Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Provenance
Biographical Note on Verne Dyson
Biographical Note on George Hazard
Scope and Content
Related materials
Arrangement
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Hazard-Dyson Collection
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 26404 and various photPF call numbers
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear Feet
(7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1855-1962
Abstract: This collection contains an unpublished
manuscript, "California's Romantic Ranchos" (ca. 1962) by journalist and editor Verne Dyson
(1879-1971), on the history of the privately-owned California rancho lands granted under
Spanish and Mexican rule. The manuscript is complemented by 326 photographs, chiefly dating
from the 1890s-1900s and acquired by historian and amateur photographer George W. Hazard
(1842-1914), that document adobes, early homes and towns, missions and prominent pioneers of
California. There is also a 19th century abstract of title, ca. 1855-1878, providing a
history of A. W. Timms' land transactions on Rancho Palos Verdes, California, as well as
some additional illustrations.
Language of Material: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
Publication Rights
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], Hazard-Dyson Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Provenance
The materials in series I, purchased from Verne Dyson, December 13, 1962.
The provenance of the photographs in series II is unclear. Acquisition records indicate
that 170 Hazard-Dyson photographs were purchased from Dawson's Bookshop in December
1965.
Biographical Note on Verne Dyson
Verne Dyson (1879-1971) was born in Calloway County, Missouri, and graduated from Central
College, Fayette, Missouri. He started his career in journalism in 1907 as a feature writer
at the
Kansas City Star, then later the same year moved to Los Angeles to
work as a writer and editor at the
Los Angeles Times. Dyson became acquainted
with historian George W. Hazard, who hired him to edit a work on the history of Los Angeles
that Hazard had been working on for many years. Hazard died in 1914 before it was published.
Dyson acquired Hazard's vast collection of materials and photographs from his family.
Dyson stayed in Los Angeles until 1920, when he went to Shanghai, China to become dean of
Williams College. The following year he became professor of English and Chinese history at
the University of the Philippines in Manila. From 1940 - 1961 he served as curator of the
Walt Whitman Museum in New York, and founded the Brentwood, New York Bulletin, and the Walt
Whitman Quarterly. He retired to California in 1961 and died in 1971.
In the introduction to this manuscript, dated 1962, Dyson writes: "My study of the
California ranchos began in 1913 when I bought a large collection of pictures and historical
material from George W. Hazard, brother of Henry Hazard, an early mayor of Los Angeles… I
sold the larger part of the Hazard collection in New York City fifteen years ago [1947],
retaining all of the pictures and historical material dealing with the ranchos. Between the
years 1913 and 1920 in Los Angeles, I devoted much of my time to classifying the rancho
material and preparing a manuscript… I completed the manuscript recently, having been able
to concentrate on it after retiring from active life and coming to San Diego eight months
ago." – Verne Dyson, San Diego, May 27, 1962. (See "About this Book," Box 1).
Biographical Note on George Hazard
George W. Hazard (1842-1914) was a Los Angeles historian and amateur photographer. Between
the 1890s and early 1900s, Hazard traveled throughout Southern California photographing
locations of local historical significance.
Scope and Content
This collection contains an unpublished typewritten manuscript, ca. 1962, with 326
photographs, entitled "California's Romantic Ranchos: The History, Stories and Legends of
the Haciendas, with a Roll of the Rancheros, a Complete List of the Land Grants of
California, and Biographies of Famous Personalities – Spanish, Mexican and American," by
journalist and editor Verne Dyson (1879-1971). The photographs date from ca. 1868–1922 and
include adobes, early homes and towns, missions and prominent pioneers of California. There
are also 15 engravings and several printed illustrations and maps removed from other texts,
as well as a 19th century abstract of title - a history of A. W. Timms' land transactions on
Rancho Palos Verdes, California, ca. 1855-1878.
In addition, Boxes 6 and 7 contain 121 photographs that depict a variety of views of
Southern California with the "Hazard-Dyson Collection" stamp. These include photographs
presumably by George Hazard, ca. 1890-1914, as well as other late 19th and early 20th
century photographs by commercial photographers. In 2016, these photographs were removed
from the Huntington Library's Photographic Files (PF) and reunited with the rest of the
collection. The photographs retain the "photPF" call number on the back of the image.
Related materials
Related materials in the Huntington Library:
- George W. Hazard negatives of Los Angeles and vicinity in the
Ernest Marquez Photograph Collection (photCL 555).
Related materials in the UCLA Library, Special Collections:
- "History of Los Angeles and Vicinity from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time"
(1914), a prospectus by George W. Hazard; Verne Dyson, editor
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following order:
- Manuscript
- Photographs, illustrations, and Rancho Palos Verdes title abstract
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Adobe buildings -- Photographs.
California -- History.
Cattle brands -- California.
Frontier and pioneer life -- California.
La Brea Pits (Calif.) -- History -- Photographs.
Land grants -- California.
Land use -- California.
Ranches -- California -- History.
Spaniards -- California -- History.
Luiseño Indians -- California -- Photographs.
Missions, Spanish -- California -- Photographs.
Pechanga Band of Mission Indians -- Photographs.
Tin mines and mining -- California -- Photographs.
California -- Photographs.
Mission San Antonio de Pala
Rancho Camulos (Ventura County, Calif.)
Rancho Palos Verdes (Calif.)
Santa Anita Rancho (Los Angeles County, Calif.)
Abstracts of title -- California -- Rancho Palos Verdes
Manuscripts -- California - 20th century
Photographs
Engravings