Early California residents' portraits, 1864-1890

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Summary

Title:
Portraits of early California residents
Dates:
1864-1890
Creators:
DuPorta, Sebastiana Chacón, collector.
Abstract:
Collection of 127 cartes de visite, 5 cabinet cards, and 19 tintypes from ca. 1864-1890, of early residents of California.
Extent:
151 photographic prints on carte de visite mounts : albumen, 11 x 7 cm.
Language:
Finding aid is written in English. and Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Portraits of early California residents (Collection 94/200). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Background

Scope and content:

The photographs, originally housed in an album owned by doña Sebastiana Chacón DuPorta (various spellings on photographs include Du Porta, Doporto, de Doporto), are studio portraits of many different types of people of all ages: men, women, children, couples, families, groups of men, pairs of women, circus performers, gold miners. A large number of the subjects are Mexican, Californios, or Latinos. Many of the cartes de visite photographs were produced in San Jose, by the studios of J.H. Heering (22); E. Schroder (9), and W.W. Wright (8). Other San Jose studios represented include James A. Clayton, Abell & Co., Art Palace, B.F. Howland, and John Macaulay. San Francisco studios include Edouart's Photographic Gallery, Perkins & Foss, Oscar Foss, Bayley & Cramer, H.W. Vaughan, H. Olsen, C.L. Cramer, Amelia Strang, Jacob Shew, W. Dyer, Wise & Prindle, Edouart & Cobb, Bradley & Rulofson, A.K. Kipps, Chas. A. Marston, and Sullivan's Grand Art Gallery. There are eight portraits by Henri Penelon--one from his partnership with Carlo Bosco--and seven by Valentin Wolfenstein, both working in Los Angeles. From San Bernardino, there is one portrait by Maurice A. Franklin. Photographs without a studio identification have been arranged by subject: there are eight portraits of what appear to be side-show performers, including a snake charmer draped in snakes, a bearded lady, a trio of albinos, and a dwarf. The five larger cabinet card portraits portray members of the Feliz and Chavez families, including Nicolas Feliz, a properous young man in suit and tie, sitting in a bent willow chair in his garden, beside a climbing rose; two young Chavez sisters in their First Communion dresses and veils; and Inez Chavez, a chubby toddler in white eyelet skirt, wearing a ring and locket, who "died at age 3 yrs." Three of the portraits are from Los Angeles studios, including The Plaza Gallery at 513 N. Main St., F. Borgia at 674 San Fernando St., and F.E. Grover at Main & Bellevue. Also included are nine tintypes without paper frames, and ten with frames, some bearing stamp of studio of S.P. Sanders, E. Schroder, John Macaulay, and F.E. York. Many of the cartes de visite, and tintypes carry a tax stamp, as was required by law in the United States between 1864 and 1866.

Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
Physical facet:

Box title: Portraits of early California residents.

Cartes de visite photographs and tintypes have been removed from original album, now lost.

Spec. Coll. copy: each of the cartes de visite and tintypes in an individual mylar sleeve; sleeves loosely arranged in 16 small white envelopes according to photographer, studio location, or subject; unidentified photographs housed together; envelopes arranged vertically in modern beige cloth drop-spine clamshell box, with label "Portraits of early California residents."

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Note:

Probable range of dates based on ms. dates added to photographs, type of photograph, style of dress of subjects, and operating dates of photograph studios.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Jane Carpenter with assistance from Simon Elliott; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
Date Prepared:
© 2013
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid derived from MARC record, encoding added via Notetab Pro. Date of source: 2013 . Supplementary encoding and revision by Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Portraits of early California residents (Collection 94/200). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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