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A guide to the Captain Curt Hasenpusch photograph collection, circa 1900-1960s
P07-005 (SAFR 23352)  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication and Use Rights
  • Processing Note
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Historical or Biographical Note
  • Collection Scope and Content
  • Collection Arrangement
  • Related Materials

  • Title: Captain Curt Hasenpusch photograph collection
    Date: circa 1900-1960s
    Date (bulk): 1920-1950
    Collection No. (Catalog No.): P07-005 (SAFR 23352)
    Collector: Hasenpusch, Curt August
    Physical Description: 227 items.
    Repository: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
    Building E, Fort Mason
    San Francisco, CA 94123
    Abstract: The Captain Curt Hasenpusch photograph collection, circa 1900-1960s (bulk 1920-1950), (SAFR 23352, P07-005) is comprised mainly of photographs of tugboats, pilot boats and barges and pile drivers, mostly in the San Francisco Bay. It also contains photographs of other vessels underway, at dock, launching, and shipwrecked, as well as recreation and people in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are also several architectural drawings and a few ephemeral items. The collection has been processed to the item level and is open for use.
    Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
    Language(s): In English.

    Access

    This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

    Publication and Use Rights

    Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

    Processing Note

    Information about numeric stamps on the back of the photographs has been included in the physical description notes, because in the early 20th century the stamp often signified the customer number. This might help to identify which photographs came from particular people.
    Before we started processing this collection, the material had been put into new folders. There was no documentation as to whether the material was kept in original categories and merely rehoused, or if some preliminary processing and/or arranging had been done. Therefore, we have kept most of the original categories and nomenclature (e.g. "Deck", "Engines", "Shipwrecks") but have arranged these categories into appropriate series/subseries/file units. The only folder that we did not retain was labeled "Snapshots, organized by size and markings on verso"; the contents of this folder have been put into appropriate series/subseries/file units.
    Items 057, 088, 103-106, 137 and 146 are stored in a shared 36 x 48 in. folder in flat file drawer B13.25.
    Items 101 and 102 are temporarily stored for conservation in CONS-PB01. Upon the completion of conservation work, these items will be stored in a shared 36 x 48 in. folder in drawer B13.25.
    Description Notes: Dates refer to when the original photograph was taken. Many of the photographic prints in this collection are copies that were made much later than when the original photograph was taken, and the dates of these reproductions were noted when known.
    The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
    Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.

    Preferred Citation

    [Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P07-005 (SAFR 23352), Captain Curt Hasenpusch photograph collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

    Acquisition Information

    SAFR-01979
    The collection was accessioned on October 17, 2007, as a donation from Lauritz Curt Hasenpusch, the son of Captain Curt Hasenpusch. The photographs, ship plans and ephemera were collected by Captain Hasenpusch over the course of his career as a boatman on the San Francisco Bay. Many of the items were on display in his home; approximately fifty-five of the photographs had been hanging on the wall in the family playroom. Lauritz donated these items to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park upon selling the family's home in South San Francisco. Several of the items were found to be out of scope or duplicative of the Park's collection. These items were returned to Lauritz, as noted in the collection file.

    Historical or Biographical Note

    Curt August Hasenpusch (March 12, 1910-June 12, 1962) was a boatman on the San Francisco Bay from the early 1930s until his death in 1962. His employers included Anderson's Shipyard and Crowley's Red Stack tugs, and he worked on the vessels CALIFORNIA (built 1924; schooner, 2m: pilot vessel), CROWLEY NO. 23 (built 1924; tugboat) and FRANK G. WHITE (built 1949; tugboat).
    Curt August Hasenpusch was born in San Francisco on March 12, 1910. He was the second son of Richard and Frieda (Uberall or Weberall) Hasenpusch, German immigrants who arrived in San Francisco shortly before the earthquake and fire of 1906. He had an older brother named Paul. Curt completed school through the tenth grade and then went to work on the San Francisco waterfront. Early employers of his were Anderson's Shipyard and Crowley's Red Stack tugs; he operated the tugboat CROWLEY NO. 23 from 1945-1951. He was also an engineer on the pilot schooner CALIFORNIA.
    Curt met his wife, Vivian (Vickie) Christensen, on Treasure Island at the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940) while he was operating a water taxi and she was working at the Sunkist Orange Juice stand. Curt and Vickie had two children, Vici (b. 1947) and Lauritz (Fritz) (1950-2012). The family settled in South San Francisco in 1953.
    Captain Hasenpusch was a collector of maritime photographs and memorabilia, including sailboat models that he built. When he was not at work on the bay, Curt Hasenpusch made custom furniture in his workshop which occupied the ground floor of their home.
    Captain Hasenpusch's last professional post was as captain of the Port of San Francisco tugboat and auxiliary fireboat, FRANK G. WHITE. Curt Hasenpusch died of a heart attack on June 12, 1962, in the tug's wheelhouse on the San Francisco waterfront.

