Hortense and R. Merritt Baker Photograph Album MS-0487

Amanda Lanthorne
Special Collections & University Archives
02/03/2012
5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050
San Diego, CA 92182-8050
askscua@sdsu.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections & University Archives
Title: Hortense and R. Merritt Baker Photograph Album
Creator: Baker, Hortense and R. Merritt
Identifier/Call Number: MS-0487
Physical Description: 0.92 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1906-1909
Language of Material: English .

Scope and Contents

The Hortense and R. Merritt Baker Photograph Album, titled "Snapshots and Flashlights," documents the social and extra-curricular activities of Hortense and R. Merritt Baker from 1906 to 1909.  The album includes candid and posed photographs of the Bakers, Sidney Frantz, and their friends play-acting and staging home-made theatrical productions; Manual Training High School athletic teams and events; as well as trips to Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Grand Lake (Colorado), and Bloomerville (Colorado).  Although there are few captions, most pages contain colorful hand-painted decorations and illustrations.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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.

Source of Acquisition

Unknown

Accruals and Additions

9999-212

Custodial History

Separated from the John and Jane Adams Ephemera Collection.

Related Materials

Louise Patterson Scrapbook
Annie L. Jobs Photograph Album
Shen Yo Scrapbook
San Diego Scrapbook Collection

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, folder title, box number, Hortense and R. Merritt Photograph Album, Special Collections and University Archives, San Diego State University Library.

Biographical Note

Hortense Baker was born in 1889 and her younger brother, Robert Merritt (known as Merritt) was born in 1890. They also had a brother named Melvine. The Bakers grew up in Denver, Colorado. Merritt was a student at the Manual Training High School in the Whittier neighborhood, and graduated in 1910. As teenagers, both Hortense and Merritt staged home-made theatrical productions with friends. During the 1910s, Hortense married Sidney Frantz. They had two children. Sometime in the early to mid-1920s, the Frantzs moved to San Diego where Sidney worked as a set designer, and Hortense acted with the Yorick Players. Merritt lived in San Diego during the early 1940s and worked at the John Weiss Organization, a real estate firm. He later became the City Manager of Sierra Madre. He died in Los Angeles in 1955. Hortense passed away in San Diego in 1958.

box 1, item 1

"Snapshots and Flashlights" Item 1 1906-1909