Charles F. Lummis photographs of El Alisal, family members, and other subjects, approximately 1888-1923

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Summary

Abstract:
A collection of photographs by American editor and writer Charles F. Lummis, featuring portraits of himself, family, and friends, and the building of his Los Angeles house, El Alisal.
Extent:
9.1 Linear Feet (16 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles F. Lummis photographs of El Alisal, family members, and other subjects, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection of photographs by Charles F. Lummis consists of 383 glass plate negatives and 5 autochromes (glass plate color photographs), dating from approximately 1888-1923. A large portion of the images document the construction of Lummis' stone residence, El Alisal, in what is now Highland Park, Los Angeles, which he began building in 1898 and finished in 1913. Exterior and interior progress views show details of construction, such as a window Lummis made of a collage of glass photographic plates. Lummis also photographed the land he bought for his house, which shows a largely untouched Arroyo Seco dotted with oak trees and a few other houses. The collection also contains numerous portraits of Lummis' four children with his second wife, Eve, seen at various ages: Turbesé (born 1892), Amado (born 1894), Jordan "Quimu" (born 1900), and Keith (born 1904). Other portraits include Eve Lummis and several notable Western writers and artists: John Muir, Charles M. Russell, Ed Borein, John T. Doyle, Vicente Blasco Ibañez, Eugene Manlove Rhodes, Julia Bracken Wendt, and Thomas Moran. The five autochrome portraits of art collector and dealer Grace Nicholson show her in different poses, wearing a pink fancy dress and hat, and in a Chinese robe. Based on the different format and professional appearance of the Nicholson images, there is some doubt as to whether Lummis took them or they just came into his possession. Lummis is seen in several self-portraits, at various ages, 1877-1909, and in some family groupings. A few images are photographs of photographs or paintings. Lummis also appears in some scenes at Rancho Camulos, Ventura County, with members of the Del Valle family. Various other subjects include: Lummis' earlier home on Forester Avenue, Los Angeles (1890s); California missions; Eve Lummis and others at Isleta pueblo, New Mexico, where she taught school; Native Americans from Isleta at El Alisal with Lummis' family; and miscellaneous unidentified scenes. The bulk of glass plates are 5 x 7 inches, with some 8 x 10 inches, and many have names or dates written at the bottom in Lummis' hand, with his initials.

Biographical / historical:

Charles Fletcher Lummis (1859-1928) was a journalist, editor, author, ethnologist, archaeologist, poet, builder, and photographer. He was editor of the magazine The Land of Sunshine (later titled Out West), founded the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles in 1903, and served as librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library from 1905 to 1910. Lummis took up photography around the mid-1880s, selling and publishing many of his own images, while also taking personal photographs. He continued taking photographs until the end of his life. El Alisal, the name Lummis gave to the stone house he built, is now a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument called the Lummis House.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Don C. Meadows, 1974.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa late-20th century. In 2020, Suzanne Oatey created a finding aid derived from a collection file and catalog cards. The Huntington Library made reference prints of all the glass plate negatives in the 1980s; they are in Box 1. Identifications and dates primarily taken from writing on negatives. The photographs were arranged and numbered by Library staff in the late-20th century and this arrangement has been retained.

Arrangement:

Arranged loosely by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
RESTRICTED: Boxes 2-16: Due to fragility, glass plate negatives and autochromes available only with curatorial approval. Reference prints of the glass plate negatives are available (Box 1). There are no reference prints for the five autochromes.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Charles F. Lummis photographs of El Alisal, family members, and other subjects, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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