in the public domain. However, the nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

This collection is open for research