    References:

    • U. S. Census Bureau. (1910). 1910 Census, San Francisco Assembly District 33. Year: 1910; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 33, San Francisco, California; Roll: T624_97; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0078; Image: 702; FHL microfilm: 1374110. Retrieved in October 2012, via Ancestry.com
    • State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.) California Death Index, 1940-1997(Curt Hasenpusch) Sacramento, CA,: State of California. Retrieved on October 2012, via Ancestry.com
    • Taus, Vici. 2012. Curt Hasenpusch (March 12, 1910-June 12, 1962) biography. Located in the collection file.

    Collection Scope and Content

    The Captain Curt Hasenpusch photograph collection, circa 1900-1960s (bulk 1920-1950), (SAFR 23352, P07-005) is comprised mainly of photographs of tugboats, pilot boats and barges and pile drivers, mostly in the San Francisco Bay. It also contains photographs of other vessels underway, at dock, launching, and shipwrecked, as well as recreation and people in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are also several architectural drawings and a few ephemeral items. The collection has been processed to the item level and is open for use.
    The collection contains photographic prints of tugboats, pilot boats and other vessels, all predominantly in the San Francisco Bay, circa 1900s-1960s. Includes photographs of vessels working in the Upper Columbia River and unidentified locations. Views include vessels under construction, being launched, at dock, and underway. There are photographs of CROWLEY NO. 23 (built 1924; tugboat), which Hasenpusch was a captain on from 1945-1951; the pilot schooner CALIFORNIA (built 1924; schooner, 2m: pilot vessel), on which Hasenpusch worked as an engineer; and the tugboat and auxiliary fireboat FRANK G. WHITE (built 1949; tugboat), which was the last vessel that Captain Hasenpusch worked on. The collection also contains photographs of shipwrecks and activity, events and people in the San Francisco Bay.

    Collection Arrangement

    Arranged into the following series and subseries: Series 1. Utility and Service Vessels, circa 1910-1960s (bulk 1920s-1950s), 1.1 Tugboats, circa 1910-1960s, 1.2 Tugboat and barge maritime companies, 1915-1960s (bulk 1920s-1950s), 1.3 Barges and pile drivers, circa 1940-1960, 1.4 Pilot Boats, launches and small craft, circa 1910-1958, 1.5 Boatbuilding - tugboats and small craft, circa 1920s-1950s; Series 2. Other vessels, circa 1900-1960 (bulk 1930s); Series 3. Shipwrecks, 1921 February 24-1940s; and Series 4. San Francisco Bay waterfront and activity, recreation and people, circa 1930-1965.

    Related Materials

    Model: "GRACIE S" 1893 Pilot Boat (SAFR 22765). This model was constructed by Captain Curt August Hasenpusch.
    • This material is located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Marine photography
    Merchant marine--United States--History--20th century
    Ships--California--San Francisco--Pictorial works
    Tugboats
    Passenger ships
    Cargo ships
    Merchant ships
    Boatyards
    Hasenpusch, Curt August
    California (built 1924; schooner, 2m: pilot vessel)
    Crowley Maritime Corporation
    Crowley No. 23 (built 1924; tugboat)
    Harbor Tug and Barge Co.
    Frank G. White (built 1949; tugboat)
    San Francisco Bay (Calif.)--Harbor
    San Francisco Bay (Calif.)
    San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
    San Francisco (Calif.)
    Pacific Coast (Calif.)
    Harbors--California--San Francisco
    Harbors--California--San Francisco Bay
    Harbors--California--Oakland
    Black-and-white prints (photographs)
    Gelatin silver prints
    Ship plans
    Blueprints (reprographic copies)
    Deck plans
    Letterheads
    Document