Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Preston Sawyer Film and Theater Collection
- Dates:
- 1907-1959
- Creators:
- Sawyer, Preston, 1899-1968
- Abstract:
- This collection contains photographs, lobby cards, correspondence, ephemera, and realia.
- Containers:
- Box: 1-27
Oversize_Folder: 1-4 - Extent:
- 8 Linear Feet 27 boxes
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Preston Sawyer Film and Theater Collection. MS 404. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains photographs of actors, entertainers, performers, theater scenes and movie sets during production. Photographs are often signed and dedicated to Preston or Ariel Sawyer. There is a substantial number of lobby cards, many from the silent film era spanning 1916-1922. In addition, the collection contains a small amount of correspondence related to Hollywood stars and movie production. Ephemera in the collection consists of brochures, playbills, press and promotional materials; realia consists of autograph books and a scrapbook.
The collection is separated into four series: 1. Photographs 2. Lobby cards 3. Correspondence 4. Ephemera and Realia
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Sawyer family of Santa Cruz, California, were avid movie and theater aficionados. The materials in this collection were gathered mainly by Preston Sawyer, and contributed to by Ariel and Gertrude Sawyer. Ariel Sawyer spent time working in Hollywood from 1922-1925. He appeared in several minor rolls including a small (uncredited) part in The Courtship of Miles Standish, 1923. Preston, an amateur photographer, spent time with actors and production crews when they filmed in Santa Cruz County. He obtained work as an extra in a few films including, Maid of Salem, 1937.
Preston Sawyer was employed as a proofreader and historian for the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper from 1935 to 1962, and collected Santa Cruz and California memorabilia over his entire lifetime. Ariel Sawyer ran the Sawyer Tile Company in Santa Cruz circa 1926-1966.
Ariel Sawyer donated Preston's memorabilia, which included the materials in this collection, to both the UCSC Library and the Santa Cruz Public Library upon Preston's death in 1968.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Motion pictures -- Collectibles
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-03-16 11:52:27 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
- Preferred citation:
-
Preston Sawyer Film and Theater Collection. MS 404. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Location of this collection:
-
Special Collections and Archives, University Library1156 High StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95064, US
- Contact:
- (831) 459-2547